A disappearance shrouded in secrets, a mansion filled with traps, and clues concealed in plain sight; what is Kane Manor hiding? With courage, fast-thinking, and a touch of surrealism, it’s up to Emma and Fenton to find out the truth about Thomas Kane. On their shadowy adventure, they may just uncover the unsettling truth and just how they all fit into this story. Developed by Monochrome Paris and published by Hatinh Interactive, Tandem: A Tale of Shadows is a haunting narrative-driven puzzle game. Spooky, yet utterly whimsical, this puzzle platformer will keep your eyes glued to the screen and the hairs standing on the back of your neck.
The protagonist, Emma, is one plucky young girl and with her newfound teddy bear companion, they must work together to survive and become an amazing detective duo. Much like the light and darkness symbolized within the game, Emma and Fenton cannot continue without the other. With Emma holding a lantern and Fenton walking on the darkness, Tandem: A Tale of Shadows is played with two different camera angles. Emma is controlled with a vertical viewpoint and is unable to jump, while Fenton is horizontally in a 2-D platformer format and can only move on top of solid floors or thick shadows. Too much light limits Fenton’s ability to move around, but if he is completely encased in the dark, he cannot move at all.
The game begins with Emma venturing through the garden to try and find her way inside the manor. Every map is filled with varying challenges to prevent the duo from entering and finding the necessary clues. The garden is filled with motion-detecting spiders, the boiler room hides inky creatures of the deep, and the kitchen is filled with fiery spouts of doom. She may just be a child with a teddy bear, but her adventure is fraught with suspense and peril. Fenton isn’t necessarily safe either as despite being safe from the threats Emma faces, this stoic stuffed animal is still in danger of falling onto the spikes and grinders that plague his shadowy realm.
Tandem: A Tale of Shadows is a great puzzle game that somehow manages to be both cute and creepy at the same time. Some areas make you strategically think ahead while others have you quickly thinking on your feet as the imposed time limits create life and death situations. Luckily, you do not need to worry about running out of lives and having to start over as the protagonists respawn from where they last were. A keen attention to details is just as imperative to the game as finding the multiple hidden rooms and clues scattered throughout the map is no easy task. So, don on your thinking cap and whip out that magnifying glass, this case won’t solve itself!
PROS: Incredibly engaging, fun puzzles, and great atmospheric sound design.
CONS: The storyline and voice acting could be better delivered. Emma’s mouth doesn’t always match up so sometimes it looks as if she’s not talking and makes the game feel as if it’s not thoroughly complete.
SCORE: 8/10
Check Out the Tandem: A Tale of Shadows Trailer:
Tandem: A Tale of Shadows is now available for PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Steam Review
Video games have always been a huge influence in my life and have definitely shaped me to who I am today . Some of my best memories growing up were the many adventures and stories I was able to experience and become immersed in. If my hands aren't either covered in clay, typing, editing, creating, or helping shoving food in my mouth, they would either be gripped to a controller, tapping away at the screen of my phone, or clicking away on my PC. I am always up for trying something new because why live just one life when you can live many.
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