White Shadows Reviews
White Shadows tackles heavy themes with some wonderful storytelling. The gameplay itself is competent, and there is enough variety level to level to make the experience fresh throughout. Through stark visuals and a well placed soundtrack it presents its tale artfully, but unfortunately runs its course in only a few hours. It's hard to squeeze a great deal of game from the experience, but what is there is splendid.
There's no denying that White Shadows' atmosphere and visuals are the stars of the show so I sincerely want to see the developers make a second game that hopefully offers a lot more substantial gameplay and perhaps a narrative that's open to some interpretation.
Black and white Dystopia animal farm with nice look and good but short gameplay.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
I feel like it’s especially hard to put into words how well-constructed this game was graphic-wise.
It's also ambiguous, at least until the latter moments when the world's history is laid bare in a somewhat out of place but impressive nonetheless storybook sequence.
White Shadows is a great debut title from Monokel that has great visuals, touches on some dark subject matter, and performs solidly in the gameplay department. It needs a patch or two to tighten up the framerate and Ravengirl’s journey will be over before you know it. The world and environmental storytelling really stuck with me though and it’s one of my favorite indie games of this year.
White Shadows is a dark and oppressive experience, but don’t write it off. It’s reminiscent of Limbo and the like, but homages can be a good thing at times. It is criminally short, however, and would have really benefited from a bit more challenge and/or length in its puzzles. If you enjoy your misery in small bursts, this will be for you.
The platforming is mediocre, the performance is terrible, but there is heart here. I look forward to what Monokel has in store for us with their next title as there is clear talent on this team, and they are not afraid to tackle some very delicate topics.
'White Shadows' is a 2D platformer. Visually, it is a black and white work of art with a lot of depth. You want to play through it and learn all about this dark place. The game plays quite smoothly, but has a minimal sloppiness. It's unfortunately very short, but the platforming, puzzles and artstyle make it worth every second. In addition, this story tells more than the foreground suggests.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
White Shadows is a bold attempt as the first development team project but has suffered from many unsuccessful decisions in the play experience and heterogeneous storytelling.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
There's no doubt that White Shadows has something to offer in raw artistic spectacle, but there's far too many issues with the game to be celebrated. It comes across as a game that has its priorities completely upside down. While it's commendably brave that a brand new studio would explore delicate themes on their debut game, this preoccupation has apparently left no mind toward the fundamentals of what makes a gaming experience rewarding. Furthermore, these themes have not been handled in a very sophisticated manner. Social commentary aside, unoriginal level design, a forgettable narrative and poor frame performance sadly render White Shadows as one you can miss.
Its puzzles are simple, but White Shadows offers two hours of creative, chilling designs, joyous musical set pieces and enough screen-shottable sights to fill your hard drive.
White Shadows is a middling puzzle-platformer with interesting Orwellian themes. Although its black and white world design is commendable, it is limited by bland gameplay and an ungainly eleventh-hour exposition dump.
White Shadows is a game that is swallowed with one stroke. Short, the game tries to send us a good number of messages on strong, current topics and which obviously speak to us a lot. However, by wanting to bet everything on this aspect, the game forgets everything else and we tend to lose the thread. Fortunately, the title is only done in about two hours, and sports a singular aesthetic as well as an effective artistic direction.
Review in French | Read full review
White Shadows is a breath-taking, story-driven, puzzle-platformer in the vein of Limbo.
White Shadows might have a short run time and be fairly by the numbers as a platformer, but it packs a lot in for you to experience. If you enjoy your dystopian fiction then you will find a game that sets up a world which raises questions, though the the Animal Farm influence is clear to see. White Shadows hits on a lot of dark themes, but does so in such a way that is not overwhelming.
I really didn’t know what to expect from White Shadows, but I’m glad I had the chance to cover it. It’s a very ambitious first effort by Monokel, and it doesn’t pull any punches. While the difficulty of the game was a bit top-heavy, I still enjoyed my time with it. If you enjoy puzzle platformers and don’t mind some truly haunting imagery, I’d definitely give it a shot. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to see if there’s another ending I have yet to unlock after unintentionally becoming the “destroyer of worlds”…
White Shadows is a cinematic platformer with a truly captivating style, which is not afraid to tackle important issues such as discrimination, slavery or suicide. The surreal and macabre world that the young protagonist crow has to face is really nice and distressing, but unfortunately the gameplay and the technical side are not always in step with the beautiful environments. Nevertheless, It's recommended to all fans of the genre, especially for the topics covered.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The unique art style, excellent lighting, and mechanical world design are all great.
In the beginning, White Shadows feels like another Playdead-clone that is playing it safe but then it hits its stride and we are faced with a Tesla-punk/Fritz Lang inspired adventure that scares you as much as it makes laugh and cry, like a crazy roller coaster ride to the silent era movies in video game form.
Review in Persian | Read full review