White Shadows looks like Limbo meets Metropolis, with visually stunning results. It is a 2D platformer in front of a 3D background, and will feature some staples of creepy platformers you have seen in Limbo, namely swinging cages to hold on to and pits full of rotating saw blades. It’s not just a Limbo clone, though. Not only does the combination of 3D backgrounds and black and white art result in some stunning visuals, the game is also apparently a loose adaptation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm (no, not that adaptation of Orwell’s Animal Farm. That one’s an adventure game by the makers of Reigns.).
As Ravengirl, you’re trying to escape The White City, a place where animals earn white colour to keep them safe from a plague that destroyed the rest of the world. The White City however, seems to be controlled by a totalitarian animal regime in which the lucky animals of the ruling class get to enjoy the fruits of the enslaved animals’ labour. Ravengirl seems to be about done with being an obedient worker, and so she makes her way through the city to sea what’s out there, and maybe find out the truth behind the plague.
I know I should probably be mildly creeped out given the inspiration and hordes of animals hidden to reveal nothing but a pair of glowing eyes in the dark, but White Shadows just looks so… cute. The bird who hums “Also sprach Zarathustra” at the beginning of the trailer is super cute, Ravengirl is most definitely cute, and overall the music and the sweeping camera work make the whole thing feel rather grand and uplifting. I’m intrigued and definitely want to know what White Shadows actually turns out like when it releases sometime in 2021.
