In the relaxing navigation game SCHiM, you take on the role of a shadow-hopping ghost looking for its missing human companion.

As I've gotten older, I've grown to love leisurely games that let you relax for an hour or two at a time. My faves in this "chill" genre are Donut County and Coffee Talk. SCHiMcould soon follow them if its demo is any guide.

Encouraged by the soothing aesthetics and the prospect of a stress-free experience, I decided to give the SCHiM demo a go when I came across it while browsing the vast selection of survival crafting games at Steam Next Fest. In our fast-paced world of and business, we can all stand to gain by setting aside an hour for ourselves to relax and decompress.

The underlying idea of SCHiM sounds like something from Pixar or Studio Ghibli. Everything possesses a "spirit" known as a schim, including different objects and living things. It is like losing your soul when you lose it.

Cheer on

To begin with, SCHiM teaches you the basics of spirit life. Since you are free to leave your host at any time and inhabit other shadows as long as you ultimately return, it seems that the laws around losing your schim are quite ambiguous. The main schim in question is presented to belong to a little child, whose amazing googly eyes you may momentarily manipulate as the schim works in his shadow.The schim is easy to use. The spirit may be controlled in different shades, much as when you're swimming in a dark pool. You may jump out of the shadow with a single button press, and you can advance by stepping into another neighboring shade.The schim cannot live on bright surfaces, but you may reach a shade that was just out of reach with a quick "safety hop." You will warp back to the closest shadow if you make a mistake, so don't worry about dying. When you need to locate another shadow that is somewhat out of your field of view, you may change the angle of the isometric camera.

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Some items allow you to interact with a single button push; this is normally done for fun to test how the thing responds. If you press the button while under a kid's shadow, you may make a tree tremble or make a youngster sneeze. It ended the minute I discovered how to make bicycle bells ring. I had to wildly clang every bike chime and loudly quack every duck I came across. For those in a dire need of information, yes, you can get ducks to quack to the tune of "Shave and a Haircut." 90% of players will definitely give it a try.

Hoping in spirit

SCHiM does, as stated, have a tale to tell. It's not as delicate as, let's say, Disassemblingwhere the surroundings and the items you control serve as the delicate threads to link. You are partnered with the young child at the start of the game, and you get to see glimpses of his life. He plays as if nothing is wrong with the world. As time goes on, you see him go through high school, college, heartbreak, and eventually early adulthood in his own little cubicle tucked away in an office corner. At his lowest point, the young guy stumbles and loses contact with his googly-eyed spirit as things soon go south for him.That essentially sums up .Schimi: Your human host has been cut off from you and is now wandering the city without realizing what was taken. As you make your way from shadow to shadow across stages filled with different dangers, your objective is to give pursuit. It has the impression of an environmental puzzler since you may have to traverse a bridge or a roadway utilizing just shadows to go forward.In most cases, you can resolve a conflict with a passing person or animal by just waiting for a little while. If you time it well, you may disappear under the shadow of a vehicle or a bike, which will get you closer to your goal. If you find yourself letting your guard down in the wrong place, you might potentially be snatched up and carried off by automobile shadows.The whole premise of the game is that it's not difficult despite its hurdles. Its one-button method of "solving" the navigational dangers makes it a friendly process to move your shadow frog from one end to the other. That's what I understood from the demo, at least. Steam's description of the game suggests that SCHiM won't inevitably go into the realm of irritation very frequently, if at all.

tidy looks

The sharpness of the images is helpful. The game is intentionally monochromatic, contrasting one hue with a darker variation to provide texture and produce a neat, aesthetically pleasant appearance. The placid greens of a neighborhood park give way to a bustling boulevard with flashes of bright blue and rain. All of this is connected by a soundtrack whose songs reflect the intensity of each scene.I don't have many complaints to make in opposition to SCHiM. The graphics and music blend seamlessly with the precise controls to produce a little puzzler that instantly transports me to the Zen mood I was seeking. July 18 is the launch date for SCHiM .