News Article

Konami and Hudson To Build The Tower of Shadow On Wii

Posted Fri, 21 Aug 2009 by Jonathan Wahlgren

Shady business.

Shady business.

It's a working title, apparently.

The title may not be nailed down quite yet, but we know this much: Hudson's new game, The Tower of Shadow (working title), is going to be published by Konami. It's a platformer where you climb some huge tower for mysterious reasons. Oh, and you're a shadow. Somehow. It's all in progress, really.

Check out the press release below. Remember, this could all change at the drop of a hat. Maybe they'll go with The Great Vertical Caper, or Help! I'm A Shadow! Who knows at this point.

Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH has announced it will release Hudson Soft’s innovative Wii title, The Tower of Shadow (working title), in Spring 2010.

At the heart of The Tower of Shadow (working title) lies a mystery. The player controls the shadow of a young boy. The shadow has one purpose in life: to scale the colossal tower that dominates the game’s skyline. He does not speak. Nobody knows who he is or how he came to be. He just climbs. And climbs.

But even a shadow must abide by certain rules, and thus the player must fulfill certain criteria as they help the shadow to climb the tower. First, the shadow can only walk on the thin line between shadow and light. While he is not affected by height or distance, he must always have a shadow foothold, and he will disappear if he is fully engulfed by either the dark or the light.

The Tower of Shadow (working title) introduces a number of new concepts to its platform game basis. Gravity, for instance, does not apply in normal ways. Instead, when the source of light in a stage is parallel to the ground, the shadow is pulled towards the light. Similarly, if the angle of the light changes, so the gravity also shifts as the shadow is extended or reduced.

The mysterious shadow is also accompanied by a winged sylph known as a‘Spangle’, which can be used to manipulate physical items that the shadow boy cannot. As such, The Tower of Shadow (working title) mixes unique platform elements with a level of puzzling, with the Spangle giving support to the player. The combination of light and shadow creates a unique blend of game styles, with the shadow boy altering the shape of shadows so he can create walkways to previously inaccessible areas.

Along the way, The Tower of Shadow (working title) introduces a giant shadow that is in pursuit of shadow boy, and patrols the tower, alongside other assailants. With a number of tortuous levels to negotiate, The Tower of Shadow (working title) demonstrates Hudson Soft at its creative best. The sprawling levels are full of clever problems that force the player to challenge conventional ways to explore, and to use the varied abilities of the shadow boy and Spangle.

Tags: Wii, Announcements, Press Releases.

Game Screenshots

User Comments

donth8theplaya69

1. donth8theplaya69 Canada 21 Aug 2009, 03:52 BST

Might be better off as a WiiWare title.

pixelman

2. pixelman United States 21 Aug 2009, 04:02 BST

I'm quite excited about this one, actually.

Ravage

3. Ravage Canada 21 Aug 2009, 04:14 BST

This one looks really cool.

beastman93

4. beastman93 United States 21 Aug 2009, 04:30 BST

DO WANT!
Platformers are mah thing. ;)

accc

5. accc United States 21 Aug 2009, 04:32 BST

I want to make sweet love to this game.

Atlantis1982

6. Atlantis1982 United States 21 Aug 2009, 04:54 BST

I don't know, seen the footage. It is an interesting idea, but it is an idea that really lacks substance.

odd69

7. odd69 United States 21 Aug 2009, 05:42 BST

See i hope this platforming trend continues. Thank you Konami, i will buy this.(working title LoL)

buffalobob

8. buffalobob Mexico 21 Aug 2009, 06:46 BST

Looks very interesting. I hope is not as boring as Braid and shadow of the colossus.

GonzoMontana

9. GonzoMontana Germany 21 Aug 2009, 07:50 BST

the idea is nice ... but as a retail game it have to be epic to catch me

Damo

10. Damo United Kingdom 21 Aug 2009, 08:50 BST

Looks like ICO on the PS2. Which is a good thing.

Sean Aaron

11. Sean Aaron United Kingdom 21 Aug 2009, 10:40 BST

I don't normally like platformers, but people keep doing new and interesting things with them -- unlike the 8 and 16-bit eras, so I keep buying them!

Terranigma

12. Terranigma United Kingdom 21 Aug 2009, 11:36 BST

Interesting... I do like the look of this one, so I'll keep an eye out for it

opeter

13. opeter Slovenia 21 Aug 2009, 11:46 BST

It looks like to me, that this game gone be a cousin to NyXQuest/Icarian. Or is it already?

Man with a hat

14. Man with a hat Finland 21 Aug 2009, 12:48 BST

platforming coming back to popularity?

Madara

15. Madara Canada 21 Aug 2009, 15:15 BST

I just loved in the press release, after every time it said "The tower of shadow" it put (working title) after it. That made my morning. :D

vherub

16. vherub United States 21 Aug 2009, 17:06 BST

high hopes this game turns out well

Jockolantern

17. Jockolantern United States 22 Aug 2009, 04:05 BST

Love the looks of this. Platformers are the best and I love the concept behind this particular game. Jumping on the shadows of the platforms themselves? Very cool and presents some definite challenges.

Ren

18. Ren United States 22 Aug 2009, 05:58 BST

Cool! This looks awesome. I love how many great new ideas are coming out of designers who are afraid that platforming is dead or not profitable. It's strangly giving us all some really cool new stuff when publishers will take a chance on original ideas. Konami seems to be leading that charge lately.

Machu

19. Machu United Kingdom 22 Aug 2009, 13:52 BST

I haven't got a clue what they're on about with the whole light-gravity mechanic, but I really want to find out. Sounds great, and I hope they keep that name.

So ergh, what is causing the shadow?! 0_o

CharlieRod

20. CharlieRod United States 23 Aug 2009, 12:43 BST

Me and everyone I knew played this kind of game when we were kids... EXCEPT IT WAS'NT A GAME. It was real life. Now They're making it a game.

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