The Nintendo Switch is undoubtedly a weaker console than the PS4 and even the Xbox One, let alone the more powerful PS4 Pro and Xbox One X variants; however, it remains a marvel of engineering for what it is, especially given how much power it packs into its size, while also managing to deliver at least somewhat reasonable battery life.

This is a sentiment echoed by Frozenbyte, the folks behind Trine and the upcoming Nine Parchments, which is also coming to the Nintendo Switch. Speaking to WCCFTech, Frozenbyte said that the Switch is a powerhouse, and extremely easy to develop for, with great documentation on the hardware and its features readily available.

“We’ve been enjoying development on Switch a lot,” they said. “The architecture, documentation and everything has been very well put together, Nintendo has done a great job. Nine Parchments is quite demanding visually, so we’re running at 30fps, 1080p in docked and 720p in portable mode. The Switch is definitely a powerhouse considering its size, and the portability really works well for many games. You can even play Nine Parchments in co-op on a single Switch system where each player only uses one Joy-Con!”

When they were asked about the possibility of their older games coming to the Switch, they said that chances for Trine coming over generally look good- Shadwen might be a bit of a stretch, though. That said, they did drop a tease for next year, suggesting players should wait to see “what [it] brings”, so who knows? You could soon be playing Trine on your Switch, if things turn out right.

Sony has been doing quite well this console generation. The PS4 has sold over 40 million units and at this pace it will be well above the 50 million mark later this year. On the other hand, Microsoft has been trying their best by reducing the Xbox One’ price, taking new initiatives such as the Xbox – Windows 10 integration and working on new exclusives for the console. Regardless of whatever they have done, Sony has the momentum and it’s obvious that Sony is doing somethings right and Microsoft are getting a few things wrong.

We raised this point in our interview with Kai Tuovinen from Frozenbyte Studios and according to him Sony’s easier policies with developers and development kits have helped the PS4 to keep up the lead on the Xbox One.

“For us it was mostly about the initial launch timing and sending out dev kits at the time.  There were a few months in between getting the PS4s and Xbox Ones.,” he said to GamingBolt.

“We got the PS4 kits first and started developing for that platform, while we were still waiting for the Xbox kits to arrive. So that’s been the story for us so far.  There are also some differences in policies regarding game approvals that are easier on the PS4 side, but I think Sony just got a bit of a head start in getting the tech out to developers.”

So it seems Sony’s consistent open and friendly attitude with developers has helped the PS4 to gain a substantial lead over the Xbox One. Microsoft had strict policies regarding indie developers and their games which they have somewhat relaxed in the last year but it seems that it has hurt them in the long run.

What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments section below.

GamingBolt spoke to Kai Tuovinen, marketing in-charge at Frozenbyte, about this and other aspects of the game, not to mention industry trends likely to make headlines in the coming weeks.

"The storyline and the relationship between Shadwen and Lily plays a significant part.  The story changes depending on your actions – whether or not you decide to kill in front of Lily. "

The Trine series fit into an interesting genre (2D platformer/puzzler solver/action game) but Shadwen seems to draw from a pool of different genres. What inspired it?

One of the original inspirations for Shadwen probably came from a game concept we’d envisioned many years ago, which was about murdering people in a medieval world,  and based on stop-motion animations.  It was never taken further than the idea phase, but you could say it was one of those inspirations in the back of your head for Shadwen.

Our main starting point for Shadwen was to use the grappling hook from Trine 3. It was the most tech-heavy feature of that game and it was heavily underutilized for the amount of effort it took to create. We had wanted to try out the stealth genre for a while,  so the pieces fell together quite quickly after our initial tests. We implemented the various time mechanics soon after we began playing with the grappling hook in a full 3^rd person 3D environment, as it was much easier to aim the rope where you wanted when paused mid-air.

How significant is the story in Shadwen? How do player actions factor into the overall flow of the story and its conclusion? 

