SCHiM is a 3D platforming game where you use the shadows of the world to get back to your living being! Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.
SCHiM Review Overview
What is SCHiM?
SCHiM is a 3D adventure platformer where you will use the shadows to navigate through this abstract world. As a schim, your only way to go around is by leaping from shadow to shadow, where you’ll encounter puzzles and dynamic platforming using real-world objects and locales, all while in a visually stunning environment.
SCHiM features:
⚫︎ Cozy and Relaxing Music
⚫︎ Simple Yet Thought-Provoking Platformer
⚫︎ Minimalistic Yet Stunning Visuals
⚫︎ Interesting Shadow Gameplay Mechanics
For more gameplay details, read everything we know about SCHiM's gameplay and story.
 SCHiM |
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SCHiM Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Cozy and Relaxing Vibes Straightforward Yet Open Platforming Challenging Segments |
Checkpoints and Downtime Collectible Items May Be Hard to Spot |
SCHiM Overall - 90/100
SCHiM is an amazing platformer, and the relaxing vibes, great visuals, and serene music make it even more amazing. While it’s arguable that there’s not too much depth to the platforming compared to the greats, there’s still enough interesting mechanics and challenges in the later stages to keep your attention.
SCHiM Story - 8/10
The story is all about a certain schim trying to find its way back to its host human after unfortunate events led to it splitting them apart. There’s no dialogue in the story, but the scenes and visuals do enough to tell the story of the person who’s down on his luck and eventually getting their life back on track.
SCHiM Gameplay - 9/10
The platforming in the game is pretty interesting. Granted, it’s not as deep as the best of the best in the genre with crazy mechanics and whatnot, but it offers creative usage of the game’s lighting and makes them into satisfying level designs that are easy to understand. Don’t let the cozy vibes fool you, though! The game has some challenging levels, and some actually have more than one solution, which keeps the gameplay interesting and fresh.
SCHiM Visuals - 10/10
SCHiM’s visuals are downright amazing. The minimalistic designs paired with the monochrome palette is the game’s highlight. To put the cherry on top of the already amazing visuals, the animations in the game are top-notch as well, as seen in the game’s various locales, such as towns, parks, warehouses, and more.
SCHiM Audio - 9/10
The game’s audio design is superb, to the point where the music is one of the game’s main strengths. The game’s relaxing and calming music will definitely keep you cozy, maybe even enough to have you vibing instead of playing.
SCHiM Value for Money - 9/10
For $24.99, the game is absolutely worth it for its stunning minimalist graphics, relaxing music, and interesting gameplay. It’s a pretty good platformer with great level design enhanced by the rest of its aspects. More to the point, the game also has more than enough levels for you to enjoy and even additional side items to collect for the completionists.
SCHiM Review: A Soulful Platformer Making Its Way Downtown
SCHiM already made a great impression on us during our demo review, and we’re glad to report that the full release just doubled down on what we already thought about the game! Its stunning visuals, relaxing music, and interesting gameplay are all evident in how the whole game is packaged. Not just that, but the main issue that we had with the demo was that the game was a little too easy, and it’s good that the game had some challenging segments mixed in with this cozy platformer.
The story is simple yet compelling, even with the absence of dialogue. It’s a simple story of a person who’s really down on their luck, and an unfortunate accident caused their schim to separate from them. You even get a short snippet of events showing the person’s life, where you live as the person and the schim before they separate. The animations and music really push the game’s narrative the most, as scenes are reminiscent of a silent movie and need you to really look at what they’re doing to understand the story.
The visuals are still a marvel to look at. The monochrome palette, minimalistic design, great animations, and most especially, the lighting. It’s easy to identify that the game looks great, but it’s important that the visuals were established well, since the visuals lend themselves to the gameplay as to how you play around the game’s shadows. The devs really nailed the look of the different locales in the game, like the parks, yards, warehouses, and more.
