The Shining Potential Of Shinies – Call Of Light

If you adore casual games that take you to a beautiful new world that provides some mesmerizingly tranquil essences if you wish to mellow out, along with a theme of friendship you can empathise with, Shinies : Call Of Light could be right up your alley [5] [6]. Two months ago, I was contacted by Tristan Edel, also known as “Asalfin” who informed me about the project on Wix.com where my portfolio and GamesEnquirer lie [14] [35]. As my curiosity sparked, I discovered that it was a crowdfunded project [5] [6]. As I mentioned when discussing my thoughts on Alice: Asylum three years ago, not all crowdfunded projects are acclaimed [39] [40]. However, Edel believes that crowdfunding can benefit creative freedom and allow the production of a project to be more laid back [5] [6]. I agree with his opinion as art cannot be rushed, according to the toy repairman from Toy Story 2 [31]. I see a lot of potential in Edel’s project as shown on his Indiegogo and Kickstarter pages [5] [6]. From what I have seen, there is a lot of dedication passionately put into it [9] [10] [11]. Moreover, a little analysis of what Shinies : Call Of Light has to offer ought to be enlightening.

Congratulations to Edel on reaching his goal to receive the budget for this project. It looks like there is a need for more currency for some upgrades though [5] [6]. Will the Shinies outshine Shiny Pokémon [2]? [5] [6] [7] [11]

Oh wow! A celestial Pac-Man [5]! [6]

The project was announced within the first concept trailer that was uploaded in 2019 [9]. The game is about two yellow beams of energy named “Shinies” finding their purpose as they face their fears in a mysterious world they wake up in [5] [6] [7]. It is not every day the main characters of a story are simply two beams of light, but there is something about such simplicity that leads to some deep potential, considering that the story is meant to be emotional. The way the Shinies slowly regain their memories and befriend creatures in the world they end up in ought to lead to some effective character development, whether there will be any voice acting in the game or not. Quite like the morals in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic [21] [22], the story in Shinies : Call Of Light will be centred on the importance of friendship, as well as some forms of heroism, as shown by the companionship of the Shinies in samples of gameplay footage and according to some character descriptions on the Kickstarter and Indiegogo pages [5] [6]. Will they regain memories of the past? Will the call be answered? Call me weird, but I think the English theme song for Pokémon: Ultimate Journeys would suit the game’s premise to a T [17].

It sure is far more acceptable to let your imagination run wild when it comes to developing an original property instead of mooching off the appeal of an already established franchise with a knockoff slapped on a slot or ticket machine [29] [30]. [9]

The most important aspect of a game is how engaging the gameplay is. There will be puzzles to be solved [5] [6] [7], quite similar to some of the puzzles shown in the gameplay reveal of Sonic Frontiers [36] [37], which I believe would make the game seem rather casual. As for the Shinies’ abilities, they can defend themselves with a dash to dodge attacks and a shield to deflect them as part of the aspects of learning to face fears within the story [5] [6] [7].There are Energy Crystals that will grant the Shinies energy for their abilities. The way Politeness Gate requires the cooperation of the duo vaguely reminds me of the aspects of Clank cooperation with copies of himself in Ratchet and Clank: A Crack In Time [28]. How there are weaker walls and gates for the Shinies to destroy is sure to further increase their empowerment [5] [6] [7]. It would be essential to gradually increase the challenge throughout the experience to keep the player motivated, especially during a boss battle as that was an aspect Edward McMillen aimed for during the development of Super Meat Boy [18]. Besides that, the vibes of Shinies : Call Of Light’s gameplay ought to remain mostly tranquil [5] [6] [7] [10], especially for the causal players who want to chill out after a rough day.

Feedback during the alpha and beta testing of the game can help Edel figure out how to make the gameplay experience even more engaging [5] [6]. [7]

What can I say about the gorgeous graphics aside from how the two protagonists put the “shine” in Shinies? The blue beams of energy near the blue gates illuminate the paths through them, making them a real treat for dreamers [10]. The fox, lakrans and the eeloos are majestically animated, elevating the mood of a journey through a new world to discover [5] [6]. Another example of gorgeously rendered animation is the beams of purple light that gush all the way down during a scene at what appears to be a canyon [11]. According to the concept trailers, there appear to be a variety of locations, such as a void full of glowing tints of purple and a field with long grass, which leads to further creative potential [9] [10]. The colour palettes of each location are easing in association with combining a portion of realism with wonderous fantasy. The overall astrosphere of the game reminds me of Flower [27]. I do not doubt that the visuals will look more amazing with enough money for an upgrade as there are times when the visuals in a trailer are not the same as the visuals in the final outcome [5] [6]. Several changes to scenes in the first season of Helluva Boss are a prime example of that [1]. 

