Shadow Blade: Reload guide - How to hack and slash with the best of them

Shadow Blade: Reload is the kind of action-platformer that would have happily sucked up hours of your time on a console a few years back.Now, you can take it with you wherever you go, and its mobile conversion is not too shabby at all.

To help you out, we’ve got some great tips and tricks on how to get the edge in battle.

Get into the rhythm

Shadow Blade: Reload’s controls are pretty simple. A virtual d-pad lets you move left and right, while three buttons dictate slashing, jumping, and throwing a shuriken at your foes.

The key here is to get into the rhythm - find a good pace and stick to it. A combination of running and jumping, while slicing and dicing at just the right moment, makes all the difference.

Gaining those all-important high ranks often comes down to speed, so keep, well, speedy.

Look out!

Just because you move fast doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look out for obstacles. Keep an eye out for spikes in particular, as they’ll instantly kill you, which is obviously pretty bad news. At least the checkpoints aren’t too far apart.

Know your foe

The basic enemies are pretty easy to take down but early on, you’ll come across Shadow Hunters and their heat seeking variants.

One type shoots at you, immediately killing you if they hit you, but the heat seeking variants are even trickier. If you dodge the heat seeking missile long enough, it’ll explode, but it’s not easy!

Focus on taking these guys out first, above all others.

Find the collectibles

Look out for special collectibles which are usually off the beaten track in each level. They go towards your final score, which means a better ranking for you.

Don’t die

Ok, no one wants to die anyway, but dying negatively affects your ranking so try extra hard not to!

Have tips of your own to share? Let us know in the comments!