E3 Hands-On: Lost In Shadow - Preview
by Alex St-Amour , posted on 17 June 2010 / 2,952 Views
One game that is definitely not getting the attention it deserves at this year's E3 is Hudson Soft's Lost In Shadow, a game that literally puts you in control of a young boy who is more shadow than boy. In this game you must literally navigate the shadows as platforms. It's a unique play style and one that I got to go hands-on with at Hudson Soft's booth at E3.
The first thing I noticed (and you will too) is the amazing art direction the game has adopted; a sort of washed-out color palette with strong hues of greens, browns and light complete with a classic meets steam punk aesthetic that comes together to make Lost in Shadow a game whose look is all its own.
The game plays like a classic 2D sidescroller, with all the platforms and pitfalls that a platformer junky could ask for. But the real hook of the game is its wonderful use of lighting and shadows. Since the game has you literally walking on shadows, the angle of light is very important. Some areas will remain off access until you either rotate the environment (a la Echochrome) or change the angle of the lighting, which adds an extra layer of depth to a game that is already brimming with fresh ideas.
The E3 demo for Lost In Shadow was quite short, lasting only a few brief minutes, but it's enough to see why this is a game that should not be left in the shadows. Look for Lost In Shadow to launch sometime this fall.