The storyline and the relationship between Shadwen and Lily plays a significant part.  The story changes depending on your actions – whether or not you decide to kill in front of Lily.  The girl will be traumatized should you opt for violence, and the relationship and dialogue between the two characters changes accordingly.

There are two different endings in Shadwen that can be achieved by three different play styles:  Completely lethal (killing everyone on your way), Non-lethal (no violence at all), and a mixture of both where you might kill, but hide the bodies and kills from Lily

Is there a concern that Shadwen‘s stealth meets time manipulation meets rewinding progress mechanic could be too difficult for the majority of players to grasp? 

I don’t think it will be too difficult to grasp, but some players might be a bit uncomfortable with the time-stopping mechanic at first.  The rewind is very intuitive as you can see everything that happens, so people will probably be using it a lot.

What obstacles did you run into when designing levels and scenarios with this kind of unique stealth approach?

Balancing the levels to the two-character approach was probably the biggest challenge. With Shadwen you can easily use the rope and rooftops to get to the end of each scene in an instant, but to create interesting routes for when you have to get Lily there as well, that was one of the things that required the most thought in the level-design department.

"If the guards see you they shoot you, and if they discover bodies of their fellow guards, they’ll go into alert mode and attempt to ring the bell at the end of the “room” they’re in."

What can you tell us about the AI and how it reacts to the player’s actions over time? How does it affect how various missions can play out?

The AI of the guards is probably not the brightest you’ll see because the helmets block so much of their vision!  The guards are not super-alert and don’t instantly detect everything, because that would make playing very frustrating, so we made them a bit easier for players to deal with.

If the guards see you they shoot you, and if they discover bodies of their fellow guards, they’ll go into alert mode and attempt to ring the bell at the end of the “room” they’re in. If you’re detected, it’s over, but if guards are alerted and they haven’t spotted you, you still have the chance to prevent a game-over if you stop them (kill them) in time before they reach the bell.  The traps come especially handy in those situations, should you decide to try to play it out instead of rewinding.

Are there any challenges or other unique extras that players can indulge in apart from the main story?

No – just the two main story lines depending on your play style.

What tools will players be able to use to navigate across these levels? Will there be other items to unlock as the story progresses to diversify the strategic possibilities?

Your main tool for movement,  the grappling hook,  is crafted in the first Shadwen level. But different trap schematics can be found in the following levels, and they vary from deadly nail traps, poison dart traps,  to explosives, as well as non-lethal decoy toys. They may or may not help your progress. Often it’s more chaos.

How long will it take your average player to complete the story for Shadwen?

I would say 5-7 hours is a good average. It depends on a number of things – Your play style (non-lethal is typically much harder), your skill level and willingness to explore and gather traps.

"That’s not to say we wouldn’t want to bring our games to the Xbox One – we do, but it’s just a lot harder especially if we’re not simultaneously shipping on all console platforms."

Is there a possibility of sequels or post-launch DLC to continue the game’s legacy?

We’ll see how the game sells,  Shadwen is a new IP for us so we’ll have to consider the success before we commit to any sequels at least.

Will you revisit the Trine series after Shadwen or pursue other projects in the meantime?

At some point hopefully – we still have some other new things cooking, so it might take a while before we return to the Trine series.

Shadwen is yet another game from Frozenbyte that did not launched on the Xbox One. Why do you think this is happening?

We wanted to do a multiplatform launch for Shadwen, but there’s only so much we could do at the same time,  given the time frame that we had.  It all boils down to our history with the two consoles. We’ve done three games for PS4 so far and none for the Xbox One, so it was of course easier to continue on that path.

That’s not to say we wouldn’t want to bring our games to the Xbox One – we do, but it’s just a lot harder especially if we’re not simultaneously shipping on all console platforms.

