#schim game

[doodlebalu]

Fanart for an indie game called SCHiM which is hosting a fanart contest leading up to its release!

[schimgame]

Letting the dogs out! 🐶

Finishing a level with a companion makes it that much better!

[alexanderwales]

I don't really understand the indie game trend of reducing and muting the color palette so much. It makes things much harder to parse from a visual standpoint. Very possible that my visual processing is just subpar, but some of these color choices just grate on me.

I think this is just difficult to read, maybe even more difficult than going totally monochrome. It's also possible that I just don't like it on an aesthetic level, which might be on me. But it's everywhere!

Why limit the colors like this? What's gained by it? Why do people like this?

With SCHiM I at least get that it probably saves on some amount of work, and helps to make the shadows distinct for the purposes of gameplay. But I still find the muted quality of it a bit baffling.

I'm not a color guy, or a gamedev guy, or really terribly schooled in the visual arts, but I haven't been able to find any kind of analysis of why this is happening as much as it is, whether it's something in the code, in the mutual inspirations, or just the dominant mood of creation. I definitely think I'm seeing too much of it.

[febrilepenguin]

This was the first year I played demos in the Steam Next Fest (I didnt even know it existed before), and I will be doing it again, cuz it was pretty fun. I played a lot of games, and I thought maybe I could talk about each of them a little, so that more people know about them, and also to keep a little record of my thoughts and feelings about them for myself.

I'll list them in the order I played them cuz why not.

1. Mech Builder: I've never had any of those cool mech model kits that you have to cut out of the frames with pliers and then assemble yourself, but they've always looked really cool to me and I've always wanted to try assembling one. Well, this is that, but in video game form, and it was pretty fun! It was satisfying to snip the parts out of the frame and then snap them into place according to the manuals. There was also decals, coloring options and more. I just wish there was a way to pose the models a bit after they're done, or maybe see them from behind and the sides? Though I understand that it'd take a lot more work to make all the art for that and it might make it unfeasible but i think it'd be fun to play around with the models a bit after they're done. (Can you even pose the real mech model kits? I cant remember.)

Anyway, good game for relaxing and futzing around with cool mechs.

2. WHAT THE CAR?: This one was just delightful. It's just such a joy to play, being this silly little car with legs going through increasingly ridiculous iterations of movement with their accompanied puns and jokes. I was smiling and laughing the whole time i was playing, even in the harder skull stages, and i tried and got all the gold crowns for all the levels. (Also I still have that "What the caaaar" jingle stuck in my head, and Im not even mad about it). Just about anywhere you looked was a wordplay joke, or a visual gag, and I love it for that, and can't wait for the release. I will also be getting the other games from the devs, Triband. I also checked their website and they seem like really cool people too. (There was also a secret puzzle hidden in the game, that I was too late to solve for the rewards, but i had fun doing it nonetheless)

3. Mind Over Magnet: I've been a longtime fan of Gamemaker's Toolkit, and I've also been watching Mark's Developing series of devlogs, so I was hyped to actually play a demo of Mind Over Magnet, and it was cool to see how polished it had become. Cant wait for the full game!

4. SCHiM: Adorable little game that emulates that feeling of childhood playfulness you had when you used to walk through the sidewalk only stepping on shadows or you'd "lose". Loved the art style and the environments for this, though it was a bit hard to tell where you were meant to go sometimes.

5. Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus: I've been waiting for this game for a long time, since a game that combines hollow knight with japanese folklore is a must play for me. The movement felt really fun, and its focus on staying midair and air control was a cool feature of it, because you basically get a double jump every time you hit something mid-air, and can hover around and over enemies while you hit them. It's basically floor is lava the metroidvania. And when you get the dash it gets even better, cuz you can chain the dash with the blue midair jump, and the momentum from the dash will carry over, (which i think was intentional, cuz whenever you do it there's a small glint of light happening) Kinda like a celeste super dash. The demo made me look forward to it so much more.

6. Tactical Breach Wizards: So, recently I've gotten into tactics games despite myself, (it's all Into the Breach's fault, maybe I'll talk about that too another time) and wow did I love this one! The gameplay was really fun and the abilities were varied, the concept and world were cool (imagine wizards as military strike teams, and a world where magic is pretty common so there are P.I. Storm Witches and Traffic Warlocks) but my favorite thing about this game was the characters and the dialogues and humor. My favorite bit was:

"You can't throw all of life's problems through windows, Jen."

"Maybe not, but we owe it to ourselves to try."

Look me in the eyes and tell me that's not hilarious.

It's like god dropped this game in front of me as soon as he heard I've gotten into tactics games.

So so excited for this one!

7. Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo: really stylish game with fun mechanics and gameplay, a good light-hearted adventure for whenever I get tired of dark and grim stories and games. Also did not expect I'd be able to jump in this lol. Kinda reminds me of Mina the Hollower, another game Im excited for.

8. Demonschool: first off, I gotta say i didnt finish this one, not because I didnt like it, but because I left the game and when i came back it wouldnt open from where I had already progressed, (it kept crashing when i clicked "continue") and I didnt wanna do it all over again, so I gave up. But! I really really liked it. Another cool tactics game, with a beautiful artstyle weird occult world and fun characters. And even though i havent played persona, I could tell that it was inspired by it, what with the school life sections and whatnot. Cant wait to be able to continue on with it when the full game comes out.

9. Cato: i'd played the older demo before and liked it, so it was nice seeing the game had progressed further and gotten more polished. Pretty enjoyable puzzle game, if a bit simple. Also the cat liquiding through tubes never stops being funny.

10. Metal Slug Tactics: I loved the old Metal Slug games as a kid, and we used to play them a lot with cousins at sleepovers, and I have fond memories of it. So im really excited for this game, with all the nostalgic characters and sounds, and now with a (again, someone must be stalking me) tactics coat of paint. The shield and cover mechanic and also the sync mechanic are pretty clever and fun to play around with. Im sure I'll enjoy this one a lot when it comes out.

11. Tiny Glade: A relaxing and lovely little game that made me feel creative and like a kid playing in a fantasy sandbox. I've been waiting for this one impatiently ever since watching the trailer ages ago, and it's so wonderful. I didnt get to play around with it as much as I wanted to, but im definitely going to make a whole bunch of different little towns and castles when I get my hands on the full version. The camera mode was also so detailed and nice. Best I can describe this game is Vibe.

12. One Btn Bosses: Clever idea, and cool minimalist artstyle, but it wasnt really for me

13. Tavern Talk: This feels like being a bartender in a D&D world, and I enjoyed it a lot. The art is lovely, and the characters are all interesting (Fable's anxieties were too relatable, man.) (And Caer...Lin was so cool) (i cant wait to meet the whole cast who's on the posters) the mixing part was also pretty fun and Im sure it's gonna have more drinks and variety to it in the full game, all in all a nice and cozy fantasy visual novel type game for when I wanna chill.

14. Caravan SandWitch: kinda solarpunk/hopeful sci-fi game, with a cool van. Seems like it's gonna be a wholesome cozy time. Roadtrips through gently postapocalyptic-looking places? Im not sure what the correct vibe is for this game, because I dont know a whole lot about the setting or the story, but it was pretty cool. Also watch the trailer, the french song is stuck in my head, it's so good.

15. Mira and the Legend of the Djinns: Im gonna start this one with things I liked and then things i disliked about it. I love the art style, and I think the game as a whole looks gorgeous. I like that it's inspired by moroccan culture and how it infuses every aspect of it. I loved the instrument playing, even though there was only one song to learn in the demo and it didnt get a lot of time to shine. (I havent played ocarina of time, but im pretty sure I'll enjoy it for the same reason of it having the ocarina playing, among other reasons) i liked the pickaxe too, and how it allowed you to climb and mine.

Now for the dislikes. I did NOT like the combat. The fact that all of your momentum just dead stops when you swing your sword was pretty jarring to deal with, and it made those floaty eye pricks so annoying to deal with. Especially because of the way they space themselves and distance themselves from you so fast, and also the fact that there's no upwards slash (not in midair anyway, there's one you can buy that only works from the ground) which means you have to jump in very close and level with the enemy, so it doesnt have much time to fly away, during which time there's a high probability of it shooting you and making you fall, also if you're a little below it, the third attack which is very horizontal misses, so you have to do it again. The final boss of the demo was also pretty much a slog, due to the one-pattern attacks and the huge health pool. And you had to first break away the shield to be able to damage him, (and it would not register multiple attacks on it at once, if you hit the shield it became intangible until the boss changed position again) so it just became a repetition of: dodge through projectile, *ding* hit the shield. Dodge, ding. Dodge, ding. Dodge, ding. Dodge, ding. Dodge, ding. Shield broke. Stab stab stab stab stab. Dodge big attack, and start over. Rinse and repeat for like, seven more times. It became a chore almost. There was a general stiffness in the combat that made it hard to enjoy.

Also a minor nitpick about the UI is that it was a bit hard to tell how much mana it took to heal how much. If there was a small line or indication in the mana bar to show if you have enough for a heal, it would be really helpful in combat to know at a glance if you can heal in the moment or not.

