Shady Part of Me is a puzzle adventure game set in a watercolor-like dreamscape in which reality shifts from 3D to 2D. Developed by Douze-Dixièmes and published by Focus Home Interactive, Shady Part of Me follows the adventures of a little girl and her shadow as they must learn to cooperate and help each other on their whimsical journey through a dream-like world. What makes Shady Part of Me unique is the fact that at any time, you can switch between the girl and her shadow, thus changing the game from 3D to 2D gameplay. One ventures in the light while the other is darkness.

So the obvious here is just how good Shady Part of Me looks. From the start of the game, you’re thrown into this world that looks like something out of a children’s book. It starts off in 2D and the art is mostly done in watercolors. The playable elements are shadows and for the most part, this plays out like a traditional platformer. The art here is very well done and adds to the whole overall theme of the game.

When the girl wakes from her dream, the gameplay switches to a 3D environment. This is also very well done and again, has a children’s book like feel to it. The colors here in this section are more muted and play to the theme of darkness, but are still done in watercolors. The girl can only travel where the shadows exist and being exposed to the light will hurt her.

Overall this game looks fantastic and if you were to buy and play a game solely based on art, then you surely won’t be disappointed here.

Of course, great art doesn’t make for a great game. Luckily, the gameplay here is solid. The 2D platforming gameplay is typical where you just jump over obstacles and try to avoid dangerously spiked vines. You can also pull levers to engage in actions and climb fences. In the 3D portion, it’s mainly just moving around in a 3D plane and trying to avoid the parts where light exists. What’s neat here is the combined 2D/3D gameplay where you can instantly switch back and forth between the two styles and characters. You need to do this because one can help the other, mainly with changing the environment in their respective dimension.

A Shady Part of You however isn’t a very long game and will take roughly 3-4 hours to complete. That’s probably the only gripe here, though it does seem to make sense considering this might be geared towards a younger audience who might not want to engage in a story that takes much longer than this. This is meant to be a very story-driven adventure so I can understand if it’s a bit short.

Despite the short story, Shady Part of Me is quite good and well worth the playthrough. The story is excellent and well written and the gameplay is a fantastic mix between 2D and 3D. Not only that, the art style itself will draw you into this dreamlike world making the experience more worthwhile. With that said, Shady Part of Me is a must-have addition to your library if you so choose to pick it up and great for players of all ages.

Shady Part of Me is available now on the Nintendo eShop.

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Received game from developer and/or publisher for coverage purposes.
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