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ActionAdventureIndie by Halberd Studios

9 Years of Shadows

9 Years of Shadows is a Metroidvania action-adventure following Europa, a warrior who wields music and light to restore color to a world consumed by darkness. Developed by Halberd Studios, it blends tight combat with exploration across interconnected areas unlocked through new abilities. The color-restoration mechanic ties aesthetics directly to progression, shifting environments visually as you advance.

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9 Years of Shadows

Steam reviews

2,586 of 3,372 Steam user reviews are positive (76.7%) and Steam's own label is “Mostly Positive”, according to Steam's review summary for 9 Years of Shadows at the last data refresh.

Good for

  • Players who enjoy ability-gated Metroidvania exploration
  • Those who like narrative-driven indie action games
  • Fans of pixel art with a mythological aesthetic
  • Controller players looking for a sub-20-hour campaign

Avoid if

  • You expect the mechanical depth of genre benchmarks like Hollow Knight
  • You dislike backtracking to re-explore unlocked areas
  • Short runtimes (5-8 hours) feel insufficient for $19.99

Is 9 Years of Shadows an indie game?

Yes. Steam lists 9 Years of Shadows under the "Indie" genre, and its publisher is not on this site's major-publisher list.

  • Steam genre tags on record: Action, Adventure, Indie — includes "Indie".
  • Developer: Halberd Studios.
  • Publisher: indie.io — not on this site's major-publisher list.

The rubric, its limits and the publisher list: methodology.