I am assuming that you must have heard rumors about an upgraded PS4 (code name Neo) flying around the internet. There is apparently a marginal improvement in CPU but impressive improvements in the GPU and memory bandwidth. As someone who is in development, what is your take on this? What kind of improvements do you think this will result into? (this question is from a theoretical perspective since nothing is confirm yet)

I’ll have to go with the pretty standard –  better graphics, better frame rate guess. It could be related to PS VR but time will tell.

"We’re always looking at new platforms and the NX has been quite the mystery. We look forward to more information about it."

Do you see devs aiming higher performance parameters for Neo and delivering sub-optimal performance on current base model PS4? (this question is from a theoretical and developer perspective since nothing is confirm yet)

I believe that’s a valid concern and what a lot of people are fearing.  If the rumors are true about mandatory support for the “old PS4”, then it’s a bit puzzling what the purpose of NEO really is from a developer perspective.  Of course as developers we’d want to support both platforms, but if we were making a game that could only run on the higher spec device, we’d have to consider our options on what to do with the version that’s coming to the older hardware to make it work. Naturally we’d look for a solution that would be great for both 🙂

Nintendo NX is scheduled to launch next year, do you have any plans to support that platform?

We’re always looking at new platforms and the NX has been quite the mystery. We look forward to more information about it.

In your opinion, what is Sony and PS4 doing right and Microsoft and Xbox One doing wrong? (given the PS4 is literally leading this console cycle)

For us it was mostly about the initial launch timing and sending out dev kits at the time. There were a few months in between getting the PS4s and Xbox Ones. We got the PS4 kits first and started developing for that platform, while we were still waiting for the Xbox kits to arrive. So that’s been the story for us so far.  There are also some differences in policies regarding game approvals that are easier on the PS4 side, but I think Sony just got a bit of a head start in getting the tech out to developers.

Frozenbyte is best-known for their Trine series of puzzle-platformers. Trine 3: Artifacts of Power launched to mixed reviews last August. Shadwen is powered by Frozenbyte’s in-house engine, and is slated to release in May 2016, for PC and PS4. A playable demo of Shadwen arrived on Steam in February, giving players a taste of Shadwen’s core mechanics. The demo was used to promote the upcoming full release of the game in a unique manner: Shadwen’s launch price was discounted for every person who installed and played the demo. This brought the final launch price down to just $14.55.

• 1. Development
• 2. Story
• 3. Characters
• 4. Gameplay

Development

Shadwen was announced in December 2015. The announcement was accompanied by a one and a half minute debut trailer focusing on the game’s core mechanics—platforming, assassinations and physics-based environmental kills were showcased. Shadwen’s time-manipulation feature was also highlighted. Shadwen runs on an in-house engine, and features an implementation of Nvidia PhysX. As with the Trine games, Frozenbyte makes extensive use of environmental physics in Shadwen, for platforming and combat. As shown in the announcement trailer, physics-based environmental kills—such as rolling barrels onto enemies—can add to the straight-up stealth aspects of the game.

In February, Frozenbyte released a playable demo of Shadwen. In addition to giving players a taste of what was to come in May, the demo was also a part of a unique promotional campaign. In a Gamasutra interview, Frozenbyte’s Marketing Manager Kai Tuovinen spoke of how, as a relatively small indie studio, Frozenbyte didn’t expect a demo of the game to elicit significant interest in and of itself, and conceptualized the demo discount campaign to give Shadwen greater visibility. The crux of the demo discount campaign is this: Steam player stats were collected for all players who downloaded and played the demo. An overall Community Score was tallied up by taking every player into account. The higher the Community Score, the greater the discount Frozenbyte would offer on Shadwen at launch. The campaign was successful enough that Shadwen’s launch price was brought down to $14.55, from an initial $35 pricepoint.

Story

Shadwen’s story revolves around an escort/partner-style narrative thread, as seen in the likes of Ico. The titular character, Shadwen, is an assassin out to kill the king, though she must look after Lilly at the same time.  Frozenbyte claimed that it wants to explore the consequences of violence in videogames through the interplay between the characters Shadwen and Lilly. Similar to Dishonored, Shadwen doesn’t punish players outright for killing enemies. However, Lilly’s reactions will vary if Shadwen kills excessively. If the player adopts a hardcore stealth approach, it is possible to finish the game without killing a single enemy.

