Shu (2016)

Originally released in 2016 by developer Coatsink, Shu has now gilded it’s way to the Nintendo Switch. When a big bad storm monster destroys Shu’s village, leaving the bird-like villagers scattered across the land. Shu embarks on a journey to save them all and return them to the village. Playing as Shu, you will travel between five different worlds, each containing two villagers that have survived the storm. Fully realizing Shu’s owl-like appearance, along with being able to jump, you can glide, either free floating across the level or riding air currents to reach new heights. However, each of the survivors that join you for a specific level with imbue you with a unique ability. Picking from a hat of platforming mechanic favorites certain levels being able to butt-stomp, wall jump, double jump, or air dash; the abilities as the survivors come in pairs. So in world one you can butt-stomp and control platforming flowers, while in world five you can air-dash and slow down time. Each corresponding world is cleverly designed to take advantage of their respective mechanics. Giving you just the right time in each level with each mechanic to keep them feeling fresh, just when you truly get the hang of them, you move to the next world and begin learning your next tools of the trade. Culminating in the final level as many platformers of the past, in an extra long level that requires you to play through all of the mechanics you have learned throughout the game. While the cute and stylized world in Shu begins as a carefree platformer, the difficulty increases as the game goes on. From juggling well-timed platforming challenges to running from the village destroying storm monster, which resurfaces in worlds randomly. You will die quite a lot. Each level is littered with checkpoints, giving you five lives at each checkpoint, but if you get stuck at a certain section and lose those five lives, you restart the level from the beginning. As the controls aren’t as fine tuned as some of the indie platformers of today, maneuvering quickly through levels while being chasing a huge plume of smoke, doesn’t feel as you would hope. Leaving deaths and successes sometimes feeling more a luck of the draw than a challenge of skill. Throughout each level you collect butterflies and owls, mastering a level when you have found all of the owls. Which you can replay each level to do, although you don’t unlock anything when you have collected them all, it left me with little motivation to go back and do so. Included with the Nintendo Switch version of Shu is a sixth world, the Caverns of Nightjars. A DLC pack with six additional levels that utilize different combinations of the mechanics learned from the main game, adding a clever spin on previously mastered moves. Verdict Shu is a short and sweet melting pot of modern day platformers. Not breaking any ground, but sturdy and well-executed, I can happily recommend Shu to any platforming fan looking to spend a few hours gliding through this beautiful world. Be sure to watch my video review on my YouTube channel TheFlannelFox

I'll be clear: Shu hasn't given me a bad time, but it hasn't given me an especially good one either. It’s the classic indie platformer that is very smooth to get into, looks pretty, and doesn't make you think too hard, but at no point did it make me feel anything I haven't experienced a thousand times before and **** wasn't a drag because it's short and has no filler, but precisely because of that, once you finish it, you forget it at the speed of light. If you are looking for a memorable platformer, look elsewhere. If you want to pass the time without complications and you get it cheap, give it a chance... but don't expect much more. Shu is pretty, yes, but also completely dispensable.

A half-baked platformer game, which is a little bit overpriced for what it is. Sometimes it's a little bit confusing to understand what is just the background and what can really kill you. Some levels are too easy, some of them are too hard and unfair, especially the last level, when you have to rely on luck instead of ability to progress, which shows that there are some problems in level design.

Each level was a bother, a pain-staking bore that I had to force myself through. The level designs are poorly made, the collectibles are pointless, and the "boss" is sometimes unfair. This games rating should be a 50 or less.