White Shadows

 PC
Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. Noisy Pixel
    Dec 7, 2021
    85
    White Shadows doesn’t miss a beat and has players uncover its dark narrative through clever platforming and light puzzles. There are moments where the pacing slows down, but the nightmare of this adventure is expertly delivered without heavy dialogue. By the end, developer Monokel had me questioning what the hell I had just experienced, but I engaged during every moment.
  2. SECTOR.sk
    Jan 24, 2022
    80
    White Shadows offers black and white Orwellian dystopia with great level design and smooth gameplay. It's a shame the game is so short.
  3. Hey Poor Player
    Dec 8, 2021
    80
    I really didn’t know what to expect from White Shadows, but I’m glad I had the chance to cover it. It’s a very ambitious first effort by Monokel, and it doesn’t pull any punches. While the difficulty of the game was a bit top-heavy, I still enjoyed my time with it. If you enjoy puzzle platformers and don’t mind some truly haunting imagery, I’d definitely give it a shot. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to see if there’s another ending I have yet to unlock after unintentionally becoming the “destroyer of worlds”…
  5. PC Invasion
    Dec 7, 2021
    75
    Familiar but still containing enough of its own identity to stand out among similar titles, White Shadows is a compelling, albeit brief experience. It could have done more with its gameplay and commentary, but the game is mostly a success.
  6. AusGamers
    Dec 20, 2021
    70
    When viewed through a cinematic lens, White Shadows becomes an easy experience to recommend. The wonderful art direction, cinematography, animation (for the most part) and other elements do come together to create a cohesive and visually surprising journey. There’s variety here, quite a bit of it considering the very short runtime. So even though it doesn’t quite emerge, fully formed, from the shadows of Limbo, Abe’s Odyssey, or Another World, White Shadows certainly makes its mark. However fleeting that might be.
  7. Jeuxvideo.com
    Dec 10, 2021
    65
    White Shadows contains a seductive architecture and a perfectly disturbing atmosphere which owes a lot to its sound design. But the trip is not contemplative enough to overcome the lack of energy from which the level design suffers. The game draws on inspirations already very often exploited without managing to stand out during its journey of only 2.5 hours.
  8. TrueGaming
    Dec 14, 2021
    60
    White Shadows does a good job of representing a dark industrial dystopia with an interesting choice of music to accompany some scenes. Yet, some narrative decisions are incoherent, and gameplay is lacking.
  9. New Game Network
    Dec 14, 2021
    60
    White Shadows is a middling puzzle-platformer with interesting Orwellian themes. Although its black and white world design is commendable, it is limited by bland gameplay and an ungainly eleventh-hour exposition dump.
  10. Hardcore Gamer
    Dec 7, 2021
    60
    The amount of criticism dished out here may paint a negative picture, but White Shadows is by no means a terrible product and so evidently houses a clear visual style and competent-enough execution of puzzle-platforming. Yet for how little it attempts to break from tired conventions or do anything that doesn’t border on aggravating with its pacing, it’s what the game doesn’t do where most of one’s response will likely linger. Maybe the conclusion that it’s all too ordinary and forgettable is bizarrely what is most poignant. That little is offered in the other direction that’s in anyway damaging to the experience or worthy of ridicule, yet neither does anything warrant an expression any better than a figurative shrugging of the shoulders. In the end White Shadows, in all its many off-kilter interspersing of music pieces, plays things safe. A fine, if by-the-numbers entrant whose uninspired delivery we’ve all found ourselves tiredly accustomed to.
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  1. Rock, Paper, Shotgun
    Dec 13, 2021
    So, some of White Shadows' individual parts are flawed, but I did really enjoy my time with it. If you don't really mind the game's simple puzzles and you're willing to ignore the exposition dump at the end, I'd recommend it. White Shadows offers two hours of creative, chilling designs, joyous musical set pieces and enough screen-shottable sights to fill your hard drive.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 14 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 14
  3. Negative: 3 out of 14
  1. hardkot
    Feb 22, 2022
    5
    Inside about Birds

    I like platformers, but I am neutral to Limbo and Inside. So I don't expect anything special from this game. But I    Inside about Birds

    I like platformers, but I am neutral to Limbo and Inside. So I don't expect anything special from this game. But I wasn't ready that this game will be so bad and disappointing.

    Visual (6/10) First look was - ok, something interesting, but after some minute I understand how I was wrong. Models are really bad together with darkness and blur it was painful to play. I feel real discomfort, I don't like this experience, even if it was designed as "big art idea". Music is great, but it's timeless classic. It fits everything and it helps feel the atmosphere. Interface and style are also average, I feel myself playing alpha demo version of Inside sequel.

    Gameplay (5/10) Gameplay is too boring. No interesting puzzles, the main challenge in game - bad hitboxes, something like in Oddworld Odissey, when you can't jump normally. So this is the only challenge. No new mechanics or something interesting. Feels like engine alpha demo. it's platformer and you should do your best to make something boring in this genre.

    Story (4/10) Story is very dumb and abstractive. I'm sure they just didn't find something interesting and decide just to leave small parts of abstract story in game, so all intelligent guys can write: "Masterpiece, who can't understand this - dumb". So no jokes just not try to search sense here, it doesn't have anything. Characters - even more understandable than story, but also frustrating.

    The only good thing for this game - it lasts 2 hours, but should you play even this few hours? I think definitely not, but I believe devs can create something more interesting, because at least they tried to make design interesting, that's the only point why review in mixed zone.    … Full Review »
  2. acka47
    Jan 12, 2022
    9
    Excellent game for the first one by a small team. Great atmosphere, sound and story. I played it through in one go.
  3. Kichi
    Jan 11, 2022
    8
    Given that this game is the first one from Monokel Games and they created this with just a hand-full of people, this is a solid entry imo.Given that this game is the first one from Monokel Games and they created this with just a hand-full of people, this is a solid entry imo.
    Yes, it does not come with a sophisticated gameplay, but if you are like me and enjoy good stories and artful experiences you will not be disappointed.
    The audio deserves a special mention here I think. All in all this was a nice play and I felt well entertained. If you like the likes of Limbo, Inside and Little Nightmares, this will fit just nicely in your library.    … Full Review »
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