Characters

Shadwen’s key protagonists are Shadwen and Lilly. Shadwen, the titular character, is a female assassin on a mission to assassinate the king of the unnamed land in which the game is set. Shadwen (the character) is accompanied on this mission by Lilly, a frightened, young orphan girl. Although other plot details remain scarce, Shadwen’s actions are said to have impact on Lilly, implying narrative consequences for violence.

Gameplay

Frozenbyte claims that Shadwen brings actual stealth back to stealth games. Recent AAA franchises such as Assassin’s Creed and Call of Duty fail to innovate, focusing instead on yearly release schedules, with main series entries that rehash older mechanics instead of building on them. Moreover, “difficult” elements such as stealth and first-person platforming have increasingly been weeded out of AAA titles in an effort to make them more accessible. As a result, the latest entry in Assassin’s Creed—what Ubisoft calls a “social stealth” franchise—has more in common with action-adventure games like InFamous than genuine stealth titles like Metal Gear Solid V. That being said, Shadwen is a third-person stealth title at heart, in the same vein as the MGS franchise. Core gameplay centres on guiding Shadwen and Lilly through the game’s winding levels, while avoiding detection by guards—every area has an alarm bell and you fail if a guard rings it.

The key differentiator here is Shadwen’s time-warp feature—by default, time advances in the game only when the playe move. This has obvious tactical advantages—enemies are frozen in place, so guards will only follow their patrol cycles when the player is moving. Moreover, there is the option to let time flow normally, allowing the player to set up guards and NPCs in perfect positions, before making a dash for cover. Shadwen’s rewind ability is reminiscent of the Sands of Time trilogy, allowing the player to rewind the game to a set time before making a mistake. Taking a cue from its work in the Trine series, environmental physics, courtesy Nvidia’s PhysX middleware, takes centrestage. Rolling barrels and other large objects onto enemies is just one of the many ways the player can use the environment to their advantage.

Note: This wiki will be updated once we have more information about the game.

Frozenbyte’s Shadwen is an example of a paradox. It’s a game where stealth meets movement-based time passage masquerading as tactical planning. However, it’s also an instant-game over simulator that wants you to rewind time to find the right ways to accomplish missions. Sounds fairly straightforward, this hodgepodge of elements from numerous other games mashed together to create something new. There’s only one problem – it’s not fun, it doesn’t feel new at all and it’s anything but straightforward with how maddeningly the game reacts to your actions at times.

"Like Superhot, the game world will move only when she moves and you can hold down a button to remain stationary while the world around you continues moving."

The story for Shadwen features an intriguing premise – you play as the titular assassin herself, having just assassinated the King with a young girl by your side named Lily. Going into flashback mode, you catch up with Shadwen before the assassination as she makes her way to the target. Running into Lily along the way, Shadwen decides to take the girl along rather than risk her alerting others or killing her. Sounds unique but then the game turns into one big escort mission wherein you’re meant to leave Lily behind, traverse ahead to eliminate guards, and then holler at her to run through unscathed.

Why does Lily so patiently await Shadwen‘s commands rather than just alerting the guards of her criminal activity? Why does Shadwen care enough to not want this girl to see corpses? These aspects are never really explained and for that matter, the story from that point is relegated to little more than dialogue over animated stills over loading screens. What could have been a cool dynamic in a medieval setting is little more than a poor set-up for the game’s escort mission premise.

Shadwen‘s mechanics try to make up for it and to be honest, the whole setup is interesting when you first start experimenting with it. Shadwen herself is capable of traversing through levels with a grappling hook and her own movement abilities (a note on the overall movement: it’s not at all fluid). Like Superhot, the game world will move only when she moves and you can hold down a button to remain stationary while the world around you continues moving.

