We’ve seen a lot of great indie games releasing on the Wii U’s eShop the past years. Nintendo’s virtual store is a true success and it seems like a lot of developers are willing to port or create unique games for the platform. Shadow Puppeteer originally launched on PC back in 2014 but made it to the eShop this year. It’s great to have games like this on Wii U, although it’s not perfect, it offers a unique kind of fun.
A silent movie
Presentation is one of the game’s strengths. The story isn’t told by a narrative or voice, it actually plays like a modern silent movie. Meaning our protagonists won’t speak but will show the players what’s going on by using facial expressions. It’s a great story where a boy and his shadow are trapped in a mysterious world chased by the mysterious Shadow Puppeteer villain and his minions. It’s not a scary story and it’s rather straightforward to be honest but thanks to the aesthetics and presentation, it’s a game children would certainly like to play on dark Halloween-ish nights. The story itself isn’t that special but the developers really nailed the setting and atmosphere, transforming the plain story to one of the game’s highlights.
Unique gameplay
With the story comes a very unique game. In Shadow Puppeteer, you’ll need to control two characters, the boy and his shadow. This sounds easy but it offers a lot of variation. The boy lives in a 3D world so he can move in every direction while the shadow is a 2D character. It’s comparable to what Nintendo did with ‘The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Two Worlds’ but instead of controlling one Link, you control both the ‘real Link’ as the ‘2D Link’. It’s a concept that’s hard to explain on paper but it actually works surprisingly well. The most important decision you’ll need to make however is if you want to play the game on your own or invite a friend over to go on a co-op adventure. The game offers three open save-slots so you’re even able to try both.
Work together
If you play on your own, you’ll control both characters at once. Sounds hard but the controls are easy to understand and to master. Each character is controlled with an analogue stick and the four shoulder buttons are used as the action buttons to jump or interact with objects. You can use the GamePad or ProController to control your characters. As said before, it works great but you’ll need some time to get used to it. The developers knew these controls aren’t that standard so the first levels serve as an introduction to this mechanism so you’ll learn to control both characters in minutes.
The shadow is the easiest one to control since he plays in a 2D field. Jumping or interacting with objects is a lot easier in a plain 2D world. The boy on the other hand lives in a 3D world so you’ll be able to control him anywhere you want. This character is harder to control since the camera is often fixed at one point. Meaning it’s hard to see where you need to go sometimes. We’ve played the game solo and it’s possible to finish it on your own but be prepared for some tricky jumps and intuitive puzzles.
Local co-op is the way to go
That being said, the game is more enjoyable in local co-op. The developers decided to bring this game to Wii U since the console has an audience that enjoys playing local co-op games. When you play in co-op, each player will control one of the characters separately. Be warned however, if the characters wander off too far away from each other, you’ll die and need to restart from your last checkpoint. If you want to survive, you’ll need to communicate with the other player and time your jumps and interaction precisely. At first the game doesn’t offer that many challenges but the last level will demand all of your skills to survive. The game isn’t that long, it can be finished in 2 to 3 hours so it’s even possible to finish it during one gaming night with friends.
Technical flaws
The presentation and gameplay itself is strong but the technical aspect of the game isn’t always that strong. The game doesn’t run as smooth as other, comparable eShop games and the framerate tends to drop from time to time. It’s nothing game breaking but a framerate drop can definitely result in rough landings. It’s a shame the quality of the game isn’t always great. Same goes for the music. Most parts of the soundtracks are enjoyable while other tunes can become rather frustrating, especially during boss-fights. The quality of the soundtrack varies from great to not so good. All in all, Shadow Puppeteer has some truly great moments but the technical aspect isn’t always that strong.
| The good: | The bad: |
| + Great story told as a Silent movie | – Little too short |
| + Interesting mechanisms | – Technical flaws |
| + Great co-op experience |
Shadow Puppeteer is a very interesting game that combines 2D and 3D platforming into one new experience. Working with two separate characters is an interesting mechanism that opens up a lot of new possibilities. The game is filled with smart puzzles and solid gameplay. Too bad it suffers from some rather frustrating technical flaws. That being said, it’s a very original game that’s best enjoyed as a couch co-op game.
4 out of 5:
