Cynthia: Hidden in the Moonshadow

Deep in the mountains of a largely conflict-free region, a peaceful village lives in harmony with the nature surrounding it. The citizens of the village go about their daily lives, and each person contributes to the shared survival of the community. Then one day, an ominous darkness approaches the village from the north, deeper into the mountains. When the blackness reaches the village, chaos ensues as it claims the souls of anyone it touches. This is the world of Cynthia: Hidden in the Moonshadow.

This short, narrative-heavy stealth action-adventure game is from a single developer/publisher: Tomasz Halajko. Despite completing work on the game mostly on his own, Cynthia: Hidden in the Moonshadow is a fully-featured game with impressive graphics, engaging gameplay, and a powerful story to tell. If that sounds like a game you could get lost in, then here is everything you need to know about Cynthia: Hidden in the Moonshadow.

A New Heroine

First, we had Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn, then we got Kena from Kena: Bridge of Spirits, and now we have Cynthia Stranborg. This powerful young woman is quick, clever, and highly skilled with all of her hunter’s tools. Players will become one with their environments as they sneak through the shadows to get the drop on possessed guards that patrol the items Cynthia seeks.

They’ll also make use of Cynthia’s athleticism to jump and climb up buildings and obstacles to get a better vantage point for her bow. With all of these things considered, Cynthia might be the newest video game character to join the ranks of other iconic heroines, but she is definitely skilled enough to stand on her own.

A Vibrant World Full of Wonder

The presentation of Cynthia: Hidden in the Moonshadow is immediately striking. Bright colors and a mix of cell shading and realism are reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. And, also like that game, Cynthia: Hidden in the Moonshadow has a ton of intractability throughout its environments. You’ll watch lush trees and foliage whizz by during the day when you use one of the game’s many zip lines, and use magic-infused objects to distract enemies when you need to sneak past them.

And that’s just the beginning. You’ll discover even more ways to interact with the world around you as you get deeper into Cynthia’s mission. The darkness that threatens to swallow her world can only be quelled by combining several magic artifacts, and that is exactly what Cynthia sets out to do.

Fully Voice-Acted

Most games of this size rely on text screens for drawn-out conversations, but now Cynthia: Hidden in the Moonshadow. This game is fully voice-acted, so you will hear every conversation and be drawn deeper into the story by the voice actors’ performances.

Pros

• Enthralling story
• Well-balanced game mechanics
• Bright, eye-pleasing graphics
• Great voice acting

Cons

• The game is quite short at just around 2 hours
• An occasionally uncooperative camera