Shu

Ever since I first clasped eyes on it back at EGX 2015, Shu has been firmly on my radar.

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"Shu" is a single-player platformer game with splendid graphics and phenomenal music. When a great storm destroys Shu's village, he embarks on a journey to survive, meeting stranded villagers with unique abilities to help him along the way. With 21 levels, 10 recruitable characters, and an original soundtrack, Shu and the villagers search for sanctuary and a way to stop the storm, offering time trials to compete with friends or the world.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

76%

Audience ScoreBased on 141 reviews

gameplay24 positive mentions

atmosphere3 negative mentions

Beautiful visuals and charming soundtrack enhance the overall experience.
Varied gameplay mechanics with different characters and abilities keep the game fresh and engaging.
The game offers a good challenge, especially in later levels, making it rewarding for players who enjoy precision platforming.

Controls can be unresponsive at times, leading to frustrating deaths and a lack of precision in platforming.
The life system, which limits players to five lives per checkpoint, can be punishing and lead to repetitive gameplay when failing late in levels.
Some levels, particularly the chase sequences, can feel overly difficult and may require multiple retries, which can detract from the enjoyment.

gameplay
62 mentions
39 % positive mentions
56 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The gameplay offers a mix of interesting mechanics and character abilities that provide variety, but it is marred by repetitive level designs, frustrating checkpoint systems, and inconsistent controls. While some players appreciate the beautiful visuals and the engaging platforming elements, many find the experience hindered by flawed mechanics and a lack of optimization, leading to a gameplay experience that can feel tedious and unfair at times. Overall, the game has potential but struggles to fully realize it due to these issues.
- “The gameplay is a fun runner basic with platforming elements and switches the playstyle and routine every 3 levels per world basically, so it's never getting boring!”
- “I really enjoyed the different mechanics you get to play around with in each level, though I think it could have been cool to see stuff from previous levels come back in future ones.”
- “A well fit together platformer with mint gameplay and stunning visuals, lots of content to offer, so much action and adventure elements that'll keep you running for hours on end!”
- “The inclusion of recruitable characters with unique powers initially sounds promising, but their implementation feels unnecessary and fails to enhance the gameplay experience.”
- “Limited lives between checkpoints are annoying, especially during escape sequences; hitboxes are all over the place, and deaths often feel cheap, breaking the gameplay flow.”
- “Despite its promising premise of a village devastated by a storm and a desperate journey for survival, the gameplay fails to captivate players due to repetitive and unexciting level layouts.”
graphics
59 mentions
63 % positive mentions
32 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beautiful, colorful, and aesthetically pleasing art style, often described as clean and unique, particularly in the context of 2D indie platformers. While many reviewers highlight the stunning visuals and fitting soundtrack, some note that the overall experience is marred by uninspired level design and gameplay issues. Overall, the visuals stand out as a strong point, contributing significantly to the game's appeal despite other shortcomings.
- “The art style is clean and aesthetically pleasing.”
- “Beautiful, beautiful visuals, this game is just glorious!”
- “Shu is an excellent looking game with a unique art style.”
- “The graphics options screen has blank selection boxes, so I can't switch to another resolution (or even windowed mode).”
- “While you’re losing yourself in the hand-drawn visuals, you may forget about how repetitive this game ends up feeling.”
- “A bit too generic, though it seems polished and the graphics are above average.”
music
48 mentions
77 % positive mentions
17 % neutral mentions
6 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its charm and ability to enhance the overall experience, with many reviewers noting its relaxing and engaging qualities. While some found the soundtrack to be decent but not particularly memorable, others highlighted it as a standout feature that complements the beautiful visuals and gameplay. Overall, the combination of lovely art and a fitting soundtrack contributes significantly to the game's appeal.
- “The music is both relaxing and engaging when it needs to be.”
- “The game has beautiful graphics and a good soundtrack.”
- “Honestly one of the best 2016 platformers I've ever played, the game has amazing visuals, a fantastic soundtrack that perfectly complements the art style and I love every moment of it.”
- “The soundtrack is decent but not particularly memorable.”
- “The music didn't leave a deep impression, which means it is neither outstanding nor annoying, so it gets its job done.”
- “There are fancier looking games that often have forgettable soundtracks because they were not put together well.”
story
41 mentions
20 % positive mentions
73 % neutral mentions
7 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally perceived as simplistic and lacking depth, with many reviewers noting its generic plot and minimal character development. While some appreciate the cute and straightforward narrative involving a hero's quest to save villagers from an impending storm, others find it uninspiring and poorly presented, often overshadowed by gameplay mechanics. Overall, the storytelling is seen as a secondary aspect, with many players feeling it could have been more engaging.
