When you think of something lurking in the shadows, it probably doesn’t create a pleasant image. Serial killers, demons, or untoward individuals are some examples you might think of if prompted. That’s not the case in developers Ewoud van der Werf and Nils Slijkerman’s SCHiM, though, where the titular creature is, instead, adorable.
In this world, a SCHiM is the soul and spirit of an object or living thing. Yep, that’s right. Everything has one, whether that’s a car, a clock, a human being, or whatever else you can think of. And crucially, one should never be separated from their SCHiM. So, of course, that’s precisely what’s happened here. There wasn’t any other premise given that lore, was there?
So, it’s up to you to guide the SCHiM back to its human before it’s too late. The catch is that our little frog-like hero can only move from shadow to shadow. It can leap from one to another, but walking along terra firma bathed in light for too long is a no-go. And, just because the creature is inky black, that doesn’t make it a shadow. You still have to watch out for everyday hazards like cars.
Hop to it
To progress, you must solve puzzles to open up new shadow paths to travel down. One example includes switching on a generator to inflate one of those wavey people to create a shadow ‘bridge’ to leap across. Another sees our SCHiM hero causing a parking barrier to malfunction to create a gridlock of shadows to dart through.
None of it looks particularly difficult, and that’s not a bad thing, especially since the developer describes the game as being a relaxing experience. And I certainly get that vibe from the aesthetic and the few glimpses I’ve heard of the soundtrack. We’ll start with discussing the art style since that’s the thing that’ll catch most eyes, including mine.
Playing out from an isometric perspective where you can rotate the camera, SCHiM is delightfully minimalist. Everything is drawn with just enough detail to be recognizable and avoid feeling soulless, but no more than that. And that, combined with the color scheme design, makes for a chilled vibe.
SCHiM’s minimal art style looks and sounds lovely
Each level only uses a few colors, although they vary between each. One might be predominately blue, while another could feature a lot of orange. It’s a neat idea because it makes each stage feel distinct while keeping SCHiM fresh longer. One color could easily become one note, although many exceptions would dispute that notion, I appreciate.
And then there’s the soundtrack, which I can’t speak about in its entirety yet. Still, from the trailers, it sounds lovely. It appears to strike a nice balance between laid-back and jaunty, which does sound like an oxymoron. Check it out, though, and I’m sure you’ll hear what I mean.
I’m curious to try out SCHiM when it launches next week. Distinctive art styles always intrigue me and the shadow-hopping mechanics mixed with environmental puzzles is a cute concept. I’d love to see how complex and deep the developers have gone with it. The story also interests me, with each level having small tales to discover, I wonder if it manages to tug at the heartstrings more than I’m expecting.
SCHiM leaps out from the shadows on July 18th for PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.
Thank you for reading this article. For more interesting coverage of all things indie games, be sure to check out the links below.
- Into Indie Games Homepage
- Best Indie Games of 2024
- Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley Review
- Schim Walkthrough – All Collectibles Guide
- The Star Named EOS uses photography as a central mechanic to unravel an old family mystery
