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Lost in a sea of rolling explosions and gunfire littering the E3 show floor sits a curious little puzzle platformer that a large percentage of gamers will simply dismiss as just another Wii game. It is next to impossible to describe the joy and heart-wrenching sorrow I felt as I played Hudson's Lost In Shadow for the first time, but I am dedicated to sharing the experience with all of you.
Lost In Shadow is an inventive side-scrolling game that takes a hefty amount of inspiration from Echochrome in its level design, but that's as far as the similarities go. You play as a shadow ripped from its body and thrown from an ominous tower. By manipulating shadow and light, you must climb the tower to eventually re-unite with your body, and save the suffering souls you find along the way. I'll let the trailer smooth out the idea for you before I continue.
Rather than taking advantage of the rich polygonal environment, the action occurs in the background. This is a rough thing to adjust to while playing the game, but only because it forces you to take in the entire surrounding, not just the steps immediately in front of the player character. Manipulating light is the key to each puzzle, whether it be rotating platforms to recast shadows or absorbing light itself.
Ico-like isolation echoes through the ancient foreground and creates a mysterious tension as the shadow boy climbs steadily higher. As he progresses, he recovers parts of his memory and gains a little more of his corporeal self. The loneliness and memory collection strikes the same chord in me that Fragile Dreams did with its hopeless exploration, but I readily admit that I am a sucker for empty ruins and archaic machinery.
Of course, Lost In Shadow isn't trying to completely depress you about the future. It is a puzzle platformer through and through, and was designed by the same team that made Kororinpa: Marble Mania. Physics, puzzles, and quirky level design are key, and unlike Kororinpa, the mechanics seem solid and are certainly engaging.
While Lost In Shadow is pretty much everything I want out of a game at the moment, playing it in the deafening roar of the South Hall at E3 was such a bittersweet moment for me. The day before, I watched the designer demo the game to another outlet, and when my appointment date arrived I just wanted to hug him for making something so inventive and original on a console full of party games and shovelware. But I knew I'd only terrify the man, and no amount of explaining through his interpreter would have kept security off of me…. Just like no amount of hoping is going to convince the majority that Wii games not made my Nintendo are worth playing.
Lost In Shadow launches this Fall with an official date still forthcoming. Hopefully it isn't too far away, since I need to play all of this game to make sure my glowing praise from a 20 minute demo isn't entirely misplaced.
