In My Shadow

In My Shadow is an uncomplicated story with complicated puzzles. The project is definitely not for everyone, but about the stage of life that we all went through - childhood. Recommended.

In My Shadow is a platform title that hides a challenging and interesting game behind its beautiful and calm aesthetic. It will make us eat our minds on more than one occasion to successfully finish the level set and that leaves us wanting to continue playing to see what awaits us on the next screen. It can be a bit repetitive, but overall it's a very enjoyable game with a powerful message inside.

I really wish I'd been more involved with In My Shadow, but the great core concept isn't enough to sustain an uninvolved story and shaky artwork. While the puzzles themselves have their virtues, the platforming leaves something to be desired, resulting in a disconnected and incomplete set.

At first, the game was fun, but the frustrations and lack of polish showed through early.

I love the idea of In My Shadow. It has a somewhat intriguing storyline and unique gameplay that show a lot of potential. Bella is not the deepest of main characters, but I did find myself drawn into her story initially. I also really did like the idea of moving objects to solves puzzles found in the shadows. It is an enjoyable game to play, but I just wish there was more to it than what we received.

In My Shadow is a platform puzzle with a good premise, interesting mechanics, but it's not that fun in practice. The idea of manipulating objects to use their shadows on multiple planes is fantastic, but the puzzles end up requiring a lot of trial and error, which becomes tedious and frustrating. It has an emotional backstory, but it hasn't been explored very well, leaving many questions unanswered.

When doing our In My Shadow review, we found it’s the kind of indie game that is so poor it becomes interesting. The layers of incompetence compound on themselves to make something worth talking about and is dense with examples of what not to do when making a game. At times, it’s comical that something like In My Shadow can exist and cost more than some original Xbox games in the Xbox Store.

In the end, In My Shadow just isn't very compelling. The lack of control when jumping is a bad combination for both the finicky object placement mechanics and the precision needed to make those important leaps. Meanwhile, the story lacks focus, which makes the ending even more unsatisfying. The game may be fine for those looking for a platforming challenge, but everyone else won't miss much by skipping this one.

In My Shadow has all the fundamentals of a puzzle game, but feels lack-luster when up against its rival puzzle platformers that have been released this year. Despite housing an engaging story, with a unique premise and lots of levels, it just feels mundane, tedious and repetitive to play, especially with its punishing difficulty curve.

All things considered, this is a brilliant first game from developer Playbae. It has some problems, but most of those can be ignored while platforming. The puzzle aspect of In My Shadow is solid, and the story has a lot of heart and thought in it. That being said, there were a few problems with gameplay that made some of the puzzles less enjoyable. Also, the puzzles are very difficult, which makes this game a little less accessible for those who aren’t especially good at platforming. If you plan to pick up this title, prepare for some feels.