SCHiM Review

When it comes to games, a shadow could be many things. Playing as a hitman or ninja in a stealth game? The darkness becomes an advantage, an abstract tool in your arsenal that allows you to get the jump on your unsuspecting target. Or maybe you’re stuck in a haunted castle or abandoned house in a first-person horror title, at which point you might do all you can to stay in the light as terrors lurk in corners and threaten your sanity. But in the wholesome 3D platformer, SCHiM, shadows take on a whole new purpose — and a rather unique one at that — as you use them to jump your way through a colourful and lively Dutch-inspired world.

You play as a schim, a little frog-like (and blob-like) creature that is the soul and spirit of an object or living being — dogs, people, cardboard boxes, clotheslines, shopping carts, you name it, they all have schims that live inside their shadows. In this case, you’ve been with your human from childhood to adulthood, but after a series of unfortunate events, you’re suddenly separated from your person, so you must hop from shadow to shadow until you reach them and reunite. If you’ve ever watched the lovely and heartfelt films Homeward Bound or Toy Story 3, we’ve got a lot of the same adventurous vibes, funny moments, and emotional punches across this wordless tale.

SCHiM uses shadows in ways I would never have imagined, employing endless creativity to turn the most ordinary places into extraordinary jumpable playgrounds and giving everyday objects new functions. A beach umbrella becomes a slingshot, for example, sending you in any direction you choose. Powerlines are as bouncy as trampolines, letting you hop over fences and other obstacles. And have you ever seen those inflatable arm-flailing tube men? Even those give you a fun way to travel long distances. Every level ultimately feels like a culmination of the question, “Wouldn’t it be fun if…” and the result is a wacky and entertaining perspective on mundane life.

What’s particularly cool is that each level has a mix of static and moving shadows, like patches of darkness underneath a group of trees or the underbelly of a garbage truck that’s travelling from house to house. You can even hitch rides on flying seagulls and a family of marching ducks. Additionally, some levels use weather to create new challenges, one of my favourites being a thunderstorm with bursts of lightning creating new areas of darkness with every flash of light. Others feature changes in time, as you revisit a location first in the day and later at night, finding that the shadows have changed accordingly.

You’re not restricted to the whim of light, though, as the game gives you plenty of items to interact with and create your own shadows, like switching on a generator to power streetlights or dropping boxes from a machine’s automated claw. There are also hidden items around levels that will create new shading once you discover them, which can be especially helpful when there’s a large gap you need to cross.

The mouse and keyboard controls feel smooth and good to use all throughout, as jumps and interactions with objects are instantly responsive, and the camera is never in an awkward spot since you can rotate it to face any direction you want. Moving your schim is also easy to do mid-air, and the distance you travel is pretty predictable with each leap. Timing your jumps does become more difficult as you progress, with only one extra jump available after your initial hop, so planning accordingly is vital as you move from shadow to shadow. No worries if you get stuck out in the open, though, as you’ll simply be transported back to a recent shadow with no penalty. While making your way through a level can definitely take some trial and error, you’re not pressured to go at a certain pace, keeping the difficulty and cosy vibes perfectly balanced.

Aesthetically, SCHiM blew me away, using striking colour palettes to give each area a unique mood, bold lines to create a crisp, detailed environment, and polished animations to add liveliness to each scene. This art style pairs well with the chill music playing over each level, which somewhat reminded me of the relaxing tunes you’d find in a title like Animal Crossing. You’ll also hear plenty of well-crafted sound effects, like the soft splash that emits whenever you jump into a shadow, giving off a little extra flair when you stick the landing.

There were very few issues I ran into with SCHiM after playing through over 30 levels. I did have one instance where a street sign bugged out a bit, immediately transporting me to another far-away part of the level that I shouldn’t have been able to reach from that point. At other times, it became a bit confusing to figure out why my schim would be or wouldn’t be carried away when a moving shadow overlapped with a spot I was currently in, as it seemed a bit inconsistent over the course of my playthrough.

The game also had some missed opportunities to lean even more into its silly, wholesome vibes. As I mentioned, your schim can interact with items and people across the world, and oftentimes these lead to fun little results, such as making someone sneeze or tossing garbage outside of a trashcan. I only wish that there had been some mischievous, surprising, or more impactful ways to influence the world, as some of the interactions get a bit repetitive over time. Though you do get achievements for some of them, so it’s not all for nought.

SCHiM is a wonderfully imaginative take on using light and shadows in a platformer. I’ve never played anything like it, and I’m certain if you’re a fan of the genre, this is a worthy addition to your library. With so much variation in level design and a balanced progression of difficulty, it’s easy to get hooked on the adventure as you hop your way through this colourful world.