In My Shadow is an environmental puzzle game developed by Playbae, an indie studio in India with only two games released at the moment (its debut, ZigZag Fidget, came out for mobile phones in 2018).
In My Shadow it came out in April for the PC, and in late September it was released for the Nintendo handheld.
It’s not a Rasmus song, unbelievably.
SHADOWS FROM THE PAST
Before starting to play, In My Shadow It already presents us on its home screen to our protagonist -which according to the official page is called Bella, although I do not remember that the game has mentioned it at any time- who we only see from the back writing a diary. During the story, Bella recalls sad moments in her life, presented through cinematic short cuts at the beginning and end of each chapter, and others distributed each couple of levels. In the immortal words of James Stephanie Sterling: “It’s an indie game about depression, because they all are. “
The gameplay in In My Shadow It is quite basic and consists of moving different objects in a 3D plane so that the shadows that they project on the walls allow us to overcome the obstacles on the way and collect the sheets of paper distributed throughout each level, since it is only possible to finish the level after getting them all. The challenge is increased by the fact that some objects can only move in predetermined directions or even not move. Of course, new mechanics are being introduced throughout the game, and as we progress, the matter will get even more spicy, with levels in which each object will project two shadows at the same time on the walls, or adding environmental traps or even portals. .
The difficulty curve feels natural and the escalation of the puzzles is never unfair, except for some specific moments of frustration (although as in many of these games too, many times I also wondered if I have passed the level like the devs They expected me to or if I just found a solution through trial and error and brute force).
But most of my deaths in the game were due to the performance on Switch, which to say that it is not the best is very short. TO In My Shadow It struggles to hold 30 fps at best, and at levels with more objects to control it seems to barely scratch 20, which is weird considering how small and unintelligible each level is. In a game that requires jumping with precision, with a framerate so low that at times you eat the control inputs, it is a cardinal sin. Also, sometimes the game hangs momentarily when a drawer breaks under your feet, and I don’t even have to explain why that’s a problem.
Even so, the game is quite short, consisting of only four areas with between 10 and 15 screens each and can be played quietly in about 3-4 hours, after which there is no reason to play it again.
GRAPHICS, PERFORMANCE AND MUSIC
[INSERTE AQUI SU CHISTE SOBRE DANIEL AGOSTINI]
At the presentation level, unfortunately In My Shadow leaves a lot to be desired. While the graphics in the game during the gameplay sections are quite correct, the visual style they chose to tell the story is quite ugly and amateurish, and that made it very difficult for me to get hooked. Which is a shame, because you can tell they put effort into it, but it’s impossible to take seriously what happens on screen when the characters look like something out of some Pixar short from the early 90s on the best of days. Interestingly, the devs seem to have improved as they developed the game because by the end they reached an almost acceptable level that made me wonder if it wasn’t that I just got used to the layouts after playing the full game, just to see my screenshots from hours before. and realize that nope, they were indeed as disturbing as I remembered.
Ah, in the options you can change the video quality for some reason, but at least I didn’t notice any difference.
The music is generic video game sad music, which in addition to being extremely monotonous does not pause at any time during gameplay or when navigating menus. Even the cinematics continue to play without cutting the track you were listening to during the previous level. Except for the last area that has a more recognizable and distinctive theme, I came to think that I had listened to the same track the entire game.
In conclusion
It really is very little that I end up taking from In My Shadow, a little game that unfortunately does not surprise or stand out at any time. Bella’s sentimental history and the clear affection that the people of PlayBae gave to her first “big” release cannot make up for the shortcomings it shows in basically all aspects of both gameplay and presentation. If you want a puzzle platformer, there are thousands of better alternatives.