"Why Frozenbyte would choose one of the most hated mechanics in gaming – the escort mission – and fashion an entire game out of it is mind-boggling."

If you’re caught, you have the option to rewind time and immediately seek out a better solution. Your kills will have an effect on Lily – if you kill guards, she’ll adopt a rather negative outlook on the whole situation. As such, you’re encouraged to knock out enemies or find other ways to get her past them (or even hiding bodies for targets you had to kill).

Unfortunately, the game’s mechanics and the results acquired from the same are never constant. You could be spotted by a guard in one instance only to rewind and have the same guard not notice you again. Ambushing a guard from up high, assassination-style, won’t alert his friend a few feet away but drop a heavy box on another guard and his ally from far off yonder will suddenly scream bloody murder. The wonkiness of the AI further extends to glitches in the guards’ movement and their response to Lily’s movement.

While you could clear out the level and motion for Lily to run ahead, it’s also possible to get her moving at any other point. You’d think there’d be some risk involved and at times, it’s confusing how some guards won’t react to her presence at all, even when she runs right past them. Lily herself can be extremely wonky, sometimes not responding to your commands or simply not running where you want her to. Why Frozenbyte would choose one of the most hated mechanics in gaming – the escort mission – and fashion an entire game out of it is mind-boggling.

Also, this is supposed to be a stealth game. Being able to plan ahead and carefully timing your movements is crucial. But there’s no real thrill to it all. You can simply bypass guards by staying hidden and letting them move past you, moving only when their backs are turned, but it’s no big deal if you’re caught.

"Stealth fans really shouldn’t bother with Shadwen. There are similar titles out there, some at better prices, which succeed in delivering a compelling stealth set-up…"

Simply rewind and try again. Heck, try the same thing again and it might just work. The thrill of games like Metal Gear Solid, Hitman or even Volume lies in what you do when the alarms do go off. Shaking your pursuers or finding creative ways to amend a disaster are crucial. Shadwen simply asks you to not bother, especially since the AI is so terrible for enemies and allies alike, and simply do the same portion again.

It’s a shame because Shadwen does have an interesting backdrop. Despite the bizarre physics on display, the environments themselves are unique enough to give that grim medieval look that strikes a fine line between gritty and cartoonish. The mechanics themselves could have been fun without the AI, movement and situational problems, even if the rewind mechanic feels like a cheap addition to it all. Though Shadwen is Frozenbyte’s first stealth game, it’s riddled with problems that make you question if the developer had any consideration of its various issues.

Stealth fans really shouldn’t bother with Shadwen. There are similar titles out there, some at better prices, which succeed in delivering a compelling stealth set-up, from Dishonored, Hitman and Metal Gear Solid to Volume, Splinter Cell and the old Thief games. Shadwen could have stood out despite its many derivative influences. However, the blatant combination of so many contradictory mechanics make its very existence like a paradox with flashes of non-boring somewhere between all the broken boring.

This game was reviewed on the PC.

Shadwen is one hell of a take on the stealth genre- instead of allowing you the opportunity to fight your way out should you fail at stealth, the game gives you an instant fail state should you be spotted. There is only rule in Shadwen– remain unseen. Of course, the game does give you some leeway- you get the chance to control time a bit, using it to plot your next move, or to undo something that may have caused you to mess up.

Given how much there is going on in the game, and its unconventional mechanics, there is no shame in you getting stuck in the game and needing help. That’s where we come in! This video walkthrough will help you figure out what to do next, and how to do it, should you ever get stuck in the game. Be warned that this guide will have spoilers.

Frozenbyte, best known for the Trine series, is back with something decidedly different in Shadwen. The stealth action title is available now for PC and PlayStation 4. You can pick it up on Steam for $14.44, a 10 percent discount from its original price of $16.99.

