Synopsis:
Play with shadows using your imagination to solve brain twisting platforming puzzles as you unfold a journey of loss, nostalgia and acceptance.
Publisher: Alcon Interactive Group
Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
Also available for: PlayStation 4, Xbox, PC, Nintendo Switch, iOS
Developer: Playbae
Programming, Design & Production: Nakul Verma 3D Art & Animation: Wala Interactive
2D Character Art & Animation: Ujjal, Tamal
Music & Sound Effects: Vishwas, Sam Dutton-Taylor
In My Shadow is an indie title based around the use of shadows to solve logic puzzles. It tells the story of Bella, a young lady who has had a falling out with her family and finds herself in a struggle to reply to a series of messages from her estranged family.
The story is filtered through the game with small cutscenes after every few levels. The story is one of loss and change. We see Bella taking small things from dogs, brothers, and family for granted. Each set of levels is contained in different rooms in the house, 50 in total, 15 per room. The drama around the family grows from room to room. The game runs through Bellas’s memories, and we see a person conflicted with how she acted and wishing that things were different. An underlying desire to change the past, we have all known. Unfortunately, the quality of the animation and the story itself cannot break away from the poorer gameplay elements.
The gameplay uses shadows to create platforms to create a path to collect the items and finish the stage while avoiding dangerous presents such as saws and spikes. The stages consist of various items such as boxes, desks, chairs, and even breakable platform items. Each object has a unique aspect; chairs can allow for multiple steps, desks make more extended platforms, and deformed boxes allow one to jump before collapsing. The movement and gameplay were not strong. Sometimes items in the level didn’t appear on walls, creating invisible items to destroy your character and more than a few instances where I could not land on the item intended due to weird glitches. Movement and jumping often felt clunky and didn’t suit the maneuverability required for many puzzles.
The graphics were basic and underwhelming, while the animations for the cutscenes take on a weird, uncanny valley feel. The game could do with a decent polish, as the higher resolutions on PlayStation 5 shine a light on the graphical impurities. The rough edge in the game and the animation is easily seen when playing or watching the cutscenes. The music is also underwhelming. A basic melody is played and never really changes throughout the conflict or levels.
At first, the game was fun, but the frustrations and lack of polish showed through early. Hidden dangers caused me frustration and made my enjoyment of the title falter. While the story was interesting, the developers could have expressed it in a better way. The short clips and strange animation stylings took away from the underlying drama and story of the game. Unfortunately, this title hasn’t lived up to its potential in my eyes.