All in all, this is not to say i disliked the game itself, I actually really liked it, and think it has a lot of potential, given a bit of fixes and improvements.

Anyway, these are some of my thoughts on all the demos I played during Steam Next Fest. I hope you'll check out some of the games in here and wishlist them to help out the games you like!

[fancypantsrecords]

Various Artists - Queens Of Indie Player (Indie Arena Booth 2024) | Black Screen Records | 2024 | Pink Translucent

[blueeyedrat]

Steam Next Fest, summer 2024. At this point "hey look at some video games I think are neat" is the one thing I'm still writing about consistently. Maybe I should branch out a little more. A matter for another time.

With the summer event lining up with a whole bunch of game announcements and showcases and whatnot, I cast a wider net and landed some pretty solid catches. Some that were already on my wishlist, some that caught my eye during the week of showcases, some I found while browsing the Steam listings. Additional thoughts under the cut.

From the moment it was announced it seemed like Arranger was a game that existed for me specifically, and trying the demo has done nothing to dissuade me from that notion. Likewise, LOK has held my interest for a while, and I'm looking forward to falling down its abstract word puzzle rabbit hole. Other puzzle games like Townframe, Pup Champs, and SCHiM met my expectations, but I'd like to see if there's more to them than what was presented in their respective demos.

On the subject of expectations, Tiny Glade is pretty much exactly as advertised as a cute little building tool, though the demo is somewhat limited in what options you have available. Tiny Bookshop was a bit of a curveball; the core loop of the game involved minimal input and waiting for a day's work to play out, but everything built around that loop had way more depth than anticipated.

Of everything I tried out, Wander Stars was the most stylish of the lot. An episodic turn-based RPG, where your arsenal is a dictionary of words to assemble into flashy maneuvers. It's a pretty unique spin, and the "pilot episode" in the demo does a good job showcasing both the gameplay and narrative. I had an eye on this game before, and it may be moving up the list quickly.

Beyond These Stars and Airborne Empire are both sequels to city builders I've previously played and enjoyed, and both launched demos for this event… very early, kinda buggy demos, so I wasn't really able to dig into them much. I didn't really need the concept proven to me, though, and they both seem like the final product will have all of the things I liked about their predecessors, so I'm happy for now.

Undusted seems like it could be a pleasant game about cleaning and fiddling around with handheld objects, a slimmed down variant of Powerwash Simulator, but in practice it's a bit finicky and not particularly rewarding, so it fell a little flat. Simple Trains just ended up feeling like a less interesting version of Mini Metro.

For more positive comparisons, Lost and Found Co. seems like it doesn't stray far from the mold of hidden object games, but has some very charming presentation that made it worth the time. Constance wears its Hollow Knight inspiration on its sleeve, and it looks like it could be a pretty solid 2D 'vania in its own right.

On Your Tail presents an interesting mashup of genres. A sandbox game set in a sunny Italian village with sites to explore, activities to partake in, and a colorful cast of characters to meet… paired with a detective story about pursuing a master thief and solving a myriad of mysteries along the way. Both sides of the game have potential (solving a mystery through a board-game-esque abstraction of cards and game pieces was particularly charming), though I wish the demo had more of it to show off. We'll have to wait and see.

Neongarten and Technotopia each caught my attention for similar reasons, being minimalist builder puzzles centered around balancing various building types and keeping pace with ever-growing resource costs. They diverge in subtle ways, from artstyle (though both are striking, Neongarten is simplistic cyberpunk while Technotopia leans more heavily into art deco) to gameplay direction (Neongarten stacks buildings upwards in a confined space, while Technotopia sticks to two dimensions and expands outwards), but my thoughts on both are more or less the same. They're a bit restrictive at times and there's a lot to keep track of, but overall they're both enjoyable. I bet someone could put together some absurd combos and ridiculous high scores in either game… though I'm unsure if I'm that someone. Still, they both have their charms and might end up as hidden gems in an ever-growing genre.

And of all the games that weren't already on my radar until last week, I think Caravan Sand Witch was the most pleasant surprise. It reminds me of Sable in all the best ways — a world of sprawling deserts and forgotten machinery that's as pleasing to look at as it is to traverse. Even in the demo, it felt good to get around both on foot and by vehicle, and that's without all of the fancy tools you'll unlock as the game progresses. This is one I'll be keeping an eye on.

[tomorrowedblog]

SCHiM gets new trailer, releases July 18

A new trailer has been released for SCHiM, which is set to release July 18, 2024.

SCHiM is a game about jumping from shadow to shadow in a relaxing and lively environment. This 3D platformer takes elements of light, shadow & animation and adds them directly to the gameplay, delivering an experience that you will only find in SCHiM.