Shadwen is a very interesting approach to traditional stealth titles. Taking place in a medieval setting, Shadwen sees you commanding a powerful assassin and taking out guards with careful planning and ingenuity.

The twist is that the guards will only move when you do, much like Superhot‘s action, creating an environment where you must think twice before acting. If you mess up, there’s a helpful rewind button that can let you correct any mistakes. Throw in some grappling hook action and physics manipulation and you have a rather unorthodox experience as a whole.

What are your thoughts on Shadwen? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more information.

What is Shadwen? It may seem to be a rather overwhelmingly confusing and conflicted mess at first, but the game promises one of the most unique and focused stealth experiences in a while now, bringing in a sort of turn based element to the proceedings.

The game focuses on Shadwen, the eponymous character, who is an assassin on a quest to kill the king. When you are not moving, time freezes, allowing you to plot your next course of action before you jump in. If you mess up, you also get the chance to rewind time a bit. It certainly all sounds very intriguing and interesting- the freezing time ‘turn based’ mechanic, in particular, could be a revelation.

Shadwen is slated to launch on the PS4 and on PC in May. You can check out its trailer below. Let us know if you plan to get the game in the comments.

Note: This interview was conducted before the launch of the game.

"Despite the criticisms about the length, I still think it’s a good price for the content, and porting to PS4 was quite easy due to our past experiences with Trine 2: Complete Story and Trine Enchanted Edition."

The Trine series has always been well-regarded in the industry but also well-known for its 2D gameplay. What made you decide to implement 3D gameplay into the series for the first time?

Kai Tuovinen: After we wrapped up Trine 2, the Goblin Menace DLC and Wii U version, we started working on another IP in early 2013.  We wanted to do something else than Trine for a change, as generally people get fatigued if they work on the same thing for too long.

The new game which was named “Arena” was eventually dropped because we didn’t make good enough progress on it, and we started working on Trine 3, and it was initially more of the same as the previous Trine games, so 2D, but with more skills, different types of enemies, more environments and so on.  But it still felt too familiar…

At some point, we had an internal pitch (a video made by our artists) for a 3D Trine 3, and it pretty much blew our minds – It looked like Trine but it felt really fresh, and it had that new feel to it that a lot of us had been longing for after nearly 5 years of working on the same series.

We held a few long meetings and ended up thinking “It will be challenging to do 3D, but not impossible”, and that’s pretty much how we decided to go for 3D.

Can you tell us some of the challenges of going with 3D gameplay and how it served as a drain of resources?

Kai Tuovinen: There were a lot of challenges in all areas due to the 3D, but you could divide those into design challenges, art challenges and performance/technical challenges.

• Design challenges:
• Controls need to work with Keyboard & Mouse and Controllers
• Cameras need to work with LOCAL co-op (same screen) with up three players
• Zoya (Thief): Aiming and shooting a bow and arrow in 3D, grappling hook in 3D
• Amadeus (Wizard): How to create, move and select objects in 3D
• Art Challenges
• Making everything look from all angles, as opposed to just from the side
• Assets, animations, and level art took far longer to complete
• Performance and Technical challenges
• 3D was much more demanding on hardware, so we had to do a lot of optimization work and new rendering solutions like LOD, occlusion culling etc.
• Online multiplayer was also a big problem because of physics heavy gameplay and 3D, so it was e.g. left out of the PS4 version because it simply wasn’t working well enough.

And finally also the communication aspect, where we did some mistakes there on how we communicated about the length and story of the game.

Overall all of our resources were exhausted trying to complete Trine 3: TAOP, because everything needed a lot more than when we were making the 2D Trines.

Trine 3: Artifacts of Power has had a rough time on PC with high development costs and criticism of its length. What was the motivation for bringing the title to the PS4?

Kai Tuovinen: Despite the criticisms about the length, I still think it’s a good price for the content, and porting to PS4 was quite easy due to our past experiences with Trine 2: Complete Story and Trine Enchanted Edition. The 3D controls work really well on a gamepad, so the game is very well suited for consoles, and we did not have any issues with performance on PS4.