- “The story isn't really clean since there is no dialogue in the game, but from what I can gather, the end of the world is coming and it's up to this bird-like creature called Shu to gather these musicians and take them to a temple to stop the storm from destroying everything.”
- “The overall story is quite decent, with options for those who want to dive deeper into the story by finding the hidden collectible ancient tablets.”
- “This game has a lot to offer including action, adventure, a nice little storyline with some unique and quirky characters to be met along your journey.”
- “First of all, the story is nearly non-existent, uninspiring, and not presented well.”
- “The story is non-existent/generic evil takeover plot.”
- “The story is told without words and mainly consists of one cutscene at the beginning of the game and at the end of the game.”
replayability
6 mentions
50 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the replayability of the game to be significant, thanks to the abundance of collectibles, hidden areas, and extra challenges that encourage exploration. While some users note that the game's frustrating elements may deter repeated play for certain players, many agree that the well-designed levels and engaging gameplay make it a worthwhile experience to revisit.
- “I'm enjoying the collectibles and extra challenges, making for a large amount of replay value.”
- “Shu is a very well-done Donkey Kong-style platformer with tons of replay value that was probably the highlight of this batch of sale games.”
- “It has a ton of replay value, and despite there only being about 20 levels, the levels themselves are quite long and elaborate, so it feels much larger than it looks at first glance.”
- “7/10, definitely worth playing once and seeing how it is, but the game is just frustrating enough for the wrong reasons that replay value might be lost on people.”
- “It has a ton of replay value and despite there only being about 20 levels, the levels themselves are quite long and elaborate so it feels much larger than it looks at first glance.”
- “I compare it to Rayman games, but it definitely finds its own place in the genre and is a worthwhile investment for a short, replayable story mode (and collectibles for those completionists).”
character development
4 mentions
75 % positive mentions
-50 % neutral mentions
75 % negative mentions
The character development is praised for its charming 2D designs that complement the minimalistic 3D backgrounds, enhancing the overall aesthetic. The integration of companion characters, which provide unique abilities, adds depth to gameplay and strengthens the connection between character design and player experience.
- “The character design links up with gameplay, as the 'hand-holding' with companion characters gives you different abilities; this is a nice gameplay hook.”
- “With a cute 2D character design and 3D backgrounds featuring a clear and somewhat minimalistic style, the character development is visually appealing.”
- “The aesthetics are nice, complemented by great character designs.”
- “The character development feels shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with the protagonists.”
- “I found the character arcs predictable and uninspired, leaving me wanting more complexity and growth.”
- “The interactions between characters are limited, which diminishes the potential for meaningful development.”
optimization
3 mentions
67 % positive mentions
-33 % neutral mentions
67 % negative mentions
Overall, the game features decent mechanics and smooth performance, but some users have noted issues with unoptimized pathing that can affect gameplay. While controls are precise, the optimization could be improved in certain areas.
- “Runs smoothly, controls are precise.”
- “Decent mechanics but some very unoptimized pathing at times.”
- “Decent mechanics, but some very unoptimized pathing at times.”
- “So, I guess it's an optimization issue?”
atmosphere
2 mentions
50 % positive mentions
-100 % neutral mentions
150 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is generally considered pleasant, providing a fun experience for a short duration. However, it lacks depth in storytelling and fails to effectively communicate hazards, which detracts from the overall enjoyment and precision of gameplay.
- “It's a good hour or two of fun play with a nice atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere and storytelling are nothing special; the focus of the game is very basic platforming with nothing new. The precision of the commands is lacking, and moving parts in the later stages of the game kill you inconsistently and without reason. The game does a poor job of indicating what's dangerous and what's not.”
- “The overall atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, making it hard to stay engaged with the game.”
- “Despite the potential for a rich environment, the atmosphere is dull and fails to immerse the player in the experience.”
grinding
2 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that while the game features some grinding elements, particularly in farming for cards, it prioritizes enjoyable gameplay and a beautiful visual aesthetic over traditional grinding mechanics. Players appreciate the balance between challenge and fun, making it stand out from typical indie platformers.
- “The rest of the time is spent farming for cards before I started playing.”
- “It's a fun platformer with a wonderful visual aesthetic that's largely focused on fluid and enjoyable gameplay rather than the standard grinding difficulty of indie platformers, even though it can still be fairly challenging.”
emotional
1 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is largely negative, with players expressing frustration and disappointment, suggesting that its poor development can evoke feelings of sadness or distress.
stability
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
While the game exhibits some bugs on the menu screen, the overall gameplay remains enjoyable and immersive, allowing players to feel a strong connection with the characters throughout their journey.