[linuxgamenews]

Discover the Soulful Adventure of SCHiM: An Original Indie 3D Platformer

SCHiM jumps into the shadows in this 3D platformer game on Linux, Mac, and Windows PC. Thanks to the creative minds of Ewoud van der Werf and Nils Slijkerman for making this inventive title. Available now on Steam with a discount. Dive into the award-winning indie 3D platformer launch is worth playing on Linux. You can grab SCHiM on Steam with its launch discount. To celebrate, the SCHiM team launches a new trailer. It starts with a charming stop-motion intro and features an uplifting soundtrack by Moonsailor. Plus, there are also some great quotes from early reviewers who like the title's originality and visual style.

SCHiM jumps into a Launch Trailer

So, what's SCHiM shadow jumping all about? A schim is the soul and spirit of every object, thing, or living being. Everything has one, and a schim should never be apart from its thing. But in SCHiM, your schim gets separated from the human it's attached to early on in the game. Your mission is to reunite them before it's too late.

Features:

Unique 3D Platforming: Jump and move through shadows like never before in SCHiM.

Animated Shadow Platforms: The shadows themselves are also platforms that you can move and interact with.

Varied Environments: Each level has its own unique scenery and mini-stories.

Compelling Story: Experience the journey of a person losing their shadow, now due to trying to get it back.

Beautiful Abstract World: Enjoy exploring a visually stunning and abstract world.

SCHiM offers a fresh take on platforming while jumping into shadow-based gameplay. Each level feels like its own little adventure, full of unique challenges and stories. The game's world is beautifully abstract, making every moment a visual treat. Jumping through shadows is super satisfying, and the animated environments keep things interesting. Whether you're a platforming pro or just looking to jump into something new to play, SCHiM has something for everyone. Ready to get started? SCHiM 3D platformer jumps into the shadows on Steam right now with a 10% launch discount. Priced at $22.49 USD / £18.89 / 22,49€. While offering players this unique platforming experience. Grab it now and start your adventure in the shadows on Linux and Windows PC.

[gebo4482]

SCHiM - Launch Trailer

Website / Steam

[zachtank]

I have a lot of things to catch up with videogame wise. Here are some of the games on my mind that I need your help with.

Guilty Gear Strive

Schim

Zenless Zone Zero

Nier Automata

Dungeons of Hinterberg

Armored Core 6

EVO is right around the corner so games are coming out of the woodwork.

[hardcoregamer]

Review: SCHiM

SCHiM is a game that initially shows a lot of promise with a truly unique concept that is realized through expert-level design and makes the world around you feel believable and dynamic. It's a blast to hop around and enjoy the lazy afternoon tunes as you experience a quaint, if rather unremarkable, silent narrative. 

Read more!

[psx-euro-demo]

SCHiM (Ewoud van der Werf, 2024)

[schimgame]

Red light, green light 🚦

Added a traffic system to our game, pedestrians react to the green/red light.

[mediabubblepod]

(to the rythm of boooty rockin' everywhere) Summer Summer Summer Summer Summer Summer Summer Summer summer summer games rockin' everywere

From Cozy Games Direct and Future of Play, to X-box Showcase and PC Gaming Show, everyone from big and small has indeed been informed about summer, and that there are games to be had durning it STAT.

And whew there were alot of announcements, just look at the website.

In our usual fashion it would too long to list every single game that was mentioned, so instead what of the games that looked really hecking cool?

Fredriks choice: SCHiM (by Ewoud van der Werf and Nils Slijkerman)

You play as a silly creature, hopping and puzzling thorugh shadows in a city. Human shadows, car shadows lamps shadows, anything is permitted. And it looks great to boot! Its coming out this year july for all Major consoles + Steam.

Karols choice Battle Suit Aces (by Trinket Studios)

Cooked up by the same developers as Battle Chef Academy (great game give it a go), this sci-fi card battler has style, worldbuilding and even features relationships with your crew! Not the genre im usually into but i believe in these devs. Release is TBD as of yet.

And our shared pick would be Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (by Sandfall Interactive)

Ever since the Paintress arrived, each year she paints a new number: 35..34...33. As she counts down people of that age vanish never to be seen again. Its up to our epxedition (the 33) to give a shot at stopping the paintress in their final year of life. RPG with QTE's in a wonderfully parisian inspired world. Also what a cool premise! To be released sometime in 2025.

We actually picked more games, but for that you would have been a long list.

You have to check rest of the episode for that ;) ta-ta for now!

[reliquiaen]

dredge dlc > all of geoff keighley's showcase

[zarathesilentgamer]

SCHIM Demo👀 - Zara The Silent Gamer