Shio is a challenging platform in which you go from hitting lantern in the air from one lantern to another moving from location to location.
General Gameplay
Shio is a platformer in which you go from level to level hitting lanterns to get to the next level. Shio offers a story mode in which you can play through the story and a harder platformer for those that are looking for a challenge. The Game Visuals for Shio are breath taking! The graphics are very animated like seeing an animated show on the screen. The game visual is very sharp on both the mobile screen and on the SMART TV, this is one of the most beautiful looking games on the Nintendo Switch. Everything in the game from the character, to the backgrounds are very sharp and clear in the game and easy to see. The game does not support a colorblind mode, but there is no need as the colors are very vivid on the screen. In our playtesting, we did not see anything offensive in the game for younger gamers. The game is very family friendly in its graphics and there was nothing that we saw that would be otherwise. Audio for Shio is very minimal in the game but still well done. There is text in the game so there is no spoken dialog, so most times you would hear a somber music playing in the background. The game does a great job in the sound department of not having an overbearing soundtrack when playing. All sound effects are done well so you can hear what you are doing, from swing the lantern, to the traps, platforms and other sound everything has a purpose in the game audio department. In our playtesting, we did not hear anything in the game that would be not family friendly to younger gamers playing the game. As we mention earlier that the game does not have any spoken dialog so there are not voiceovers in the game itself. The Controls for Shio are very easy to use and very responsive. The game is a challenging platformer, so having very tight controls are key for the game and Shio has this. As you use the left thumb stick to move the character, there is a jump button to move and an action button. The game is meant to be easy for controls to be used and in our playtesting with our gamers ages (8-65) everyone was able to play the game. Non-platformer gamers had to go through the tutorial first but did not have any trouble playing Shio. Now we also tested the game with both Joy-Conns and the pro controller and we have to say that the pro controller wins hands down when playing but the game in our honest opinion works well with both.
“Shio shows that a beautiful game that is great on controls and challenging can be done on the Nintendo Switch, this is a must have game for any platformer fans out there.”
Family Friendly
First off if you are or even not a platformer fan, you will love Shio. The game is very simple in its design and easy to play. Yes, the game does get a little harder in later levels, but it does a great job on showing you what to do so you are more prepared to play the game and later platforms, traps and obstacles that come with the gameplay. Also, as we said before in the review, everyone, gamer or not loved the animation that the game is presented in. Most if not all here at the office loved the game design and felt that they were watching an animated movie. Overall Shio is a great game to have in your digital library. The game controls are very easy to use, and the game checkpoints are forgiving so you don’t feel punished when you mess up in the jumping and miss hitting a lantern. Also, there is a great story to the game, so this is also a big plus for those gamers in your gaming family that love story driven games. We highly recommend the game for your digital library for the Nintendo Switch. This is a fun game to play and it will grow on you once playing it. Now for those gamers that are in your gaming family that are looking for a challenge. There is more of challenging mode in the game where there are hidden and more challenging platforming in the game. This allows more experience gamers to get the challenge that they are looking for in the game. In our special needs game testing, we did not encounter any issues with the game graphics, sound or even controls. The game is very family friendly and easy to play.
Closing
Shio, being a beautiful game, is a fun, challenging platformer that is fun to play for all ages. It does get harder but in a fun way in which you want to play it more to see what happens next. A great overall game to have for your digital library.
