9 Years of Shadows News

Hello everyone! We wish you all a fantastic start of 2022, a year that certainly has our team beyond excited. As you know from previous updates, we’re tirelessly working on bringing the world of 9 Years of Shadows to life!

This entails going through several tests, overseeing performance issues and placing the littlest of details into place, so definitely be on the lookout for more updates both here and on our social media.

You might have noticed that we have been quiet on YouTube lately, but that will change in the following months. If you recall, during our Kickstarter campaign we created Dev Diaries, a series of videos outlining Europa’s story, a couple of our key team players and even a special message from Michiru Yamane herself. This year, we’ll release our biggest Dev Diary yet, featuring topics like the soundtrack, the story, and most importantly, the gameplay. We always upload them to our Youtube channel, so be sure to be on the lookout for it!



Now that we are on the topic of story and gameplay, it seems only fitting that we introduce one of the game’s main bosses that is also heavily involved with the narrative. Meet Draythus, a legendary warrior. He is both elegant and dangerous, and his encounter with Europa is a pivotal moment for both of them and the story.



This ageless enemy, created by our awesome backer Maximilian Lee Carbaugh, as well as most of our other NPCs, has his own track whenever a conversation with him sparks up. Music often can tell more about a person than words; what do you make of Draythus’ theme?



We have also been working on concept art for different sections of the castle. For instance, vegetation is looking better and more interesting each day. Take a look at various plants from our underwater landscape, greenhouse and boiler section.



As every detail helps build the mystical atmosphere one breaths within Talos Castle, we have designed breakable elements that match each room Europa explores. Where do you think these items go?



Naturally, Europa has also been a character our team has heavily focused on, from emotional portraits to concept art. Every day, Europa is shaping up to become a deeply layered and interesting warrior maiden, and concepts like these allow us to understand her and the lore surrounding her much better.



And it wouldn’t be 9 Years of Shadows without an update regarding our resident cuddly companion, Apino. Animating him is surely one of our favorite activities, just take a look at these poses!



Lastly, we would like to say we feel extremely grateful for all your support and understanding last year, and for the faith you have placed in our team this year to finish the development of Europa’s story and welcome you to enjoy it. The journey is not yet over, but our resolve and motivation are stronger than ever, and together, we know we will see this through!

Remember to follow us on social media and stay tuned for upcoming news on the game!

Hello everyone!
The year might be coming to an end, but we certainly haven’t stopped working on making the world of 9 Years of Shadows a place you will thoroughly enjoy.

We’ve kept busy with the polishing of our pixel art, improving how the controller feels and creating new cinematics for the game, among other developments. As a result, our publisher, Freedom Games, has recommended we delay the release of the game for some time. With a full-fledged game, we know we can take Europa’s story exactly where we want it to be and now expect to be able to share it with you in late 2022.

We want to sincerely thank you for your support, understanding and good wishes thus far! We know a delay of the release window is far from ideal, but we also know more time will allow us to polish the little details and, more importantly, deliver the game you deserve.

We know we’ve come a long way since our Kickstarter campaign and still have a way to go, but none of it would have been possible if not for your faith in the project and valuable feedback throughout the development process.

In fact, due to your comments on our enemy design and animation, we’ve come up with very interesting characters! Take a look at some of our enemies so far!

Art has actually been one of our primary focuses these past few months, not only architecture and special paintings, but cinematic cutscenes and conversational pieces as well. Here is Europa’s normal conversation portrait.

One of our other main focuses has been the creation of the soundtracks for the game. As you know, music plays a pivotal role in the overall narrative, gameplay and ambiance of 9 Years of Shadows, which means working on tracks always gets us excited! What do you think of our latest piece?

You might also recall we’re shooting a documentary of our game developing journey! Get a glimpse of the team’s insights on this exclusive sneak peek:
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If you paid attention to the teaser, you probably noticed one of the cinematics we have been working on as of late. Take a closer look at a badass Europa and a cute-looking Apino inside a peculiar elevator.

If that left you curious and you want to get to know our developers on a more personal level, don’t forget to join our Discord server, where we’ll start having frequent chat sessions with the Halberd team and our community!

We’ll also return to more frequent updates on our Dev Diaries, so make sure you’re subscribed to our YouTube channel and turn on notifications!

Remember to follow us on social media to stay updated on our progress!


Once again, we’re thankful you’ve joined us in this journey and remained by our side as we flesh out Europa’s story and set up an adventure that is both immersive and meaningful for all of you. Let us know what you think in the comments and if you have any questions, we’ll be happy to answer them and put your mind at ease.
We’ll be sharing more news with you soon!

- The Halberd Team

Hello everyone!

We’d like to begin Q4 of this year by keeping you posted on our latest developments. Our team has poured mind and heart into the new cinematics for the game. We are very fortunate to work with an excellent artist who leaves us speechless on how the shots look. We’ll be sharing glimpses of them in upcoming updates and can’t wait for you to be as astonished as we are.

In the meantime, we’d like to talk about environment art. In these past couple of months, our art department has been working on different special rooms within Talos Castle. One of them being the Room of Baptism, where Europa acquires the Poseidon armor. Check it out:


As you can tell, our concept design references many mythological elements and fantastic creatures that have also inspired several enemies. As an example, take a look at this concept art!


Speaking of enemies, all creatures within the castle are a blend of biological and mechanical parts, which makes for very unique enemies in Europa’s way. Meet the Elemental Tower, a foe with spinning shields and a spooky smile:


Finally, we have started to build the final feeling of combat regarding the enemies. Here is an example of how it looks so far:


We have some exciting news coming down this quarter, so be sure to stay tuned to our social media. This week we will send the backer surveys, so keep an eye on your email.
Thanks for all the constant support!

9 Years Of Shadows is an in-development metroidvania which features music from Michiru Yamane, Manami Matsumae, and Norihiko Hibino, who worked on Castlevania, Mega Man and Metal Gear Solid respectively. This doesn't excite me, but I mention it in case it's appealing to you.

What does excite me is that 9 Years Of Shadows otherwise looks fab, due to richly detailed pixel art, glittering world design, and a sidekick that appears to be a teddy bear ghost.

Read more

Hello everyone!
As we near the end of Q3 of our development, we have wonderful news we’ve been dying to share with our amazing community.

As you may know, we’ve recently changed our pixel art to pixel perfect, which means a huge performance improvement for the game. That also means we upgraded Europa’s run and combo animations to fit this new style. Keep in mind your attack variations! Alternating between light and heavy attacks can knock an enemy off balance, and if you use a heavy attack as a finisher, it’ll become stronger!


But these are more than just combos; Europa’s elemental abilities are vital to progressing the game, as they unlock special areas and are also designed to battle specific enemies. For instance, enemies like these can only be destroyed through lightning, fire, water and earth respectively.


Speaking of enemies, we have also been working on some of the backer enemy designs you guys came up with! Now, Talos Castle is full of lore-infused characters that will make the story that much more interesting - and challenging as well!


Keeping the diverse elemental advantages and disadvantages in mind will be crucial to interact with your surroundings and be ready for combat at the same time, especially knowing how to switch between them to make the most out of Europa’s powers.

And we couldn’t have an update without some gorgeous art pieces from a couple of Talos’ areas; here’s a glimpse of the castle’s entrance and the water area, where Europa's journey will take many twists and turns!


Speaking of twists, there’s nothing that gives us bigger goosebumps than the newest fire area track. You can feel just how the stakes get higher for Europa and Apino as they venture into this blazing labyrinth while time is ticking. Check it out!

Tracks like this get us extremely excited, especially knowing we’ll be working with talents of Manami Matsumae, Michiru Yamane and Norihiko Hibino’s caliber! Do you like what their characters look like in-game?


Lastly, make sure you’re on the lookout for Future Games Show, Gamescom edition this Thursday, and tune in during the event for a special treat!


If you’re as thrilled about Europa’s adventure as we are, don’t forget to wishlist 9 Years of Shadows! You can also join our Discord where you can talk with other fans.

Stay tuned for more updates coming soon!

The Halberd Team