As far as 3D platformer go, I’m not their biggest fan. This game hasn’t changed that, it did however show me that a nice mechanic can make any genre more interesting.
During the opening cutscene, I was left a little … well confused as to why the crazy monkey man wanted with all the shadows, and how mine wasn’t stolen which was lucky, as if he’d gotten mine, this would just be another platforming games.
I did expect some more interesting puzzle solving from this game, as independently controlling both the character and his shadow, could have let me do so much more than I was allowed too, admittedly there might be more challenge later in the game.
As far as the level design goes, it was interesting to see how they combined the two different platforming games, one based in the “real-world” while the other lurked in the shadows. With one half of the character inhabiting each world. Playing them concurrently, is a bit of a pain maybe if I had a friend this would have been a nice party game (albeit a small party … of two) to sit and play.
This idea had so much raw potential that remained sadly unutilized as far as I progressed. Variable lighting and using it to manipulate and environment would have been much more up my street, than flipping all the levers I could see, moving all the boxes and boarding some lifts. Even having more camera control would have been nice, maybe allowing me to split my characters further apart to achieve greatness.
In a crowded market for indie games, this sadly doesn’t stand out on PC. As there are many titles doing something similar but better, as this style needed more than just the quirky mechanic and interesting ideas. As much as the game looks like something from the mind of Tim Burton, it feels like he designed the controls, I’d didn’t even want to approach this with my keyboard, and if the controller is anything to go by, it’s a good job too.
All of this said, the game isn’t the worst thing I’ve played. And I’m sure with some extra love and money, this idea could be something spectacular, maybe one day we could be thinking with shadows. If I had to put a number on it (which I do) I’d say the 3 would be an ideal number for it. As the idea is interesting, and the mechanic is fun to mess around with, but overall the puzzles and controls let it down.
Read more about the game here http://invisioncommunity.co.uk/2015/10/09/shadow-puppeteer-egx-2015-first-thoughts-of-pc-version/
Also this game is best played via co-op this is why we felt strongly about getting this game online in some form.
After playing the same game on Wii U during Eurogamer (EGX) we can say that the controls are a lot better and the way you play the game is much easier and more intuitive, we shall come back to this game with another review for the Wii U at a later date in 2016.
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
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