White Shadows

Developer: Monokel  | Publisher: Thunderful Publishing | Release Date: 2021 | Genre: Indie / Platformer / Action | Website: Official Website | Purchase: Steam

Ever since Limbo appeared and proved that black-and-white visuals, silence, and a healthy amount of childhood trauma could become gaming gold, countless titles have tried to follow in its footsteps. Some copied the monochrome aesthetic without understanding what made it effective, while others leaned heavily into abstract storytelling and forgot to make the gameplay engaging. Inside refined the formula further, and Little Nightmares carved out its own identity with unsettling imagery and environmental storytelling. Then along came White Shadows, a debut title from Monokel that immediately invites comparisons to all of them. The giant question hanging over the game is whether it manages to stand alongside titles like Limbo or merely walks in their shadow.

At first glance, the similarities are impossible to ignore. White Shadows places players in control of Ravengirl, a small bird-like protagonist navigating a dark monochromatic world filled with danger, symbolism, and very little direct explanation. However, while Limbo focused on isolation and Inside leaned into horror and mystery, White Shadows aims for something much more overtly dystopian. It presents players with a twisted world filled with authoritarian imagery, propaganda, consumerism, and bizarre social commentary that feels heavily inspired by works such as 1984 and Animal Farm.

The game opens with Ravengirl attempting to escape a brutal industrial city where birds appear to occupy the bottom rung of society. Things immediately feel wrong. Massive structures tower overhead, giant television screens loom over citizens, and bizarre spectacles unfold around every corner. There is very little dialogue or exposition, but White Shadows makes it abundantly clear that this is not a world where anyone is living happily ever after.

Like Limbo and Inside, much of the storytelling happens through environmental details and visual cues rather than cut-scenes. However, this is where White Shadows begins separating itself from its inspirations. While Limbo often trusted players to interpret things entirely for themselves and Inside gradually escalated its mysteries into something horrifying, White Shadows occasionally feels more concerned with symbolism than clarity. Throughout the adventure, players encounter strange scenarios and social commentary that clearly mean something, but understanding exactly what that something is can sometimes feel elusive.

This ambiguity works wonderfully in some places and less so in others. Certain sequences leave a strong impression because of how bizarre and unsettling they are, while others feel like they end just before providing enough context to make them meaningful. It is one of those games where players will likely finish and immediately head online to see whether anyone else figured out what exactly happened.

Gameplay follows the cinematic platforming blueprint popularized by Limbo and Inside. Ravengirl can run, jump, push objects, climb, and occasionally solve environmental puzzles while avoiding hazards. Controls are intentionally simple and mostly revolve around timing and observation. Much like Playdead’s titles, players gradually learn to pay attention to visual clues and environmental behavior instead of relying on tutorials.

The puzzles themselves are decent enough, although players expecting the brutality of Limbo may find White Shadows somewhat restrained. Limbo delighted in killing players repeatedly while forcing experimentation through gruesome trial-and-error puzzle solving. Inside also demanded observation and occasionally featured memorable set pieces that completely changed gameplay expectations. In comparison, White Shadows feels much more forgiving. Death exists, and hazards are certainly present, but most solutions are fairly straightforward.

This creates something of a double-edged sword. On one hand, the accessibility ensures that players can focus more on atmosphere and story without becoming frustrated. On the other hand, some puzzles lack the cleverness or challenge found in the games it so clearly resembles. Most challenges revolve around moving objects, manipulating light and shadows, avoiding security systems, or platforming through dangerous areas. While perfectly functional, few puzzles linger in memory long after completion.

Thankfully, White Shadows compensates with some truly memorable visual sequences. Visually, the game is stunning at times. While Limbo relied heavily on silhouettes and heavy film grain to create unease, White Shadows opts for something far grander and more cinematic. Its city feels oppressive and industrial, with giant machinery, towering architecture, smoke-choked skylines, and impossible structures stretching into the distance. Rather than the abstract emptiness of Limbo, this world feels busy and populated despite its bleakness.

There are moments where White Shadows resembles a dystopian animated film more than a traditional game. Some scenes are framed beautifully and use scale exceptionally well. Ravengirl often appears tiny compared to the gigantic structures surrounding her, reinforcing the feeling that she is just another insignificant creature trapped within a machine far larger than herself.

The lighting deserves special mention too. The monochromatic style may initially suggest something simple, but Monokel clearly put a tremendous amount of effort into dynamic lighting and atmosphere. Bright spotlights cut through darkness, silhouettes shift dramatically, and shadows create some genuinely striking imagery.

Ironically, this visual ambition occasionally works against the game. Some areas become difficult to read due to all the environmental detail and lighting effects. There were moments where hazards blended into the scenery, or it became unclear exactly where players were supposed to go.

Audio complements the experience very well. Instead of relying heavily on traditional background music, much of the sound design feels integrated directly into the world itself. Strange machinery hums in the distance, industrial noises echo throughout the city, and ambient audio contributes heavily to the oppressive atmosphere. Monokel even mentioned wanting audio to feel like it originates naturally within the world itself rather than simply being layered over gameplay.

When music does appear, it often arrives at exactly the right moment. Certain scenes are enhanced dramatically by orchestral pieces or environmental soundscapes that elevate the emotion and scale of what players are witnessing. The game clearly understands when silence is more powerful than music.

Unfortunately, White Shadows also suffers from some technical blemishes. The frame rate can become unstable for no reason, even on more powerful hardware. Replay value is somewhat limited too. The game can comfortably be completed in roughly two to three hours, and while there are achievements and optional elements to discover, most players will likely finish it in one sitting. Like Limbo, it is more about the journey than long-term content. Unlike Limbo, however, the gameplay itself does not necessarily demand repeat visits.

Overall, White Shadows finds itself in a somewhat awkward position. It draws obvious inspiration from Limbo and Inside, but comparisons are both inevitable and somewhat unfair. Those games established incredibly high standards for cinematic platformers, and White Shadows does not quite reach those heights mechanically. However, dismissing it as merely a clone would be doing it a disservice.

The game has its own identity through its dystopian setting and ambitious social commentary. It occasionally stumbles under the weight of its symbolism and could have benefited from stronger puzzles and more challenge, but it still delivers enough memorable moments to justify the journey.

White Shadows might not surpass the games that inspired it, but it still manages to carve out its own strange and unsettling place in the genre.