Shadow of the Orient Review – A Satisfyingly Old-School Action Platformer

The onslaught of indie Metroidvanias has seemingly left the more traditional old-school action-platformer behind in favor of interconnected worlds, ability gating, non-linear exploration, and other hallmarks of one of gaming’s most popular portmanteaus. As a result, it is refreshing when a developer comes along and bucks trends to deliver a more classic experience, harkening back to the greats that players who grew up on the NES and SNES fondly remember. These all-too-rare titles prove that the traditional action-platformer isn’t dead, it’s just currently taking a backseat to the popularity of Metroidvania, and the best of them remind us that there’s still plenty of room for old-school side-scrollers. Enter Spacelab Games’ Shadow of the Orient.

Originally released on Steam on October 4, 2024, and later arriving for Android, Shadow of the Orient is now about to launch on the Nintendo Switch at the back end of what’s been a busy March for game releases, but less busy for indie games that take plenty of inspiration from the classics of the 3rd and 4th generations of video games. This criminally overlooked action-platformer is an incredibly fluid and responsive title that features some satisfying combat and platforming challenges. However, it is ultimately a bit undone by its shorter length and trial-and-error sections. Still, for anyone looking for a reasonably priced old-school action game, look no further than Shadow of the Orient.

Shadow of the Orient’s Set Up is Straight From the NES Playbook

The greatest NES action platformers typically had a compelling — if not conventional — story set up to help propel the player forward through their more challenging sections, and Shadow of the Orient is no different. Calling back to classics like Ninja Gaiden or Double Dragon, Shadow of the Orient puts players in the shoes of the lone warrior Xiaolang, who must defend his homeland (simply referred to as the “Orient”) from the onslaught of the mysterious Shadow Clan. When the Shadow Clan returns after 200 years of peace and kidnaps the children of Xiaolang’s village, the Bruce Lee-lookalike doesn’t hesitate to charge headfirst into danger to rescue them, ultimately hoping to put a stop to the Shadow Clan once and for all.

It’s all pretty boilerplate as far as action-platformer games go and doesn’t do much to differentiate itself from the mostly threadbare stories of the 8 and 16-bit classics it so clearly takes inspiration from, but therein lies part of Shadow of the Orient‘s charm. The story mostly serves as window dressing for the game’s tightly paced and fat-free setup, which features 3 Acts consisting of 5 levels each that all culminate in a pretty challenging boss battle with a unique enemy. We never really get many answers about who the Shadow Clan is or why they’re so intent on kidnapping children, but the story does serve the purpose of giving some semblance of urgency to Shadow of the Orient‘s proceedings and allows the real stars of the game to shine: the combat and platforming.

Combat and Platforming Each Take Center Stage in Shadow of the Orient’s Gameplay

As far as action-platformer protagonists go, Xiaolang really hits the mark in terms of both his offensive toolkit and his platforming abilities. The introductory level of Shadow of the Orient in Act I does a great job of walking players through all the different abilities they’ll be using right from the get-go. There’s a double jump available by default as well as a wall climb, and together, these two abilities make traipsing around Shadow of the Orient‘s well-designed levels a delight. There’s a surprising amount of verticality and differentiation in platform layouts, which often requires you to get creative with how you put Xiaolang’s mobility to use. Spacelab Games has smartly unlocked the full suite of abilities right from the game’s outset in an attempt to emphasize player expression over ability gating.

The same can be said of combat, which is snappy and responsive while simultaneously embracing simplicity. Players have a standard three-hit combo when using the attack button on the ground, but this transforms into a Ryu from Street Fighter II-style tatsumaki spinning kick when airborne. Mixing these two attacks is how you’ll dispatch most enemies, but Shadow of the Orient also provides regular weapon drops that allow players to mix things up. There are ranged options such as fireballs and throwing knives, but the real kickers are the curved sword and bo staff that can be found tucked away in the dark corners of certain levels, giving you a distinct power advantage against the appropriately balanced enemies.

