Shu Demo

Adventure games have to provide the players with an environment that makes them want to explore more and discover the world. Hence, it’s important to include as many interesting places as possible, not to mention the fact that memorable characters are needed as well. On the other hand, the gameplay mechanics have a word to say in the grand scheme of things too.

Shu is a fun 2D platformer with colorful graphics and a great set of gameplay mechanics, in which you have to explore the environment and overcome a variety of obstacles along the way. In order to do so, you have to make use of your character’s special abilities, and each companion you bring along can increase your range of skills to help you navigate tricky portions.

The story puts you in the role of Shu, who is running away from his village after it was destroyed by a storm. It would appear that the said storm is about to bring the whole world to its knees, on the other hand, which is why it’s so important to find a solution before it’s too late. Thankfully, Shu finds a variety of companions along the way, who lend their skills and work together to defeat the threat.

As mentioned before, each character has a unique power that comes in handy every now and again, such as the ability to break objects with a hard fall, or to glide over short distances. Your task is to make clever use of these abilities and get to the end of each level alive. There are many worlds to explore, each one of which features different challenges and beautiful backgrounds to admire.

Speaking of which, the graphics may not be impressive from a technical point of view, but the 2D artwork is gorgeous and extremely vibrant. Hence, the atmosphere is great and it really makes exploration that much more enjoyable. The soundtrack works wonders as well, even if you might be too busy to notice it sometimes.

Shu is not exactly a revolutionary platformer, but it certainly has what it takes to help you have a lot of fun. Some of its ideas are quite new, or at least integrated in a different way, so it does feel like you are playing something unique.