SF Kosmo
Al Jazeera Special Reporter
Steel Assault is a retro-indie style action side-scroller in the vein of games like Shatterhand, Ninja Gaiden, and the games of Treasure. It has been in development for a very long time, since at least 2014. Initially conceived as a strictly 8-bit NES-style homage to Shatterhand, it was gradually expanded and reworked into the loose 16-bit retro style game you see today. The art from the original incarnation was given to another team and eventually turned into the recently released Cyber Shadow.
Now, 6 years after its Kickstarter debut, a demo containing the first level (up to, but not including the boss), is live on Steam.
Steel Assault is hard. Really hard. It's not cheap, you always know what hit you, but it throws a lot your way and it's easy to get overwhelmed. The demo contains two difficulties, Normal, which is pretty challenging, and Arcade which is merciless.
But not impossible.