Lost in Shadow Hands-On

In the majority of games, you take control of a main hero setting off on an adventure. From the start of Lost in Shadow, the main character, a young boy, has gone missing, and in this twist you’re playing as only a part of him: his lost shadow. Created and published by Hudson, Lost in Shadow is a new approach to platforming adventure.

We started surrounded by ruins--our destination, a strange, mystical tower off in the distance. As we controlled a shadow, we had no means of exploring the physical area, and instead had to navigate through the build’s shadows. That doesn’t mean we could simply pass through barriers, like shadows in the real world. Our “shadow realm” used all of the same rules of collision and platforming that the physical realm would. However, the shadows around us could be manipulated with synchronization of the physical plane.

We approached a gate that seemed to block our path. However, we used our Wii Remote to turn a switch in the physical realm that in turn moved both the real and shadow gates. Our objective was to locate and find three hidden eye collectibles. These items together broke the seal on the final shadow barrier, allowing us to move on to a new area.

Our demo next took us inside one of the tower’s floors. Being a magical place, the tower did not need to follow the same rules as the previous ruined waste. Instead, this floor of the tower was a factory filled with moving pipes, steam vents, and winding gears. Additionally, this industrial factory was filled with many shadow enemies. However, we were not sitting ducks. For this level our shadow had acquired a sword to combat foes with fast strikes from the B button. From these fallen enemies and hidden through the level were memories. Collecting these memories gave the boy’s shadow strength and knowledge and helped it gain weight.

By adding grahams, the boy’s shadow was able to slowly regain part of its soul. The overall objective of the game is to collect enough shadows to weigh 20 grahams, the apparent size of a human soul. We’ll find out just what this acquisition will unlock when the game is released in the West during the third quarter of 2010 for the Wii.