[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"similar-games-9-years-of-shadows":3,"game-9-years-of-shadows":5},{"similarGames":4},[],{"game":6,"hasUserReviewed":22},{"id":7,"name":8,"summary":9,"cover_image":10,"header_image":11,"trailer_url":12,"release_date":13,"avg_score":14,"igdb_id":15,"slug":16,"steam_app_id":17,"companies":18,"genres":27,"platforms":32,"reviews":39,"coverImage":10,"headerImage":11,"trailerUrl":12,"releaseDate":13,"criticReviewCount":142,"userReviewCount":143,"previewCount":143,"publishers":144,"developers":145,"userReviews":146,"hasUserReviewed":22,"steamAppId":17},87380,"9 Years of Shadows","9 Years of Shadows is an emotionally-driven Metroidvania, enhanced by healing music that tells the story of Europa, a young woman of noble birth tasked with ending the curse that plagues her people and restoring color to all lands.","87380\u002F9-years-of-shadows-cover.jpg","87380\u002F9-years-of-shadows-header.jpg","https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002FlJjFbZucvSA","2023-03-27",74.29,143635,"9-years-of-shadows",1402120,[19,24],{"company":20,"developed":22,"published":23},{"name":21},"Freedom Games",false,true,{"company":25,"developed":23,"published":22},{"name":26},"Halberd Studios",[28,29,30,31],"Platform","Role-playing (RPG)","Adventure","Indie",[33,34,35,36,37,38],"PC (Microsoft Windows)","PlayStation 4","Xbox One","Nintendo Switch","PlayStation 5","Xbox Series X|S",[40,56,71,86,100,114,127],{"id":41,"author":42,"outlet":45,"summary":51,"review_url":52,"review_date":53,"original_score":54,"normalized_score":55},81862,{"id":43,"name":44},1155,"Tom Massey",{"id":46,"logo":47,"name":48,"website_url":49,"score_format":50},34,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.criticdb.com\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Favatars\u002FOutlets\u002FNintendoLife-Logo.jpg","Nintendo Life","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nintendolife.com\u002F","10","Halberd Studios has crafted a Metroidvania with a really encouraging number of unique elements. We have no issue in declaring it A Good Game™ and a great time thanks to its careful crafting and implementation of a number of original ideas that elevate the gameplay, rather than stifle it. It is just another Metroidvania at heart, yes, and it doesn’t revolutionise the genre; but, while there are a few scrappy bits where you can see a thinning of the budget compared to works by larger studios, it holds its own as an inventive, pretty, and consistently enjoyable adventure.","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nintendolife.com\u002Freviews\u002Fswitch-eshop\u002F9-years-of-shadows","2023-11-13","8",80,{"id":57,"author":58,"outlet":61,"summary":66,"review_url":67,"review_date":68,"original_score":69,"normalized_score":70},97268,{"id":59,"name":60},223,"Andrew Farrell",{"id":62,"logo":63,"name":64,"website_url":65,"score_format":50},136,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.criticdb.com\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Favatars\u002FOutlets\u002FPCInvasion.jpg","PC Invasion","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pcinvasion.com\u002F","It's pretty and it plays well, but this is a short, underwhelming Metroidvania with no exploration and uninteresting level design.","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pcinvasion.com\u002F9-years-of-shadows-review-5-hours-of-competence\u002F","2023-03-26","6",60,{"id":72,"author":73,"outlet":76,"summary":81,"review_url":82,"review_date":83,"original_score":84,"normalized_score":85},2236478,{"id":74,"name":75},17841,"Kirk Hiner",{"id":77,"logo":78,"name":79,"website_url":80,"score_format":50},158,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.criticdb.com\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Favatars\u002FOutlets\u002FPurenintendo.jpeg","Pure Nintendo","https:\u002F\u002Fpurenintendo.com","Living in a world that's cursed to be colorless, our heroine ventures into the Castlevania-like depths of Talos to root out the source of its corruption. But she's not alone; she has a surprisingly handy magical teddy bear.Read More","https:\u002F\u002Fpurenintendo.com\u002Freview-9-years-of-shadows-nintendo-switch\u002F","2023-12-14","7.5",75,{"id":87,"author":88,"outlet":91,"summary":96,"review_url":97,"review_date":13,"original_score":98,"normalized_score":99},135574,{"id":89,"name":90},11149,"Eliot Lefebvre",{"id":92,"logo":93,"name":94,"website_url":95,"score_format":50},148,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.criticdb.com\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Favatars\u002FOutlets\u002Fgamerescape-logo.jpg","Gamer Escape","https:\u002F\u002Fgamerescape.com\u002F","If any part of 9 Years of Shadows looks appealing to you, you owe it to yourself to pick it up. This is an amazing game made by a heretofore unknown team, and I can only hope that Halberd Studios has plans for a follow-up. They deserve to be showered in praise, and this game deserves your time and attention.","https:\u002F\u002Fgamerescape.com\u002F2023\u002F03\u002F27\u002Freview-9-years-of-shadows\u002F","9\u002F10",90,{"id":101,"author":102,"outlet":105,"summary":110,"review_url":111,"review_date":112,"original_score":113,"normalized_score":55},211732,{"id":103,"name":104},3920,"Richard Seagrave",{"id":106,"logo":107,"name":108,"website_url":109,"score_format":50},27,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.criticdb.com\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Favatars\u002FOutlets\u002FGameSpew-Logo.jpg","GameSpew","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gamespew.com","9 Years of Shadows isn't the biggest Metroidvania game, but what it lacks in length it makes up for in other ways. Its visuals are sublime, for one, and its gameplay is fantastic, too. Add in a soundtrack which includes pieces by Michiru Yamane, and you're onto a winner.","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gamespew.com\u002F2025\u002F08\u002F9-years-of-shadows-review\u002F","2025-08-04","8\u002F10",{"id":115,"author":116,"outlet":119,"summary":124,"review_url":125,"review_date":126,"original_score":84,"normalized_score":85},277657,{"id":117,"name":118},196,"Philip Watson",{"id":120,"logo":121,"name":122,"website_url":123,"score_format":50},2,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.criticdb.com\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Favatars\u002FOutlets\u002FCGMagazine-Logo.jpg","CGMagazine","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cgmagonline.com","9 Years of Shadows is a solid 2D action-adventure title that is very pretty to look at, and could be recommended to those who don’t focus on combat.","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cgmagonline.com\u002Freview\u002Fgame\u002F9-years-of-shadows-ps5-review\u002F","2025-08-09",{"id":128,"author":129,"outlet":132,"summary":138,"review_url":139,"review_date":140,"original_score":141,"normalized_score":70},377079,{"id":130,"name":131},15398,"Hitoshura",{"id":133,"logo":134,"name":135,"website_url":136,"score_format":137},142,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.criticdb.com\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Favatars\u002FOutlets\u002FFinal%20Weapon%20Logo.jpg","Final Weapon","https:\u002F\u002Ffinalweapon.net","5","9 Years of Shadows is a beatiful game that shines with its atmosphere, but it is held back by some lacking combat, shallow exploration, and tiring backtracking. Still, there is a solid experience here for those willing to look past the flaws.","https:\u002F\u002Ffinalweapon.net\u002F2025\u002F08\u002F12\u002F9-years-of-shadows-review\u002F","2025-08-12","3.0",7,0,[21],[26],[]]