Ah, what a time to be alive. I'm 35, in a world of next-gen consoles, and games are still coming out for the very first handheld I got back in the '90s. The Game Boy is more popular now than it's ever been, thanks to the likes of ModRetro bringing new titles to the table and reviving old games for new audiences, and it's prompting creators to make new and exciting games for Ninty's blocky icon too!
I came across Shadow Island while doing my daily scroll through Kickstarter, a game by Davey Greenman based on a short story that he wrote back when he was in middle school. Essentially, the story follows a man who has been shipwrecked on an island in a dystopian future. He has to sneak around an island trying to find other survivors, all while confronting his biggest phobias and discovering the 'unnerving truth of the island'.
It definitely has shades of Metal Gear Solid & Splinter Cell to it by the sounds of it, and also a touch of Silent Hill when it comes to the phobia, mild horror element to the game. According to Davey, these phobias take the form of bosses that you'll come up against and consist of a giant spider, a snake, an evil clown, claustrophobia, and the dark, as well as a ghostly woman who continually haunts you. It's a good job this is just a Game Boy game, otherwise it might be too freaky for me to play!
And while the gameplay is quite simple in terms of graphics too, the cutscene still above looks very intriguing and artistic. It gives me a similar feel to The Mayor of Sanctuary at first glance.
While the gameplay is stealth-oriented, requiring all of the skills you've used when playing games like Horizon Zero Dawn, there are lots of puzzles to solve and parts of the engaging narrative to uncover, something that excites me more than anything else I've read about this game. You guys know I'm a nerd for a good storyline!
With 7 areas to sneak and survive through, there's plenty of exploring and phobia-confronting to be done. The game hasn't gone live on Kickstarter yet, but you can sign up to be notified when it does!
