SCHiM Review: Jumping Through Shadows To Find Yourself

Reviewed On: Nintendo Switch
Also Available On: Xbox, PS4/5, and PC
Price: $24.99 USD
Developer: Ewoud & Nils
Publisher: Extra Nice
Release Date: July 18th, 2024

Please Note: A review code was provided for this review but does not influence the opinions stated here.

Video games have been on an absolute roll this year from new titles, remakes and remasters, and more. A bunch of the bigger ones from this year so far are from the indie and AA scene, while a few being from the AAA market. I have played so many indies this year that I loved, and while I have loved AAA titles this year too, 6 of my top 10 games from this year are indies or AA titles. Whether that lasts, I am not sure with the lineup of all titles I am wanting to play throughout the end of 2024 still. Indies and AA titles (and I have stated this for a while) are honestly the backbone of the gaming industry and this year has been extremely solid proof of that. SCHiM is another indie that was created by very few people and is a great title that shouldn’t be overlooked by fans of indie adventures.

The story of the game is actually pretty simple yet there are different themes that are talked about. Basically, for most of the game the shadow has been separated from your human and you need to find a way to get back to them. Like I said, there are deeper themes and concepts scattered throughout the title such as the idea of giving up your dreams to find a stable job. Other themes like depression, loneliness, hope, protection, love, and much more are all in the game but none are ever completely pushed for too long. These are hinted at by different NPCs or your main character, but never talked about in the game. The game has zero words that are spoken and there are even very few words throughout the adventure. The only time when you see words are finding an item or showing a tutorial. Show not tell stories are great in my book if they are done correctly, and this one masterfully did it.

The gameplay is extremely simple where you are a shadow that needs to blend into the shadows in order to complete a variety of levels. There are 65 levels where the length of each of these levels are varied. Most of them are between two (2) and five (5) minutes with an occasional long one that could take up to 10 minutes to complete. The game isn’t long at all, it took me about 3 hours to beat the levels, so it doesn’t require much of a time commitment. It could be much longer, if you want to 100% all of the collectable items and objects, but I didn’t 100% the game. Each of the game’s levels have an end point that you need to get to, but there is no one set path that you must take to get there. There is a clear path that you are guided towards, but definitely not a required one to take. Here is an example of an opening for a longer level that is in the game that shows many different situations you may need to complete.

You need to get from Point A to Point B in each level, which is sometimes easier said than done. In order to complete this task you have to solve puzzles, find collectables, jump through shadows, and more to get to the end of said level. It isn’t ever a straight line either, always zig-zagging your way through the shadows that are around you. You have to hide in the shadows and cannot be in the light for long. There is no “death” in the game, as you just go back to another shadow close to you if you are in the light for too long. Throughout the levels, using objects to your advantage is key. Some of these include signs that can send you flying, moving cars, animals, and objects, bounce pads, and much more. Here is an example of what part of a level looks like.

Occasionally, you will be able to find an object that has been separated from a shadow and you can reunite them. Sometimes, they unlock brand new paths that may have been inaccessible previously, while other times its just a new scene that occurs. I will be completely honest and say some of these are really tricky to find and a lot of them seem to be really off the beaten path and not easily found throughout the levels. I got a bit more than 20% of the objects in the game which I feel sad about. I thought I was getting a lot of them in the game, until I checked the level select and saw how much I missed. I thought I explored the levels enough, but I was clearly mistaken about that. Thankfully, through level select you can easily go back in and see if you can find what was missed. The gameplay is easy to understand and complete, but it will take a master to 100% the title.

Personally, my absolute favorite aspect of SCHiM was the artistic style and all of the beautiful colors that the game offers. I just couldn’t get enough of this beautiful scenery and with each of the levels offering a different locations, it was just so stunning and beautiful. None of the levels are like another one, with places like a zoo, a museum, a supermarket, a golf course, a park, beaches, train stations, and so much more there are so many diverse visuals that the game never will get old to the eye. Sometimes, I would just put the console down and stare at the beautiful scenery that the game offers you. Some of the colors of SCHiM are below, but there are also others that are in the game that I am not going to spoil here. The Switch OLED also makes the colors and visuals pop even more. The art in the game may not be AAA graphically impressive, but games that know how to pull off a good visual don’t need to push graphics for it to look stunning!

Though the art may be absolutely terrific, the music and audio design is unmemorable. The music and audio design within the game is well crafted, but I don’t remember much of it whatsoever. The feeling the music provides matches the overall feeling in the game nicely. It is calming and zen music most of the time, but it always blends with the vibes of the specific level being played. You aren’t hearing the same jingle or sound on repeat as each level is different, which is very appreciated. I will say, the sound design of the objects in the game are nice such the animal noises, cars honking on the road, lights turning on, postcard racks spinning, and more which make the world feel truly alive around you. I enjoyed the game’s audio feel a lot, even if nothing was super memorable with it; unlike its beautiful artistic style that is just so beautiful and memorable.

Playing on the Switch, you might expect games to run a little bit worse than other counterparts at this point in time. However, the game runs like absolute butter on the Nintendo Switch and I couldn’t be happier with it. It had a solid performance of running at 60 frames per second and I only saw tiny dips during the last big part of the game. The visuals were really crisp and clear as well with attention to detail never being compromised by the Switch version. I played the game in handheld 95% of the time since I have the OLED screen, and man did it look beautiful. Docked mode looked good too, but the OLED screen really makes the game look so much better.

I didn’t have any crashes, which is better than some bigger AAA in this day and age. In terms of bugs or problems that I had, there were only a couple of small ones. In a few of the levels, the camera angles you have to work with are not always super helpful or effective in terms of trying to find out where to go next. It’s rare, but it does happen. Also, there is no map or way to look at the entire level at once to find the hidden items, and some of them are hidden extremely well. If you are going for 100% in the game, it will take you a bit to find all of them which feels a tad grindy. You can see some of the level at once, but not the entire thing in a zoomed out mode. This is why I just got the ones I found through my playthrough normally. None of these issues ever made me turn the game off but it was enough for me to say I wasn’t going to 100% the title.

Has this been my favorite indie game that I have played all year? Unfortunately, it is not, but it definitely is in my top 10 indies thus far. So many indies have come out and many more are on their way, so I cannot say at this point if it remains there, but it is still a game that I really liked regardless. In terms of the game as a whole, if you like adventure titles, beautifully looking games. or fans of indies built by a small team; don’t pass on it. Being $25 dollars at around 3 hours for a basic run may seem a bit high, but the level of polish and love that went into crafting this title is one that is worth the price tag. If you are on PC, SCHiM has a demo available and I highly recommend checking it out for some of the offerings the game has. I am getting the physical copy of the game to have it permanently in my collection. SCHiM isn’t perfect, but it is a beautiful looking title that also has enough content to make the purchase worth it if you are willing to jump through the shadows.

Review Score: 8/10