SCHiM

With its fine-line art style and minimalist color palette, SCHiM fuses the visual refinement of a wordless graphic novel with a fanciful platformer. It offers a panoramic vision of quotidian life that oddly put me in mind of Grand Theft Auto.

For a puzzler like this, some sections are surprisingly freeform when it comes to the route you can take to progress (occasionally this confuses the button that shows your objective, though). At times it feels like this freedom chafes with the potential for great puzzle design, like a level where you’re navigating by sparse light and few shadows, while cracks of lightning shift them dramatically… though it’s almost a non-factor as a navigational challenge. Even at only a couple of hours long, it can feel overstretched, but it’s well worth jumping into even so. [Issue#44, p.89]

I didn't have to jump over my shadow to give this rating: Even if SCHiM falls short of its ideas, the charming game treasure offers a great presentation, a beautiful story and a fun gameplay flow.

Schim is a nice little puzzle game that is quite relaxing to play. There's no stress and you can explore the surroundings as you wish - and there are often several different things to find. You might miss a little variety in the gameplay and perhaps a little ingenuity in the use of shadows and light, but overall it's a pleasant puzzle game with a good vibe and a nice minimalist visual style. So, if you're looking for a cosy little puzzle game, Schim is a good choice.

SCHiM looks absolutely fantastic, and its idea is innovative: you're a shadow who has become untethered from its human. But the goal of reuniting the pair is unfortunately more frustrating than it should be: while there are some enjoyable elements here, ultimately we were relieved when it was over.

Calm and aesthetically pleasing, SCHiM has good ideas for using shadows in 3D platforms, but doesn't make efficient use of them enough to stand out as it could.

SCHiM has moments where it lives up to the promise of its concept, and levels where fresh ideas and fun mechanics elevate the experience. Unfortunately, it also feels padded and simplistic for long stretches, and the narrative doesn't quite hang together. It looks great, but it's often frustrating, too.