A game that may leave you with more questions than answers, Shio combines challenging 2D platforming with an enigmatic story. Playing as a nameless masked man, you will leap from lantern to lantern, uncovering memories and story fragments while avoiding the many dangers in the world. Shio perfectly captures the intangible qualities of dreaming, while also providing a rewarding – but difficult – gameplay experience.

A Stylised Dream

The first thing you notice about Shio is its atmosphere. Taking inspiration from traditional Chinese culture, the harmonious colours, stylised characters, and simple settings are, in a word, stunning. There is something to appreciate everywhere you look, whether that is the silhouettes of diners through a restaurant window or changes in the sun. The detail in this game is amazing: as if in a dream, many little things are perfectly out of place. One of the many examples of this is the VEGAS sign in a Chinese city. Another is that dialogue options change discreetly as you select between them, making you question your memory of having had a choice. The visuals aren’t perfect, though. The journal text is too small to read comfortably in handheld mode, and there are some frame rate drops. However, these are relatively minor issues in an otherwise gorgeous game.

Shio‘s audio is equally atmospheric. The soundtrack involves subtle themes and progressions, featuring mournful strings and unobtrusive percussion. These themes fade in and out, accompanied by the ever-present sounds of birds, wind, rain, and insects. It’s a peaceful soundtrack, and immersive as well; just like a dream, the themes are fluid and intangible without feeling repetitive. But don’t let the peaceful atmosphere fool you: this is not an easy game.

Fluid Controls and Challenging Gameplay

The controls in Shio are straightforward. In the platforming stages, you can only move and jump. Before long, you will find yourself soaring from lantern to lantern on gusts of air. The controls are generally pretty good, although they might not be as precise as some of the other platformers out there. However, this appears to be a design decision rather than an oversight. Specifically, there is a focus on momentum in this game. While this lends fluidity to the gameplay, this is sometimes at the cost of precision. It can be hard to quickly change or stop your movement while you’re in the air, which may lead to you misjudging distances and jumps. It’s not the end of the world by any means, but as the game has a large focus on timed obstacles, with anything less than flawless reflexes you’ll be in for a tough time.

While some of the dangers might be familiar, each of Shio’s chapters has unique mechanisms to keep the gameplay from feeling stale. From invisible platforms to lanterns that go out (and can’t be used) in the rain, the game constantly pushes you to the limit by combining these challenges in increasingly difficult ways. Likewise, the focus on precise timing makes gameplay exhilarating. There’s nothing quite like soaring through the air while avoiding the game’s dangers! Each chapter also has a ‘nightmare’ level, with unique mechanisms, fewer checkpoints, and a spike in difficulty to match the name.

Useful Mechanisms and Plenty of Content

In light of the game’s difficulty, there are a number of mechanisms to make gameplay more forgiving. For starters, each checkpoint has a map of the upcoming stage. While you might not need to look at these for every level, it is almost impossible to complete certain stages without knowing in advance what lies ahead. The game also has a built-in mechanism to allow you to skip certain levels if you die too many times. Finally, you have unlimited lives, so there is no real penalty for dying. Without these features, the game might have felt more punishing and perhaps less fun.

Nevertheless, gameplay can admittedly be frustrating at times. Sometimes the instructions are unclear, which means you’ll have to work things out as you go. It’s not terrible, but it’s certainly not ideal. Furthermore, gameplay can get repetitive. When facing the more challenging obstacles, you are likely to play the same section over and over as you work on perfecting your timing. I personally found that the satisfaction of clearing these stages made it worth it in the end. However, if you dislike this sort of repetition, this is something to keep in mind.

If you do enjoy the repetition of beating your personal bests, though, Shio may be just your game. For starters, each individual challenge has a record time that you can push yourself to beat. From one of the menus, you can view all of these scores against your own. You can also jump to previously-cleared levels at any stage. And, for even more of a challenge, there’s the Deep Sleep (hard) mode with secret levels to discover.

A Poignant, Fragmented Story

Shio is an action platformer, so I wasn’t expecting much of a story. However, the game surprised me in this regard. At the start of the game, you acquire a journal. This slowly fills up with the memories, tokens, and letters you collect as you play. You can skip reading the journal if you’re just interested in platforming, but you’ll be missing out on a lot if you do. The story deals with relatable topics such as relationships, love, and loss. Unlike many other games, the narrative progression is not linear, but this only adds to the story. The poignant fragments capture the complexity of life in a way that strictly linear stories often fail to do.

Unfortunately, the story can be hard to follow due to this fragmentation. After all, you’re essentially piecing together the story from discrete, jumbled pieces. In this way, Shio is similar to films like Code Unknown. I was constantly asking myself questions about the game’s characters and world. I might not have had all the answers by the end, but I loved it nonetheless. However, I do tend to be drawn to stories that leave me with more questions than answers. Needless to say, if you are looking for a game with a traditional narrative structure, this might not be your cup of tea.

Not Just a Game, but an Experience

Even after spending ten hours with the game, I am unsure exactly what to make of Shio. Its atmosphere and enigmatic story have stuck with me, but it’s hard to do justice to the experience with words. Indeed, the developers ought to be commended for the way they have captured the essence of dreaming in this game, while also providing a very satisfying gameplay experience. Its difficulty and story might not be for everyone, but I definitely found Shio to be a rewarding game.

Thanks for reading! If you’re looking for a platformer that’s a little less challenging, but just as rewarding, I’d recommend Semblance. Otherwise, you might have heard about the recent Nindie showcase. Check out the upcoming games here!

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