Shadow Bug Reviews

This game was fantastic. I wasn't expecting very much given that it is an indie game for 5 dollars from a new studio, but Shadow Bug delivered everything I wanted and more. The unique movement mechanics of the game play extremely smoothly, and the levels are designed to be difficult despite the fact that a large portion of your movement is in straight lines between enemies. There is a secret collectible in every level, and a reasonable amount of flexibility in how you move through the game. Additionally, the art and sound design is beautiful, and really adds to the intensity of the game's many tense platforming sequences. Muro Studios has managed to take a very simple concept and execute it perfectly, creating an intense and challenging experience. With 37 levels, my only real complaint about this game is that there isn't more of it.

A great small game, that's enjoyed best in bite sized chunks! Super simple to learn, but gets more and more challenging the further you go. Even though this game is a platformer at heart, it mainly revolves around leaping through the air and traversing forward by slicing and dicing enemies in your way. The game mechanic is simple, yet hard to master and is supported joyfully by Shadow Bug's excellent level design. Even though I was playing this game on a laptop touch pad (!!) and not a proper mouse, the polished controls really help you nail those pesky flying-through-the-air enemies. The game is full of great detail and clearly the developers have put a lot of love and effort into Shadow Bug. I just have to get better at this game, buy a mouse and ace the rest of those levels!

Shadow Bug is a fun fast game 2D. You are a small insect/bug with a little friend flyer (mouse you use to click) in PC version. Investigate and protect your forest against from enemy factory. One unique mechanic where you only moves with "Left and Right + Mouse (to attack/dash)" Into enemy. That's right, no jump and crouch buttons. The only way to get off of the ground is to "select/click on" an enemy or object in your screen to dash into it. (Even through walls.) The story maybe takes 2-4 hours in average or maybe less. (Because of all the scores) There is Points, time attack and secrets to collect. (Depend if you want to replay the chapter/map) Each chapter/map has own scores and there is plenty of them. Each takes maybe 1-3min in average.

I am not a huge fan of platformers, but this was right up my alley. Controls are simple, move left and right with A D but you can only jump by clicking on the enemies to attack them. Jumping from one enemy to the next while in the air and avoiding obstacles is extremely satisfying. Difficulty curve is not too steep (until last few levels). When you fail it is justified and you don't feel like the game has cheated on you. Each level has a few checkpoints, 3 star ranking (one star for completion, one for collecting point orbs and a timed challenge) and a hidden epic orb worth extra points. Levels never feel overly long. Enemy types are added gradually throughout the game, bringing new mechanics and adding up on old ones. Aesthetic is very pleasing: fluid animation, beautiful backgrounds and enjoyable soundtrack. Relaxing experiance for the most part, worth the asking price. [i]Edit: I don't like the last 2 levels, checkpoints are too far apart and replaying them feels like a chore.[/i]

A fantastic game, works perfectly, tries something new, challenging but not massively difficult in comparison to other indie platformers, rewarding to speedrun and 100% but perfectly doable without doing that. Nice music, nice grafics, no bugs whatsoever, aside from the titular hero. I just completed it, and according to the high score list, I was the 112th player finishing it. This is a sin, and the game would deserve a thousand times more attention than it has gotten.

Its a game that bases itself on one unique machanic and explores what can be done with that machanic. This is something that needs to be done more often.

This game is awesome. I love how it is angled towards casual players and speedrunners alike. For me, speedrunning individual levels in platformers is great fun, and it is the majority of what I do on Steam. Shadow Bug is one of the most fun and creative games I've tried out in a while. For me personally as a speedrunner, the unique mechanic means that you can find certain speed strategies that, first of all, would simply not be faster in any other speedgame, which makes them interesting to find and do, and there are endless different ways to go fast on certain levels in certain ways that are very different from any other speedgames. And the simple fact that the leaderboards are in the game makes it much more competitive. If you like to compete for fast times, just try this game for something different. You won't regret it!

I highly recommend Shadow Bug, and I am somewhat disappointed that there are not that many reviews (and maybe not that many players). Shadow Bug is an action platformer with something different in the mechanics. The game does not let you walk and jump just by pressing the keys. In fact, your character cannot do a normal jump at all. The only way to get off of the ground is to "select" an enemy or object on the screen, and Shadow Bug will lunge and fly directly at it, usually in a sharp angle. The bug will then slash the enemy or object, destroying it, and do a little leap after the attack. Then it starts falling back to the ground, unless you choose something else quickly. Because of this mechanic, you have to be extremely good with timing, and also make sure you figure out what is the best order and direction to go in. For instance, as the game goes on, traps that will instantly kill you will start showing up more often. And in some places, if you attack enemies too quickly, you will fly right into a trap because you didn't wait for the right angle. The mechanic may sound simple at first, but it definitely requires some work to manage. For myself, the game seemed like it was second nature for me, surprisingly, and I did very well at it. But I can definitely see many people having difficulty with it. One more note I will say about the mechanic is that I find playing with an actual mouse to be the best way to go. I tried a controller at first, and thought it was a horrible idea, because you have to move the cursor with a joystick, slowly, and press a button to select. Because you have to move quickly, using a mouse just makes sense, as you can move the cursor at whatever speed you want. Now, the game has 36 levels in it, with 6 of them being boss levels. Most of the levels are actually not that long once you get the hang of them, but will require some practice. In fact, I would say that the majority of the levels could be speed-run in less than 2 minutes per level, except for maybe a few levels towards the end, or some boss levels. But the game took me over 5 hours to 100% complete, and the game is only $4.99 in price, so the fun I had is worth it to me. Each level has 3 goals: the actual completion of the level, a time limit, and the number of shiny point items you found. The items look like white orbs that are apparently called “spirits,” which are hidden around the levels or even drop when you destroy some enemies. Each level also has an “epic spirit” which is a single spirit that contains a bunch of smaller ones, and they count as actual collectibles, while the small spirits are mainly for points. After each boss level, you wind up in new areas that bring up new types of puzzles and new types of traps, such as a sewer area that has acid pits that sometimes have fish enemies leap out of them. Many of the puzzle goals are finding ways to hold switches or finding keys to unlock doors and continue onward; but the actual methodology to do so heavily depends upon how well you get adapted to the mechanic and if you know how to set up your movement in order to reach necessary places. The art style of the game is great, I believe, and the sound is pretty good too. None of the music or effects bothered me if I heard them over and over while trying a level. About the only downside I would say for the game is that the game suddenly spikes the difficulty in the last 2 levels by an extreme amount. Despite that, I ended up simply giving up for an evening, and I came back the next day to try again and was able to complete them with all of the goals. So in the end, I think Shadow Bug is definitely worth a try, and I hope more people on here end up buying it. I would like to see more from the developers in the future.

