Lost in Shadow
{{Short description|2010 video game}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Redirect|Tower of Shadow|the Marvel comic book|Tower of Shadows|the FromSoftware game|Shadow Tower}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Lost in Shadow
| image = Lost in Shadow box art.png
| caption = North American box art
| developer = Hudson Soft
| publisher = Hudson Soft
| director = Osamu Tsuchihashi
| producer = Osamu Tsuchihashi
| designer = Masakazu Echigo
Ryohei Sato
| artist = Hiromasa Ogura
| composer = Takasi Watanabe
| platforms = Wii
| released = {{vgrelease|JP|July 22, 2010|AUS|October 8, 2010|EU|October 15, 2010|NA|January 4, 2011}}
| genre = Puzzle-platform
| modes = Single-player
}}
Lost in Shadow, known as A Shadow's Tale in Australia and Europe and as {{nihongo|Kage no Tō|影の塔||lit. "Tower of Shadows"}} in Japan, is a puzzle-platform video game developed and published by Hudson Soft for the Wii. It was released in Japan in July 2010, in Australia and Europe in October 2010, and in North America in January 2011. It was also released for Wii U via Nintendo eShop in 2016 by Konami, 4 years after Hudson Soft was absorbed by the company. Lost in Shadow is played largely in the background of the game environment as the player controls a boy's shadow, which must climb the shadows of a tall tower, rife with puzzles and enemies. He is accompanied by a sylph that can alter the direction of the foreground light sources, altering the alignment of shadows upon which he climbs. There are times in the game when the boy is able to materialize into the three-dimensional world and briefly interact with the objects themselves as opposed to simply their shadows.
Gameplay
Lost in Shadow is a 2D platform game. The player must navigate each level, fighting enemies, and using switches and levers to open up paths. Selected platforms can be rotated to provide different routes. At certain points, the player is given control over light sources in the foreground which can be moved to alter the layout of the level.
Development
File:Negishi Horse Racing Track.jpg
Lost in Shadow was developed by the team at Hudson Soft that had previously created Kororinpa and its sequel for the Wii. The original inspiration came from the game shadow tag, the objective of which is to step on an opponent's shadow.{{cite web|url=https://www.nsidr.com/archive/casting-shadows-on-lost-in-shadow-with-director-osamu-tsuchihashi|title=Casting shadows: On Lost in Shadow with director Osamu Tsuchihashi|date=July 9, 2010|last=Behrens|first=Mattie|work=N-Sider|publisher=N-Sider Media|access-date=April 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200506201716/https://www.nsidr.com/archive/casting-shadows-on-lost-in-shadow-with-director-osamu-tsuchihashi/|archive-date=May 6, 2020|url-status=live}} Director Osamu Tsuchihashi was reminded of his experience with the game as a child when he saw some kids playing tag in a park.{{cite web|url=http://ign.com/videos/2010/09/14/lost-in-shadows-documentary-video-chapter-1?objectid=23671|title=Lost in Shadow Developer Diary Chapter 1: Lost in Shadow is Born|date=September 14, 2010|work=IGN.com|publisher=IGN Entertainment, Inc.|access-date=February 12, 2011}} He conceived the concept of Lost in Shadow as a result, combining it with an earlier idea of a title revolving around climbing a tower. The atmosphere and setting of the game was based on a disused tower in Tokyo and an abandoned racing track in Negishi, the latter of which Tsuchihashi was intrigued by after he coincidentally came upon a photo of the location.{{cite web|url=https://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/news/2010/behind_the_scenes_of_a_shadows_tale_for_wii_19320.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130421001032/http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/news/2010/behind_the_scenes_of_a_shadows_tale_for_wii_19320.html |archive-date=April 21, 2013|title=Behind the scenes of A Shadow's Tale for Wii|access-date=February 13, 2011|date=October 14, 2010|publisher=Nintendo of Europe|url-status=dead}} For the lighting of Lost in Shadow, he tried to recreate the horizontal incidence of sunlight while playing shadow tag, and the muted color palette used in the title was inspired by ancient Japanese art.{{cite web|url=http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-2010-lost-in/700977|title=Lost in Shadow – E3 2010: Inspiration Interview|date=June 22, 2010|work=GameTrailers|publisher=MTV Networks |access-date=February 13, 2011}} The enemies in the levels were made to convey a sense of fear and sadness, and were thought of as "it", the current chaser in a game of tag.
