Sky Shadow is a clone of the 1981 Defender arcade video game published by MacSoft for the Macintosh in 1990.

[2] It was programmed by Patrick Buckland who also wrote Crystal Quest.

Sky Shadow was critically acclaimed when originally released, featuring detailed graphics and fast-paced gameplay.

[3] Macworld praised Sky Shadow's graphics and sound effects as well as its gameplay, stating that "Sky Shadow is an engaging, fun, and highly addictive game".

Macworld criticized its stability, stating it "often crashes", as well as its "severe penalties for minor mistakes" in that it's easy to die, whereupon the player loses all their points.