It’s rare to have a platformer tell a great tale of social inequality but White Shadows knocked it right out of the ballpark. George Orwell would be proud of developer Monokel and what they’ve achieved through this game.
Ravengirl
The dystopian city in White Shadows is home to a bunch of anthropomorphic animals. Each species has a specific order on the social ladder with the wolves calling all the shots and the birds on the bottom. You are Ravengirl and you are trying to escape these unfair conditions with almost no odds to actually make it. Everything is against you and your species so wandering around freely will surely mean your demise. Defying the odds is through clever use of the environment is the only way to actually make it.
Stick to the shadows
White shadows feature a monochromatic world with only shades of black and white. As a raven, you are naturally camouflaged in the darkness and that’s what you’re supposed to stick to if you want to survive. While the rest of the city is promoting “light washing” your key to survival lies in the exact opposite. The little nightmares series already used this idea in their platformer game but White Shadows actually uses it to make a social point about whitewashing and racism in general. I feel the “gimmick” has much more weight in white shadows than it had in other games.
Full of social commentary
White shadows is absolutely about platforming and solving environmental puzzles in the first place. But to be honest, what can game developers do with the platforming genre that hasn’t been done before? White shadows platforming is definitely on point with a lot of the great platformers from this day and age. Despite not offering anything new in terms of gameplay, white shadows makes you think more about the story than most games in the genre. This is where the game really comes out of the shadows.
The way tough topics like racism and social inequality get tackled in this game is just awesome. These topics aren’t thrown in your face directly but sparsely weaved into the backdrop of the game. They never spell out how you should feel but instead make you think for yourself. If you just want to enjoy the gameplay you can but I think you would be hardpressed not to get something more out of this experience.
Steampunk noir
the 2.5D world of White Shadows is breathtaking. The steampunk-inspired environments all look stunning. I stopped progressing multiple times just to take the city in with awe. The clever use of light through moving trains and other contraptions made the world feel alive. These “moving lights” even acted as a way to incorporate environmental puzzles. I was surprised a the continuous stream of original ideas for the world and how these got featured as an actual part of the platforming.
Conclusion
White Shadows takes the idea of Limbo, inside and little nightmares but turns it up a notch. The weight of the story and the awesome world set apart this platformer from the rest. I highly recommend trying this game.
9/10
Tested on Xbox Series S
Review: White Shadows
It’s rare to have a platformer tell a great tale of social inequality but White Shadows knocked it right out of the ballpark. George Orwell would be proud of developer Monokel and what they’ve achieved through this game.
Ravengirl
The dystopian city in White Shadows is home to a bunch of anthropomorphic animals. Each species has a specific order on the social ladder with the wolves calling all the shots and the birds on the bottom. You are Ravengirl and you are trying to escape these unfair conditions with almost no odds to actually make it. Everything is against you and your species so wandering around freely will surely mean your demise. Defying the odds is through clever use of the environment is the only way to actually make it.
Stick to the shadows
White shadows feature a monochromatic world with only shades of black and white. As a raven, you are naturally camouflaged in the darkness and that’s what you’re supposed to stick to if you want to survive. While the rest of the city is promoting “light washing” your key to survival lies in the exact opposite. The little nightmares series already used this idea in their platformer game but White Shadows actually uses it to make a social point about whitewashing and racism in general. I feel the “gimmick” has much more weight in white shadows than it had in other games.
Full of social commentary
White shadows is absolutely about platforming and solving environmental puzzles in the first place. But to be honest, what can game developers do with the platforming genre that hasn’t been done before? White shadows platforming is definitely on point with a lot of the great platformers from this day and age. Despite not offering anything new in terms of gameplay, white shadows makes you think more about the story than most games in the genre. This is where the game really comes out of the shadows.
The way tough topics like racism and social inequality get tackled in this game is just awesome. These topics aren’t thrown in your face directly but sparsely weaved into the backdrop of the game. They never spell out how you should feel but instead make you think for yourself. If you just want to enjoy the gameplay you can but I think you would be hardpressed not to get something more out of this experience.
Steampunk noir
the 2.5D world of White Shadows is breathtaking. The steampunk-inspired environments all look stunning. I stopped progressing multiple times just to take the city in with awe. The clever use of light through moving trains and other contraptions made the world feel alive. These “moving lights” even acted as a way to incorporate environmental puzzles. I was surprised a the continuous stream of original ideas for the world and how these got featured as an actual part of the platforming.
Conclusion
White Shadows takes the idea of Limbo, inside and little nightmares but turns it up a notch. The weight of the story and the awesome world set apart this platformer from the rest. I highly recommend trying this game.
9/10
Tested on Xbox Series S
Author : Nick Vyvey