If there weren’t already enough very promising indie, or non-indie, Metroidvanias in development, here’s another one for your radar. Shade Protocol, a Kickstarter smash which pummelled its $40,000 target in only 25-minutes before going on to make $375,000, looks very exciting indeed.
At today’s Secret Sauce Showcase – which you can see all the trailers from here – fresh gameplay footage was shared of the game and its shaping up delightfully.
A 2D cyber-fantasy with “precision combat, fluid mobility and an intricate narrative”, players will play as Zura, humanity and free-willed machines last hope. The games pixel art is gorgeous and its animations look smooth, fluid and precise.
The game will allow players to seamlessly switch between two modes, dawn and shade, which will shake up the gameplay and combat which features parries, counters and executions. There will also be an arsenal of musical weapons including a spear, axe and chakram.
Shade Protocol will be coming to PC, XBOX, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch in the future. Physical editions for console are still available via the Kickstarter page, even though the original backing window has ended.
The indie Metroidvania scene is thriving as of late, we still have one of my most anticipated games of the year, Silver Pines and more to come in 2026. However, this year we will finally get to play a new entry in one of the series that coined the genre’s name. Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse will be releasing on all platforms on October, 15 2026. Meanwhile, a mysterious Metroid Ravenous was recently rated in Brazil. Could we really get both in the same year?
Shade Protocol has been immediately added to my Steam wishlist, will it be added to yours? What other Metroidvania titles are on your radar this year? Let us know in the comments below or join the friendly and active Gamer Social Club Discord to chat with fellow gamers about all your favourite Metroidvania games.
