Kill the Shadow Interview – Story, Visual Style, and More

Whether it’s its promise of a narrative-drive murder mystery adventure or its unique blend of 2D and 3D visuals, there’s plenty about Kill the Shadow that catches the eye. Time manipulation mechanics, branching storytelling, what’s looking like a rich setting- the upcoming adventure title seems to have all the elements in place to make a legitimate splash. To learn more about what’ll make it tick, we recently reached out to developer Shadowlight Sanctuary with a few questions about the game. You can read the full interview below.

"We felt that adding a 2D pixel character into a 3D high-definition environment would be a great way to represent “duality” and create a unique experience. This idea became our direction, and we built upon it."

The atmosphere and vibes of Kill the Shadow seem to be among its stronger elements. Can you tell us what served as your inspirations for this title?

The game originated from the 2022 Global Game Jam, where the theme was “duality.” Since we had previously worked on a small 3D tower defense game, we wanted to continue with 3D for this project. But how could we reflect the theme? We thought of a style that is frequently used in indie games, and one that we had also explored—2D pixel art. We felt that adding a 2D pixel character into a 3D high-definition environment would be a great way to represent “duality” and create a unique experience. This idea became our direction, and we built upon it.

The aesthetic of the game is immediately striking. Can you walk us through how you are blending 2D and 3D graphical techniques for this title?

Combining 2D and 3D was quite a challenge for us. From a programming perspective, 2D is essentially a subset of 3D, so we decided to treat the entire project as a 3D game and use 2D techniques for characters and certain objects. The tricky part was ensuring proper interaction between the physics, lighting, and rendering of 2D and 3D objects. We invested a lot of effort into solving this. We used Unity’s URP (Universal Render Pipeline), which gave us more functionality and the ability to customize the effects we wanted. We also wrote a brand-new movement system for the characters so they could properly interact with the physics of the 3D environment. Additionally, we developed a series of shaders to ensure the characters could interact with 3D lighting, cast shadows, and perform other rendering functions.

How variable is the story? How much do things change based on the player’s decision?

The game is divided into multiple story chapters, and player decisions have a significant impact on the progression and endings of each chapter. For example, in the “Death of Wangcai” chapter, whether the player chooses to reveal the truth or secretly inform Captain Wang leads to completely different outcomes and experiences. However, the impact on subsequent chapters is more limited, with only minor changes like additional or fewer dialogues. This is to avoid the game turning into an overwhelming branching nightmare that could make development unmanageable or lead to a bug-ridden experience.

"We would love to release the game on consoles in the future, as it would allow us to reach a larger audience and immerse them in the world we’ve created. However, due to budget and development progress constraints, this plan is on hold for now."

Can you explain how the interpersonal relationship system in the game works? Does it have any bearing on the player’s ability to succeed in cases?

The relationship system is crucial in our game, as it directly affects the branching of the narrative. For example, Fang Guowei’s decision to commit suicide or not depends on his relationship with the player. Similarly, Captain Wang’s willingness to share information or provide certain items depends on his rapport with the player. Relationship levels change based on the choices players make, so every decision matters. All endings stem from the choices made by the player.

In moment-to-moment gameplay, how does the ability to turn back time work?

We created forward-moving animations for all objects that can be reversed. When time is rewound, the in-game time is stopped, causing other objects to remain still while the animations are played in reverse.

How long will an average playthrough of the game be?

We estimate that the average playthrough will take around 8 to 10 hours.

Do you think there is any chance of this game releasing on consoles at some point down the line?

We would love to release the game on consoles in the future, as it would allow us to reach a larger audience and immerse them in the world we’ve created. However, due to budget and development progress constraints, this plan is on hold for now. We hope to work on a console version soon after the PC release.