Zen Review: Lost in Shadow

The Wii starts this year off with a surprise little game called Lost in Shadow, which is basically Limbo meets Ico with just a fleeting glimpse of the classic Prince of Persia. It is an artsy title which brings some excellent indie-like game design to the gaming world, but is wasted on an uninteresting story, some repetitive gameplay, and bland combat mechanics. With a few tweaks, Lost in Shadow would have been rid of those flaws and become game of the year material. It is a shame that Lost in Shadow is what it is, a flawed gem that serious gamers still shouldn’t miss because the good far outweigh the bad, but it is flawed nevertheless. The puzzling mechanics of Lost in Shadow is breathtakingly brilliant, the player platforms through shadow in the background which is made by polygon objects one can faintly see in the foreground, resembling the classic Prince of Persia played in the world of Limbo. Sometimes one must manipulate light to distort the shadows, changing the layout of the maze so he can advance.  A few hours into the game, when the protagonist gains the ability to move into the foreground (this is not a spoiler but if it was, that is too bad, you probably wouldn’t have gotten this game if not for the spoiler) with an art palette that resembles Ico, and things finally come together, and at moments you would be awed — that you are manipulating levers and pillars and stones of a realistic 3D space while it affects the shadow realm 2D space you have to go back to — it is for this revelation that you must get this game.

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