What can a cute little girl with big yellow bows and a teddy bear do in a gloomy Victorian mansion? Of course, to solve sophisticated puzzles, during which the bear runs along the walls, and the girl helps him by creating shadows. Nothing is clear yet? No wonder – this is a puzzle platformer. Beautiful, stylish, atmospheric, with a bunch of puzzles – but not perfect.
Emma and the bear
Tandem: A Tale of Shadows is set in Victorian London, where Scotland Yard unsuccessfully investigates the disappearance of Thomas Kane, the only son of the famous illusionists. Ten-year-old Emma (that’s the name of our heroine) turned out to be such a lively girl that she decided to solve the mystery. After collecting and studying all the information about this event, she went on her “mission” to the magicians’ mansion, and on the way met the mysterious teddy bear Fenton, who also ran to the castle. In front of the gate, Emma invited the bear to join forces.
And in the very mansion of Fenton, some muck suddenly sucks into the wall, a crow appears, picking up a certain crystal, and Emma starts talking about “all-consuming shadows that live in many things and hide a lot” …
What? Who? Whom should I call? Throughout the game, you will hardly really understand what is happening here – and the presence of surreal monsters like a sort of mechanical worm with a clown’s head is even more confusing.
Some hints can be found in bonus art and mysterious phrases that become available if you find a secret at the level. It is only clear that this castle was not without tricks from the four illusionists. The authors do not try to give answers, but simply immerse us in a dark, gothic atmosphere with stylistics in the spirit of Tim Burton and Alice in Wonderland. Then there will be other decorations – for example, in the style of Jules Verne.
Shadow games
As you already understood, Emma and Fenton should not fight, but solve puzzles. The developers from Monochrome Paris obviously took the essence of these puzzles from another French game – Contrast. Emma must change the lighting in such a way as to create shadows, through which Fenton, when we switch to him, will run and jump like on platforms to get to the next crystal and throw it to Emma – only after that they will be allowed to go to the next level. The girl moves on the ground with a top view, and the bear runs along the walls with a side view.
To change the lighting, Emma can not only move herself with a lantern in her hands, but also move objects – for example, carts, which are also used to press down any button on the floor. Often you also need to look for the keys to the doors.
Yes, here, of course, the classic mechanics is used, when one character with the help of another gets to the button / lever and opens the door for him, and he also presses / activates something to clear the way for his comrade, defuse the trap, and so on.
A change of scenery
This base, of course, is superimposed on complications, tricks and author’s developments. In particular, Emma should always illuminate the places where the bear is – it becomes inaccessible in the shade. In addition, it is often necessary to avoid enemies who can catch Emma or Fenton. Somewhere a bear uses a beep to distract spiders that can quickly pack our heroine into a cocoon; somewhere she, juggling with light sources, leads the creatures away from Fenton; somewhere you need objects to block their view and path, to go around from the rear – in particular, through the cracks in the walls.
There are many situations and puzzles, they gradually become more complicated, and with the transition to new areas of the castle, new mechanics are also opened. So, in the botanical garden, mechanical spiders are replaced by live insects, which need to be distracted or used to solve puzzles. In the kitchen, instead of carts, we move funny pieces of jelly that can devour each other and grow. And Fenton is there jumping on the shadows from forks and other tableware.
In the boiler room, everything is built around the need to let and move water through pipes – here gradually moving shadow platforms appear for Fenton. And so on. You do not have to be bored and sinned that you constantly need to repeat approximately the same actions.
Tandem: A Tale Of Shadows: Overview
- Tandem: A Tale of Shadows received many awards even before its release. Indeed, the French have made a stylish, interesting puzzle platformer. But we still can’t call it a new word in the genre, which they insist on. We have already seen this gameplay basis – exercises with shadows at least in Contrast. In addition, in the latter, the puzzles are much more organically connected with the dramatic plot. And here the story is in the background, sketched too casually and leaves questions that, after the eerie ending, only accumulate and, as a result, generate not a desire to understand, but rather bewilderment. This, however, does not negate the fact that we received a very good collection of not the most trivial puzzles in a beautiful package.
- Pros: many interesting and challenging puzzles based on lighting, stealth and traps; the game looks great and evokes associations with “Alice in Wonderland” and the works of Tim Burton; the music works great for the atmosphere.
- Cons: very short duration; too little attention is paid to the history and rationale of what is happening; the final … well, you’ll see for yourself.