As someone who wishlists games when they seem mildly interesting, SCHiM immediately joined the list when I randomly came across the trailer on my YouTube page. I was pleasantly surprised when I got invited to the game’s playtest, around thirty minutes or so. But now, also having played the official demo as a part of Steam’s Next Fest, I can easily say that SCHiM might be my most anticipated indie game of the year.
A schim is a spirit that resides within any object or person and shouldn’t be separated from their thing. However, the game’s emotional opening minutes have us witness a schim getting lost from its human, and it is up to the player to guide this schim back home to its person.
The first thing that caught my attention after booting up the game was the art style and colors. Within every area, there is a story to tell, and this is reflected creatively through colors and sounds. For example, the surrounding turns blue when it is raining or lavender to represent the emotion of sadness/heartbreak. Moreover, the environment is constantly changing as I move my schim through the city’s bustling streets or the park’s greenery. This, accompanied by the sounds of traffic, the laughs of children, or the quacking of ducks, just added more immersion to the gameplay.
More Reviews: Lorelei and the Laser Eyes Review: Nostalgic, challenging, satisfying
SCHiM is essentially a shadow-jumping platformer. The gameplay is relatively simple and easy to follow. As a schim, you can only move by jumping from shadow to shadow of objects and living things like humans, birds, and other animals. A schim cannot stay in the light for more than a few seconds, so traversal presents certain challenges. The game doesn’t have any outright objectives or interface, which makes the immersion all the more relaxing and focused.
If you are lost and don’t know where to go, the right trigger button of your controller will show you the objective. Since the game is a 3D platformer and there is a lot going on in the surroundings, keeping the camera in one angle can mess up your perception. But thanks to the game’s rotating camera movement, I could see and move my schim more freely and discover new paths towards my goal.
More Previews: Eyes of War Preview: Clunky and Lackluster but Shows Potential
The inclusion of collectibles encourages more exploration in SCHiM. These collectibles can be something as simple as a football, bike, or trash can, and once your schim comes across them, the object joins with the environment and opens a new path so your schim can travel further in its shadow. Apart from that, the schim can also interact with objects or living beings in different ways, but this aspect will be more visible when the game fully launches.
Even though my time with SCHiM’s demo took around forty minutes to complete, it was enough to get me interested and invested in the story. The game feels unique, creative, and artistic, making me realize how special indie games like this truly carry the video game industry. I am looking forward to spending more time with my schim on 18th July when the game is released.