Great game overall, unique twist on the platforming/2D-scrolling genre, plays smoothly and worth its price. The creators put a lot of care into delivering a good experience. Support indie! [list] [*]Plays smoothly, feels polished and detailed [*]Great graphics, I like the environments and design of the levels and enemies [*]Simple and easy to learn gameplay mechanics that remain interesting thanks to creative level design [*]Music and sound effects are good [*]The difficulty curve is pretty good, your skills are tested but never in an overly frustrating way [*]The game has a feel and quality to it that reminds me of World of Goo. If I was told this game was made by the creators of World of Goo, I would believe them. [*]Secondary objectives give more replayability if you are up for an additional challenge [/list] I don't really have anything bad to say about the game, if there are negatives, they are almost completely overshadowed by the positives. Congratulations on a great game Muro Studios, looking forward to more games from you in the future.

[h1]Ever wanted to be a Ninja Bug taking on the world?[/h1] A tiny insect is watching his forest decay and be destroyed as it is invaded by machines and flooded with pollution. Setting out on an epic journey, he must discover the source and defeat these giant enemies. It's actually quite a moving tale when you think of it - especially when the environment is such a hot topic right now. It's also a great setting, with the juxtaposition between the light and airy forest and the machines that invade it. We journey through the forest, down the sewers and into the factory to find the source. [h1]Pros:[/h1] * Beautiful artwork. * Fluid movement and keyboard/mouse controls. * Unique gameplay. * Excellent level design with formulated progression. * Good range of enemies with different abilities. [h1]Cons:[/h1] * Fairly short game, completable in 3-4 hours (or hypothetically under 30 minutes for a full speedrun if you're God-tier) * Limited replayability (once you have all stars per level, there's nothing else to do). * Not good for controllers, ups the difficulty level by 6 billion. * The final two levels are extremely difficult compared to the rest of the game. [h1]Tight Gameplay[/h1] The gameplay took me a little getting used to but is very unique. It's a platformer that has no jumping ability (and trust me, I instinct-spammed space a LOT in the beginning, it won't help). Instead, your ninja bug can zip from enemy to enemy, moving and killing them in one stroke. You can walk back and forth using A and D, but the majority of the movement is made by targetting an enemy. You can then move in any direction at great speed, and control the direction of your descent. You end up bouncing from enemy to enemy in fluid, smooth motions. [h1]Precision and Speed[/h1] It's both a precision and a speed game. You have to be exact or you're going to be devoured by creepy creatures, impaled on thorns, sliced by spinning blades or trampled by machinery. At the end of each level you have a score. One star for completing it successfully, two for completing it under an allotted time, and three for collecting enough power ups. Sometimes it's simply not possible to both speed run and power run so it adds that extra challenge and replayability, with some levels having secrets to be found. A speedrunner will enjoy the challenge immensely. [h1]Level Design[/h1] There is a decent range of enemies, many of whom have unique abilities, such as plants that spit venom at you, or the birds who pick up spiked seeds and drop them in inconvenient places, such as on your head. As the levels progress, minor new mechanics are added that give a little bit of extra depth and complexity each time. From swinging spikes and levers, to keys and unlockable doors, to moveable boxes to... well, I'll let you discover for the rest. You're drip-fed the changes so as each new things is introduced you have time to naturally learn how to respond until you're dealing with everything at once like a pro. Well, that's the idea anyway. My execution was a little bit off to say the least (400th death inc...) [h1]Challenge[/h1] On a difficulty level I found the game fairly easy until the final two levels. Although I did die a LOT, the game has short levels and very frequent checkpoints, meaning it's easy to have a stab at the same section multiple times very quickly until you get the hang of it. I'd say it's challenging enough to keep you interested, tax your fingers and get those brain cells whirring... until you get to the last two levels. The difficulty ramps up to insane and I did find the final two levels frustratingly challenging. It took me 2 hours to complete levels 1 through 34 and then 2 hours to complete levels 35 and 36 - levels that should be able to be speedrun in a few MINUTES apparently. Well then, screw lasers, seriously. [h1]At £4 for a 3-4 hour game, some may feel the sense of value is lacking. Personally I'm still happy to highly recommend it - quality over quantity![/h1] ♥♥♥ If you're a weirdo who wants to follow my reviews, please clicky some links: [url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/28971565/]My Curator Page[/url], [url=http://www.twitter.com/playwithath]My Twitter[/url], the [url=http://www.welshgamingnetwork.co.uk]Welsh Gaming Network[/url]. Thanks! ♥♥♥