Lost in Shadow, it keeps going and going...

Our fascination with shadows embarks at a very early age. As children we find the simplest of joys chasing a friends shadow or creating elaborate fictions with our hands amongst illuminated backdrops. We are also warned by our parents to fear what lurks in the shadows, as danger may lie in its darkness. Hudson Entertainment's Lost in Shadow tugs at these very notions, evoking a sense of wonder and nostalgia that harkens back to both the joys and fears of youth. It’s quite surprising to think that humanities dark passanger hasn't lent itself to game much sooner.

Not heavy on narrative, Lost in Shadow still delivers an engrossing experience with its mystifying atmosphere.  The story opens with a boy imprisoned at the top of tower that stretches to the clouds. An ominous figure in black approaches summoning a magic blade to cut the boy’s very shadow from his body. As the shadow lies helplessly separated, the mysterious figure takes hold of the boy’s shadow and casts it off the side of the tower to the unknowing depths below.  As the shadow of the boy is awoken by what looks like a shadow fairy, named Spangle, the premise sets in quickly: climb the tower and reunite the shadow with its body.

At its core Lost in Shadow is a pretty straight forward 2D platformer heavy on puzzles with some light action and RPG elements thrown in the mix. The mixture of these elements is nothing new, but the uniqueness in which Lost in Shadow implements these standards makes it a memorable experience.  As the shadow of the boy, making your way up the tower usually requires the collection of three keys to disengage a shadow wall that impedes your ascension to the next level.  Sadly this begins to wear thin as Lost in Shadow trudges on. Early on as subtle new play mechanics are introduced the game stays fresh; the puzzles are engaging, requiring proper manipulation of both light sources and objects to create the right shadows to advance. But after a few hours you’ve pretty much seen everything this game has to offer.  

Like any good story, pacing is a key to keeping the audience engaged. This is what Lost in Shadow suffers from the most. The game has a fantastic design. The puzzles are perfectly balanced, never reaching excruciating levels of frustration. The platforming is responsive; once you come to grips with that fact you are just a boy and not Mario. The clumsiness of his jumps reminds you of his innocence. Combat while functional is a little mundane, but helps add life to the tower’s dreary world. It’s just that Lost in Shadow relies too much on these same gimmicks over and over. Only when they start to wear thin does the game, at what turns out to be roughly its halfway point, interject a new and quite frankly awesome mechanic. But like the rest of the game, this too becomes just another crutch for Lost in Shadow to lean on well past its novelty, especially when it forces backtracking through the tower near the end of the game.

Lost in the Shadow has a great premise that regrettably is muddled with just outright horrible pacing. Too often I found myself wondering when this game was going to be over. I really enjoyed the game at first, with its clever puzzles and enthralling dark fantasy vibe, but by the end ultimately began to loath it for its repetitive nature. Proof that too much of good thing really isn’t all that good. Had a third of the game and tedious backtracking been left on the cutting room floor Lost in Shadow would easily stand as one of the best Wii games period. Unfortunately this is not the case, but if you can look past its flaws there is a wonderful adventure to be had – just pace yourself.