"No plans for any post-launch content at this point. If you have a 3D TV, stereo 3D support is worth checking out as with the previous Trine games!"

Given your experience developing on PlayStation platforms, what challenges did you face in porting a brand new title over to the PS4?

Kai Tuovinen: Online co-op was something we decided to leave out because it was not working well enough, so we wanted to rather say that up front than to have a lot of dissatisfied players playing a glitchy game online right now.

Will the game be in 1080p resolution and run at 60 FPS on PS4?

Kai Tuovinen: Yes.

Last we heard the future of the series is “in doubt”. Could you update us on the situation and whether we’ll ever see another Trine game?

Kai Tuovinen: For now the series is on hold, we’re focusing on a stealth title called Shadwen. If our next projects do well, a return to the Trine series might be an option, but because of the many ifs, I can’t make any promises yet. We’ll see how it goes!

Will Trine 3 on the PS4 feature any post-launch content? What additional features can PS4 fans look forward to?

Kai Tuovinen: No plans for any post-launch content at this point. If you have a 3D TV, stereo 3D support is worth checking out as with the previous Trine games!

Will Trine 3: Artifacts of Power release on the Xbox One at any point?

Kai Tuovinen: No Xbox news to report, it’s not in development at the moment.

What can you tell us about Shadwen, the current project Frozenbyte is working on?

Kai Tuovinen: Old school stealth games will be making a return! With a twist of course. In Shadwen, the stealth will be absolutely pivotal, but players will be given choice between different methods to complete levels. You can opt to use violence or take a super-sneaky peaceful route as well, but the game is instantly over if you are detected, so stealth is not optional.

The story in Shadwen revolves around two strangers whose fates become intertwined by chance when they meet: Shadwen, an assassin on a quest to kill the King, and an orphan girl called Lily. The core of the game boils down to what way people opt to play – the violent or non-violent way. Players are faced with the moral consequences of killing, and the story will change according to what methods you choose.

"Shadwen has very free movement based on jumping, running and sneaking, and a rope that will have a lot of utility. You’ll also be able to create loads of different traps like poison traps, smoke bombs and other gadgets to aid you on the way."

A key feature is frozen time. When you’re not controlling Shadwen, time stays still, and that lets you plan your movements and actions very precisely.  There’s also an instantaneous time-rewind that lets you revert what you’ve done and try a different approach if you fail at doing something.

Shadwen has very free movement based on jumping, running and sneaking, and a rope that will have a lot of utility. You’ll also be able to create loads of different traps like poison traps, smoke bombs and other gadgets to aid you on the way. Our main focus with the game is to make it really fun to play for all play styles- You can decide if you want to be the murdering psycho or the peaceful stealth goddess.

Aside from Shadwen, what other plans does Frozenbyte have in the coming year?

Kai Tuovinen: We’ll look to announce/release a few games, explore new tech like VR and do a lot of cool things in general that we think people will enjoy. With new IP’s there’s a lot more design freedom, so that’s something we’re enjoying at the moment!

What are your thoughts on the ongoing resolution and frame rate debate on the PS4 and Xbox One platforms?

Kai Tuovinen: From what I’ve seen, games on both consoles look really good and there aren’t too many differences generally, but if possible I’d always look to optimize for 60fps and 1080p or better.

What are your thoughts on PS2 emulation on PS4? Do you think Sony made the right choice by making people buy those digital games even if they own then?

Kai Tuovinen: I think it’s only fair not to charge people for something that they’ve already bought, but since I don’t know much about this subject, there could be some technical things making the verification difficult.

Is there anything else you want to tell us before we let you go?

Kai Tuovinen: We’ll probably run another demo/beta test run of Shadwen fairly soon, so if you’re into stealth games and would like to try something new, follow @ShadwenGame on Twitter for some news!