SCHiM Review — Shadow Frog

SCHiM is a charming little platformer about a shadow trying to find its way back to the human that cast it. Creative, cute, and with a story that is artfully told and heart-wrenching, SCHiM is sure to be a charming addition to your collection of relaxing puzzle games. That is if you can catch it before it hops away.

SCHiM is not a complicated title. It requires neither the fast reflexes of Elden Ring nor the meta knowledge of League of Legends. It certainly doesn’t want to be either of those things, either. SCHiM, instead, is a simple little platformer about a shadow trying to find its way home.

More specifically, SCHiM sees you playing as the shadow of a boy, unnamed in the story, who gets separated from him. This little shadow then needs to find its way home but can only do so by leap-frogging (literally, because your shadow is, adorably, a little frog-like being) from shadow to shadow until it finally finds its way back into the silhouette it belongs.

After, say, ten minutes of introduction, SCHiM opens up into a series of platforming levels as you try and get back to your human. The mechanics are remarkably simple: beginning from the level’s start point, you hop from shadow to shadow until you get to the end of the level. Each level takes maybe two to five minutes, depending on how late into the game you are and how good you are at solving platform puzzles.

When I say hop, I really mean hop. As I mentioned before, your shadow in SCHiM is a little frog. That is, it’s a little frog when it isn’t actively inside another shadow. The game cleverly gives the shadows cast across the landscape the feeling of little ponds and deep puddles for these shadow amphibians to hop between. The frog shape is mechanically relevant, too, because while you can freely move about in a shadow along the shape of its silhouette, traveling to another shadow pond requires you to hop. Hopping directly from a pool gives you a longer jump, and if you don’t make it to another shadow in that jump, you’re given a much smaller hop when starting from “land.” You’re given time for about two hops total (one from the pool and one in the daylight) before you’re returned to the last checkpoint.

Occasionally, you’ll need to interact with the environment, such as to open a door or lower a gate (not quite sure how a shadow does that, but it does.) Beyond that, the game’s mechanics and level design are totally built around you hopping from shadow to shadow. SCHiM very cleverly uses the shadows cast by objects to create some interesting levels. Tasking you with traveling along moving cars or bikes, skimming around the tiniest of shadows, and hitching a ride on other humans.

Calling the level design clever feels like an understatement, as every shadow feels both realistic and intentionally designed with the idea of challenging the player with some puzzling platforming. The overall look of the game is pretty good, too. Something I’m especially fond of is that only the shadow creatures have eyes, giving them a bit more personality than the humans around them.

Artful design seems to be the philosophy behind SCHiM. Beyond just the shadows, each level also serves as a way to soothe the player’s eyes with a carefully designed color palette, one that shifts between each level and is both nice to look at and conveys emotion, usually one that pairs with the story.

That’s right, SCHiM does have a story and one that is surprisingly heartwrenching, considering what the game is.

SCHiM tells its story completely through visuals, without audio or text, not that it really needs it. The story is about the boy our shadow belongs to and follows him from a child into adulthood. By the time the little introduction to the game has ended, our boy has grown up, faced a breakup, rejected a chance to live his dream out of fear, and worked a 9 to 5 office job only to be fired. The game really begins right after he is fired, drops his only belongings on the street, and sprints off to a bar.

Wow. What the hell, SCHiM? When I loaded up into my cute shadow frog game, I wasn’t expected to immediately be hit with a heavy dose of reality.

Jokes aside, the story in SCHiM is truly heartwrenching and engaging, especially from the perspective of wanting our little shadow frog to get back to the boy he grew up with. Even in its darkest moments, the game never stops feeling relaxing, keeping with a casual tone and a great soundtrack for hopping between shadows.

Any good relaxation game needs a good soundtrack, and yeah, SCHiM’s is up there. It does dip a bit into a sad tone at times, but never so low as to ruin the mood. It’s great and fits very well with the rest of the game’s charm.

There isn’t a whole lot more to say about SCHiM, and to be honest, I’m surprised I managed to break this review’s 1000-word count. The game is charming, relaxing, and has a near take on platforming with its froggy, shadowy presentation. There isn’t really anything I have to criticize about it, and you’re sure to have at least one relaxing afternoon should you choose to pick up SCHiM for yourself.

Try Hard Guides received a PC review code for this game. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles on our Game Reviews page! SCHiM is available on Steam and Nintendo Switch.