The shadow protagonist of the story was left unnamed because Tsuchihashi did not want to over-characterize it.{{cite web|url=http://ign.com/videos/2010/10/14/lost-in-shadow-documentary-chapter-2?objectid=23671|title=Lost in Shadow Developer Diary Chapter 2: The Mysteries of Lost in Shadow disclosed??|date=October 14, 2010|work=IGN.com|publisher=IGN Entertainment, Inc.|access-date=February 12, 2011}} Similarly, chief designer Masakazu Echigo kept its shape fairly simple not to obscure it on the various surfaces it is cast on, and sound director Shohei Bando was faced with the challenge of creating sounds a shadow would make. The health system of the game, centered around the weight of the shadow, was based on Duncan MacDougall's alleged determination of the human soul weighing 21 grams.{{cite web|url=http://gaygamer.net/2010/06/e3_10_interview_lost_in_shadow.html|title=E3 '10: Interview: Lost In Shadow|date=June 23, 2010|work=GayGamer.net|publisher=FAD Media, Inc.|access-date=February 13, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101215073834/http://gaygamer.net/2010/06/e3_10_interview_lost_in_shadow.html|archive-date=December 15, 2010|url-status=usurped}} Hiromasa Ogura, who is a character designer of director Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli and had previously worked on the anime films Patlabor: The Movie and Ghost in the Shell, was commissioned as the art director for the game and drew the Japanese box cover, as part of a team of seven graphic artists.{{cite web|url=http://www.kagenosite.com/famitsu/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710231953/http://www.kagenosite.com/famitsu/|archive-date=July 10, 2010|script-title=ja:影の塔 プレイ･インプレッション|date=July 2010|last=Kobayashi|first=Nonmalt|language=ja|publisher=Hudson Soft Co., Ltd. |access-date=February 12, 2011|url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/29204/Qamp_A_Hudsons_Kasahara_On_Lost_In_Shadows_Understated_Approach.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724065424/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/29204/Qamp_A_Hudsons_Kasahara_On_Lost_In_Shadows_Understated_Approach.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 24, 2010|title=Q&A: Hudson's Kasahara On Lost In Shadow's Understated Approach|last=Fleming|first=Jeff|date=July 21, 2010|work=Gamasutra|publisher=United Business Media LLC|access-date=February 13, 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://www.kagenosite.com/famitsu2/|archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5wS86QMoC?url=http://www.kagenosite.com/famitsu2/|archive-date=12 February 2011 |title=ファミ通com 影のサイト出張版|date=July 2010|last=Kobayashi|first=Nonmalt|language=ja|publisher=Hudson Soft Co., Ltd.|access-date=February 12, 2011|url-status=dead}} The music composed by Takasi Watanabe is mostly ambient in nature, and is supplemented by the image song "Hinagiku" from artist Gutevolk.{{cite video game|title=Lost in Shadow|developer=Hudson Soft Co., Ltd.|publisher=Hudson Entertainment Inc.|date=January 4, 2011|scene=staff credits}} The team conceived the easier puzzles in the game with a computer program, though actual toy blocks were used to model more complex ones, resulting in a lot of trial and error.{{cite web|url=http://ign.com/videos/2010/11/11/lost-in-shadows-documentary-video-chapter-3|title=Lost in Shadow Developer Diary Chapter 3: Tips for clearing the stages of Lost in Shadow disclosed!?|date=November 11, 2010|work=IGN.com|publisher=IGN Entertainment, Inc.|access-date=February 12, 2011}} However, most of the development time of one and a half years was spent on creating and adjusting the shadow engine which posed many unforeseen problems for the game's programmers.{{cite web|url=http://ign.com/videos/2010/12/08/lost-in-shadows-documentary-video-chapter-4?objectid=23671|title=Lost in Shadow Developer Diary Chapter 4: Pre-launch Secrets Revealed|date=December 8, 2010|work=IGN.com|publisher=IGN Entertainment, Inc.|access-date=February 12, 2011}}
Initially, the game's English working title was Tower of Shadow, but it was renamed.{{Cite web |last=Sliwinski |first=Alexander |date=2016-07-15 |title=Tower of Shadow renamed: Lost in Shadow |url=https://www.engadget.com/2009-09-01-tower-of-shadow-renamed-lost-in-shadow.html |access-date=2023-10-29 |website=Engadget |language=en-US}}
Reception
{{Video game reviews
| GR = 69%{{cite web|url=http://www.gamerankings.com/wii/971438-lost-in-shadow/index.html|title=Lost in Shadow for Wii|website=GameRankings|access-date=October 18, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191205213523/https://www.gamerankings.com/wii/971438-lost-in-shadow/index.html|archive-date=December 5, 2019|url-status=dead}}
| MC = 68/100{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/lost-in-shadow/critic-reviews/?platform=wii|title=Lost in Shadow for Wii Reviews|website=Metacritic|publisher=CBS Interactive|access-date=January 5, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230212152816/https://www.metacritic.com/game/wii/lost-in-shadow|archive-date=February 12, 2023|url-status=live}}
| EuroG = 5/10{{cite web|url=https://www.eurogamer.net/a-shadow-s-tale-review|title=A Shadow's Tale|last=Whitehead|first=Dan|website=Eurogamer|publisher=Gamer Network|date=October 13, 2010|access-date=June 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819135321/https://www.eurogamer.net/a-shadow-s-tale-review|archive-date=August 19, 2022|url-status=live}}
| IGN = 8.5/10{{cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/10/08/a-shadows-tale-uk-review|title=A Shadow's Tale UK Review|last=MacDonald|first=Keza|website=IGN|date=October 8, 2010|access-date=June 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303030933/https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/10/08/a-shadows-tale-uk-review|archive-date=March 3, 2021|url-status=live}}
| NP = 8/10{{cite magazine|title=Lost in Shadow|last=Thomason|first=Steve|magazine=Nintendo Power|volume=263|date=January 2011|page=89}}
| rev1 = MSN
| rev2 = Impulse Gamer
| rev2Score = 8.7/10[http://www.impulsegamer.com/wiiashadowstale.html A Shadow's Tale WII Review - www.impulsegamer.com]
}}
Lost in Shadow received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.
Writing for MSN, Kristan Reed praised the game as "an outside bet for Game of the Year", with his only criticisms being the difficulty level and lack of anti-aliasing. Eurogamer called the game "as insubstantial as its hero.", lamenting that "it's no longer enough to simply come up with a concept and let it do the heavy lifting for the entire length of a game."
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.hudson.co.jp/ashadowstale/ Official Australian and European website]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lost in Shadow}}
Category:Perspective video games
Category:Side-scrolling video games
Category:Video games developed in Japan
Category:Video games with 2.5D graphics
Category:Video games with silhouette graphics