Product Info

Platform

Switch, PlayStation 4, PC

Publisher

Coatsink

Developer

Coatsink

Genre

Action, Adventure, Platform

Players

1

File Size (Minimum)

3 GB

Release Date (NA)

Oct 4, 2016

Purchase From

eShop

PSN Store

Steam

Platformer games will go in-depth with stories, mechanics, and goals; however, Shu is the opposite, making it very simple. The story is short and animated with no words. A relentless, monstrous storm is engulfing the world of Shu and you must save the villagers before you’re devoured by it. You don’t know the names of the characters, where they came from, what the darkness is, or why it is devouring the world.

Collect!

The game starts with no tutorials and lets the player figure out how to play. As you adventure through each level, players can collect butterflies (hundreds of them), six “babbies”, and mural pieces, making for strong replay value for those who enjoy achieving 100%.

Getting many of the collectible items will require some backtracking or solving hidden areas. While it’s not necessary to collect every item, it’ll boost your bragging rights.

Beautiful Scenery

Shu has one of the best-looking sceneries in the genre. With colorful, handcrafted-looking backgrounds and movements such as waterfalls, Shu will grab the player’s attention. While character designs are flat, they do stand out from the background, making it easier to follow them as you travel.

The scenery isn’t just the backgrounds; it’s also in the foreground. While you cannot interact with the foreground, seeing bridges and rocks continue towards the camera gives the 2.5D platformer more depth, resembling level designs from Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.

Unique Abilities

Like any platformer game, the main character has the standard movements of running and jumping. However, the character has an unique ability that no one has in the game, floating in midair and utilizing the gust of wind to travel faster.

While having the floating ability is great, controlling it can be cumbersome. While the floating movement was intended to move the character loosely, slight gestures from the player’s control create imprecise moves and make floating between obstacles challenging. Players will perish a few times in order to figure out the float movements for each problematic obstacle.

As you travel to the game’s worlds, you’ll come across stranded villagers that’ll follow you into each stage. Each villager has their own unique abilities such as walking on water, bouncing off walls, and double jumping. After each world is completed, the villagers that once followed you will leave for safety from the darkness. While having some of those abilities are missed, it allows for a fresh start in each world.

RUN

Not every stage can be played at your leisure; a chase sequence can occur in the middle of adventuring. The words “RUN” appearing on your screen will indicate the start of the chase from the monstrous storm of darkness.

Finishing the stressful run feels like an accomplishment because it’s a tough road. Players will have to utilize the villager’s and the main character’s abilities to get around obstacles. While the level designs are greatly detailed, obstacles can blend in with the background. You’ll run into spiky vines a few times before memorizing the level.

With little-to-no room for mistakes, players will have to be precise with their movements. For example, when bouncing off walls and falling, be prepared to start over from the last checkpoint. If obstacles and precise movements weren’t enough, the darkness can move its body around to capture you. Finding every collectible to earn that 100% will cost you countless lives during these scenarios.

Soothing to Stress

The music of Shu isn’t memorable, but it is soothing and relaxing. When the darkness approaches, however, that lovely, soothing music turns into a sinister, alarming tone, causing stress to push you and your villagers away from the darkness. Shu does an excellent job on what scores to use in each world and during the darkness chase.

Summary

The average time to play through the story of Shu is roughly four hours with additional hours if players are yearning for 100% completion. Shu is an attractive platformer game with straightforward goals but tedious chases. Players who are looking to pick up something quick between other games may want to catch a ride with Shu.

A Nintendo Switch review code was provided by Coatsink Software for this review.