For some time I’ve been curious about Lost in Shadow, a 2D platformer that takes place not on the platforms but on the shadows they cast. I finally had the opportunity to take a look, and it is shaping up to be a first rate game.
In Lost in Shadow the protagonist somehow loses his body but retains his shadow, enabling him to jump on the shadows of any nearby objects. He is also accompanied by a little creature that is able to manipulate some real world objects, making it possible to move items in the foreground to change their corresponding shadows. It is also possible at times to change the lighting; move a light bulb lower and the shadow raises up.
Each level involves finding a set of keys to open a door to the next level, requiring the player to explore and solve puzzles to reach inaccessible areas. In certain places it is possible to temporarily become a creature of light who can drag objects around in the foreground to rearrange shadows (presumably your little helper can’t do any heavy lifting).
Along the way you will find weapons to fight shadowy, red-eyed monsters. One level I saw involved a fast-paced chase in which you had to use flashes of light to slow down a giant shadow monster. It looked pretty cool.
Visually the game is quite striking. The look is reminiscent of Ico, with similar pretty, sun-washed ruins.
While many people have compared Lost in Shadow to Ico, because of the similar gameplay and look, the comparison does not hold in terms of storytelling. Cut scenes are made up of stills put together, which is underwhelming.
Clearly Lost in Shadow does not have anything approaching Ico’s budget, but while it is not the flashiest game, it has very solid game mechanics. I played through a level and found it’s a very well designed, entertaining game. Thinking in terms of the background in a game is rather odd, but one quickly gets used to it.
I’m happy Lost in Shadow’s release has been pushed back to January, as a small, elegant game like this could easily get lost in the holiday rush. It looks like it will be a lot of fun, and is one of the upcoming Wii games I’m most looking forward to.
