ghost
SCHiM is a simple game that lets players jump from shadow to shadow and progress through different levels. All of these levels are inspired by the Dutch street scene, giving the game not only an original look, but also a very distinctive look. The gameplay is simple enough, but the levels become increasingly difficult with moving shadows or flashing lights as elements to take into account. It’s no surprise that the game is from Dutch makers and originally started out as a graduation project, but has now evolved into a mature cross-platform puzzle game that is primarily fun to play occasionally and less suitable for very long gaming sessions.
No one would claim that SCHiM is one of the most popular games you can play right now, but at the same time, it’s no longer a completely unknown game. The platformer from Dutch developers Ewoud van der Werf and Nils Slijkerman has already won several awards in 2021 and 2022. It took a while for the game to see the light of day, but that moment has already arrived. The indie game will be released this week on almost every platform imaginable.
SCHiM is about the relationship between people, objects and their shadows. There is a shadow associated with every person. You carry this shadow with you and it is a part of you, but it is also possible to lose it. This is also evident in SCHiM, because this is what the SCHiM setup is more or less based on. At the beginning of the game we see how the protagonist, or rather his shadow, is always there when important things happen in life. We see how the relatively carefree life of childhood and students gives way to an adult life with a job and a relationship and then without them. Unfortunately, things do not always go well. During this period the character also separates from his shadow. The person does not notice this, but the shadow does more than that. Ghosts are creatures that live in the shadows of objects and people. They can jump back and forth between those shadows, but they mainly belong to their person or object. They can only exist in the shadow: as soon as they come to light, they are “dead” and you as the player are returned to the last safe shadow you were in before. The shade is safe, and the lit floors are lava, so to speak.
Playing as a shadow, the story of the game is simple: make sure you return to your character’s shadow to unite with him. This is easier said than done, because your character lives a rather active and hectic life. One moment he’s on the move and you have to chase a moving truck, the next moment he’s doing some shopping, and the next moment he’s delivering stuff in an industrial area. He doesn’t sit still for long, so as a ghost you have a hard time keeping up with him.
The good news is that this takes you through all sorts of different levels, each with its own look and feel. Sometimes you have to go through a park, sometimes you have to dodge traffic, and sometimes you end up at a train station. The environments are versatile, but the commonality is that they are all based on typical Dutch environments. For example, you can recognize the canals or the pattern of lampposts in many levels. You can even recognize the trash bins in the station right away. SCHiM is made in the Netherlands and this fact is clearly emphasized. Not all levels offer the same degree of recognizability, but sometimes you clearly recognize the Dutch street scene in SCHiM and that is a nice bonus.