Shadow of the Orient’s Bosses Hold it Just Shy of Shangri-La

The one downside to Shadow of the Orient‘s combat is its boss enemies. These foes (of which there are only three) rely on some fairly simplistic attack patterns and are all too happy to get off cheap shots on Xiaolang as the player commits to a series of trial-and-error runs to eventually emerge victorious. Once you learn their attack patterns, these enemies rarely ever deviate from their programming, but they can be tricky to figure out in your first, second, or even third attempt. Taking them down is a sort of exercise in frustration that, while era-appropriate to the old-school action platformer, is a relic of the past better left there. But otherwise, Shadow of the Orient‘s combat is just plain fun.

How Challenges and the In-Game Shop Add to Replayability

By now, you might be wondering if there’s any replay value in a game that only consists of 15 levels, and I’m happy to report that there absolutely is. Recall that Shadow of the Orient‘s setup is three major Acts, each consisting of 5 levels and a boss battle. If one were to just focus on clearing each of the game’s stages, then, sure, you could absolutely clear Shadow of the Orient in an afternoon. What will take you much longer to complete, though, is finding the three kidnapped children in each stage, along with 4 or 5 treasure chests with hidden, color-coded keys.

Finding each of the secrets carefully hidden in each level is easier said than done, and many of them reside behind either hidden walls or some of the game’s most perilous platforming challenges. There were several times during my playthrough that, in an attempt to find every secret in a level, it wasn’t uncommon to spend upwards of an hour in a single stage. But veering off the beaten path to find these secrets serves the twofold purpose of offering up some of Shadow of the Orient‘s best combat and platforming challenges as well as significantly extending the replay value of each individual stage. Being able to go back and revisit each previous stage only incentivizes these replays more.

Chasing Coins to Spend in the Shop

Another element that significantly extends Shadow of the Orient‘s replay value is the in-game cash shop. Xiaolang is already pretty powerful right from the start of the game, but chasing down all the different color gems in each level will see you quickly accumulate vast sums of money that you can spend in Shadow of the Orient‘s shop, accessible from the main menu. In addition to upgrading things like Xiaolang’s health and damage, you can unlock permanent starting weapons, new abilities like a dash or a head stomp, and even a hint marker to point out where each of the well-hidden secrets in each level resides.

Finding all the secrets in each of Shadow of the Orient‘s levels is a large part of the fun, and that the game rewards you with plenty of gems to spend in the shop only serves to reinforce that loop in a way that rewards both careful exploration and replays of previously completed levels.

Shadow of the Orient Carefully Balances Challenge and Fun

Some of the greatest action-platformers provide a substantial challenge as a way of artificially extending their playtime, but Shadow of the Orient wisely sidesteps this in favor of providing a brisk, tightly-paced experience that emphasizes fun over everything else. You will die — a lot — but the penalty for each death is slim. Add in the generous checkpoints that dot the critical path of each level, and you have a game that avoids many of the frustrations that plague the old-school titles it clearly takes inspiration from.

The smaller enemy variety allows you to quickly learn and respond to their behaviors and attacks, environmental hazards are readily telegraphed and completely avoidable, and the only real frustrating and sweaty platforming challenges are the ones that precede each of the secrets in the game’s levels. Shadow of the Orient does offer up some satisfying difficulty, but it ultimately favors fun and accessibility over all else while still retaining its old-school charm.

Bottom Line

In just over 4 hours with Shadow of the Orient, I was able to complete each of the game’s 3 Acts and even somehow managed to complete a small handful of stages, finding every secret they happened to contain after multiple replays. But I still have yet to attempt to tackle the optional speedrunning stages or come close to unlocking everything in the shop. At $6 on Steam ($10 on the Switch), Shadow of the Orient offers plenty of bang for your buck, delivering a concise but fun-filled experience that never overstays its welcome or culminates in player frustration. Add in the fact that the game features some excellent 2D pixel art visuals and an earworm of a soundtrack, and you have a title that respects both the player’s time and their senses, even if its limited weak points keep it just shy of the greatness of its inspirations.

Rating: 8 out of 10

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Shadow of the Orient key art.