The music is amazing as well. It may be one of the reasons why the game is enjoyable for most, especially because it automatically puts you in a state of calm and relaxation. There were a couple of instances where we had to just vibe with the tunes. The sound effects are quite enjoyable too, as the schim bouncing around mixed with the sounds of everyday objects being interacted with are also satisfying to hear.
As a platformer, the game is pretty simple and has great level designs to show for it. You only really need a couple of minutes to become familiar with the game’s mechanics, and that’s honestly a good way to set the tone for more interesting level design. The game introduces more complex segments as the game progresses, and since the game is mechanically pretty easy, it shows the variety of the level design instead of relying on the player to learn hard mechanics.
Another thing to commend is the game’s level design itself. It has relatively large open areas where you can explore the areas to look for collectible items. Also, the levels also offer different solutions for some segments of the game, which is actually a pretty good way to showcase the level design as you’re not really confined by one set path sometimes.
Ultimately, the game already made a really good impression during its demo, and it continues to not disappoint. It’s a platformer that’s worth your time, especially if you like cozy and relaxing games.
Pros of SCHiM
| Things SCHiM Got Right |
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Cozy and Relaxing Vibes Straightforward Yet Open Platforming Challenging Segments |
Cozy and Relaxing Vibes
The game is perfect for those who just want to relax and enjoy some good ol’ platforming fun. Every aspect of the game—the visuals, gameplay, and especially the music—all lead to cozy vibes that anyone would enjoy. The game is simple enough that you immediately learn how to play it after the game’s intro level, yet it has certain segments to challenge you from time to time.
Straightforward Yet Open Platforming
The game is very simple and straightforward. Levels are designed so that you can easily identify where to go, and the game also has a built-in objective button to point you where to go. Additionally, levels have a sense of openness to them, where you can actually take your time to explore the level in search of the collectibles for each stage. This leads to one of the great things about the gameplay, since there are some levels that have more than one solution to get to the stage’s goal.
Challenging Segments
Initially, the demo was already enjoyable, but it did lack a certain challenge that you would look for or want in the platforming genre. Fortunately, this was alleviated since there were definitely some challenging levels in the game where you had to flex your skill and precision a bit. It’s good that the game didn’t make things too easy, as great platformers should have certain segments that challenge you to use the game’s mechanics.
Cons of SCHiM
| Things That SCHiM Can Improve |
|---|
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Checkpoints and Downtime Collectible Items May Be Hard to Spot |
Checkpoints and Downtime
There are certain segments and levels that could use some better checkpoint placements. There were a couple of segments that have their checkpoints a little too far and may sour the relaxing experience. The game also has a small issue on the amount of downtime that you have when you’re waiting for certain objects to move. These issues aren’t anything major, as they’re mostly a skill issue on our part.
Collectible Items May Be Hard to Spot
While the visuals are amazing, there are some levels that have collectibles that are definitely harder to spot than others. It may be intentional, but there was one instance where it took longer to find the collectible than to get to the goal.
Is SCHiM Worth It?
Yes! It’s Time to Bring The Little Guy Back Home!
SCHiM is amazing, without a shadow of a doubt. The visuals, music, and gameplay all combine to create a satisfying platformer with interesting mechanics. All of this for the price of $24.99, the game is absolutely cozy and perfect to play when you’re trying to unwind from the stresses of everyday life, which we probably already have enough of, .
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Playstation |
Switch |
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| TBA; for wishlist only | Unavailable | ||||||||||
SCHiM FAQ
What does the word "schim" mean?
Schim originates from the Dutch language which translates to shadow, ghost, or phantom.
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SCHiM Product Information
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| Title | SCHIM |
|---|---|
| Release Date | July 18, 2024 |
| Developer | Ewoud van der Werf, Nils Slijkerman |
| Publisher | Extra Nice, PLAYISM |
| Supported Platforms | PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, PC (Steam) |
| Genre | Platformer, Adventure |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | Everyone |
| Official Website | SCHiM Website |