Although the graphics are splendidly rendered in the recent trailer and the samples with descriptions on the Indiegogo and Kickstarter pages [5] [6], I am sure they will look even more beautiful after an upgrade for the final outcome. It may not be as drastic and needed as the redesign of Sonic the Hedgehog in his first movie from Paramount, but still [15]. [10]

There are friends to aid and foes to face throughout the call of light. The way the Pronats are designed makes them resemble a futuristic version of Mr. I from Super Mario 64 [25]. The Lakrans seem to have specific traits of a wolf pack, making them appear to be menacing enemies [10]. How the fox is simply a parent yearning to find a lost child reminds me of the portrayal of Tuxie’s mother from Super Mario 64 [25]. As the only one of his kind and the King of the elks, could the character development of The Elkeran be centred on expressing loneliness? I am rather curious about the Eeloos as I cannot help but be vaguely reminded of Moltres in Pokémon Snap by how they glow and how they are animated [24]. I wonder if there will be a major antagonist responsible for the Shinies’ amnesia. Besides, one of the samples of music for the game hints that there will be plenty of boss battles [8]. As the author of two novellas set in a fictional universe [38], I shall root for the two Shinies maintaining their alliance, as well as their alliances with the other characters, especially the fox [5] [6]. 

Could the budget for upgrading the creatures result in a bigger variety of species, including more enemies to confront, besides some very slight redesigns for the already established ones? [10]

This concept art not only briefly reminds me of Stolas from Helluva Boss but is of the character who will be the first boss of the game [20]. Who knows what the other bosses will look like? [6]

What can I say about some other aspects of the project? I am unmistakably amazed that Edel can skillfully produce some original music for the game, as shown by how he can play a melody on a keyboard attached to his computer and his samples of original music on SoundCloud [8] [11]. Fittingly, the music for Shinies : Call Of Light sounds exactly like the kind of music you would hear if you were playing a game set in a fantasy world, providing that essence of stress relief as the player can tune into the adventure, away from reality for a little while [9] [10] [11]. I am rather curious about the eventual bigger upgrade for the soundtrack as it leads me to wonder if there will be any remastered recordings, a bigger variety or just slightly crisper quality [5] [6]. Considering Edel can also compose original music [8] [11], I believe that he has the potential to help compose a soundtrack for other gaming projects in a reliable manner. Perhaps the super upgrade for Shinies : Call Of Light can include a theme song with the vocals of a singer with an angelic voice and some emotional lyrics about the value of friendship [5] [6].

Aside from how impressed I am at his skills in composing music, I can empathise with Edel’s speech as someone who studied games design at college and university before deciding to become a gaming journalist and the author of two novellas [35] [38]. [11]

I am impressed by what has been revealed about Shinies : Call Of Light [5] [6] [7], from a premise of two inseparable beams of light discovering their purpose together to a soundtrack composed by a solo developer [10] [11]. The proposed alpha release date of the game is September 2023 [4]. Care to add it to your wishlists, Steamers [7]? Who knows? I might as well write a song parody about it in honour of its legacy. What else will we see at that time? The trailer for a third Sonic the Hedgehog movie co-starring Shadow the Hedgehog [25]? A revival of the Sonic Riders series with notable improvements [16] [36] [37]? A second season of Baymax! on Disney Plus [3]? Edel has mentioned a sequel to the game he is already working on, further proving his ambitious passion for developing what is best for his original intellectual property [5] [6]. As well as being infatuated with new instalments of beloved mainstream franchises from big companies, including Bowser in a new LEGO form [19], we ought to humble ourselves to brand new ideas within a brand new intellectual property from indie development teams and even a single independent creator [11]. I hope Edel will continue to follow his passions and I wish him the best of luck on the release of his project next year [4].

I am still saddened that ICU Gamer had to be shut down before being rebranded as “Games Enquirer” a year ago [12] [13], but for what we have lost, we will gain something else. Shinies : Call Of Light could be a shining example [5] [6]. And yes, the Splatoon 3 edition of the OLED model of the Nintendo Switch would be another example too [23]. Now, how about we jam to the theme song of the The Delicious Last Course, the brand new DLC for Cuphead [29] [30]? [10]

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