The first game from the independent French studio Douze Dixièmes, Shady Part of Me is getting a surprise release since its existence was revealed during the Game Awards ceremony on December 10th… the very day of its release! At least we can not accuse the studio and its publisher Focus Home Interactive of making players languish. But suddenly, they were not entitled to any preview or information on the game. Is there eel under the rock? Nay, the Parisians have concocted a poetic and enigmatic adventure (in the literal sense of the term) which has nothing to be ashamed of in the face of the competition!
In this Shady Part of Me, a nameless, faceless little girl who is afraid of the light teams up with her own shadow in sets clearly drawn from her imagination. The first moves in a 3D universe, while the other progresses on a 2D plane. These two entities may be intimately linked, they evolve independently of each other. The player can therefore go from the girl to the silhouette as he sees fit, the control of one having no direct impact on the other. To put it more simply: the shadow is absolutely not attached to the little girl. The level design prevents us all the same from separating them too much, because the two “heroines” must constantly cooperate to be able to advance in the decorations. If death potentially awaits them at the turn (girl who finds herself in the light or shadow that runs into brambles), this is never a problem because it is possible to rewind time, and therefore action, at any time moment.
This principle, already seen elsewhere but still not widespread enough, is much more pleasant and practical than a traditional backup point. It allows you to chain tests at will, knowing that the gameplay of the game is mainly focused on puzzles based on shadow and light. Thanks to different mechanisms, it is generally necessary to modify the 3D environment in order to reshape the 2D terrain, and thus open a passage to our flattened double. But sometimes it will be up to the silhouette to operate certain levers in order to facilitate the progress of the little girl who, as we recall, is totally incapable of walking in the light. Shady Part of Me does not hesitate to play with perspective, orientation, and multiple light sources in order to further enrich his puzzles. The latter always remain well calibrated, the most complex being reserved for the optional collection of birds, made of paper in the “real” world or shadow on the 2D plane.
SHOW ME YOUR DARK SIDE
However, the success of the game is at least as much about its atmosphere as its gameplay. The universe both childish and disturbing is reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland as well as Limbo or Inside. Rooms filled with giant toys, dormitories and other funfairs are all the more disturbing environments because the shadows don’t always correspond exactly to what they should be. Thus, a simple folding of paper in the shape of a boat will cast a shadow equipped with a mast and a sail, while a plastic duck will transform into a realistic animal silhouette. The narration, deliberately mysterious, is carried out not only through the dialogues between the little girl and her shadow but also, in a very elegant way, by the display of words or sentences superimposed on the decorations. In addition, whether we choose to play with English or French voices, we can only be convinced by the acting of the actresses (Hannah Murray for the international version, Cindy Lemineur for the French version). As for the soundtrack, it has the intelligence and the subtlety to duplicate itself. Understand by this that by going from the girl to her silhouette, and vice versa, we have the right to an orchestration slightly different from the current song. Shady Part of Me is therefore very pleasant little indie game. Obviously, we can always blame it for its lack of scope, since five to six hours are enough to complete the adventure. However, it is possible to significantly extend this lifespan by going in search of the hundred or so birds hidden in the scenery or behind fairly tough puzzles. Finally, our biggest regret (and it is still not very strong) concerns the absence of a cooperative mode locally, which would have allowed one player to control the girl, and the other her shadow.
