Linger In Shadows Review
Written by Anthony 
Ever since we first heard about Linger In Shadows we have been intrigued, and eagerly awaiting its arrival on the PlayStation Network. Well it’s here, and it’s getting a very mixed reception from PlayStation fans. Is it a game? Is it a demo? It’s a blend of both. What normally would be considered a demoscene, has had a PlayStation makeover complete with SIXAXIS and trophy support.
Linger In Shadows is basically an interactive video, in which you have control over the camera. There are some gaming elements, such as shaking the controller, or tapping the circle button to activate the next sequence. Other than that, there really isn’t much gaming aspects to Linger In Shadows. However, I fully understood that before I fired Linger In Shadows up for the first time.
Linger In Shadows is something very unique. The presentation itself is very slick and clean, particularly the look of the “pause” screen. The crisp, stunning HD graphics, are some of the best the PS3 has to offer and the game runs a smooth 60 frames per second. The music is incredible, ranging from soothing and trance inducing, to evil, eerie and urgent. The music perfectly fits the strange sensation you get while toying with this interactive art.
Trophy support has been implemented most likely to give Linger In Shadows more of a “game” feel. The trophies themselves are rather easy to unlock. You can achieve a 100% of the trophies in your first playthrough. Most of the trophies can be found by pausing the “game” and “Lingering” in the shadows.
To sum up Linger In Shadows, it is a strangely beautiful experience. It is not a game, it’s interactive art.
Linger In Shadows is perfect choice for someone who is looking for a unique experience, never before witnessed on a gaming console. Trophy whores will love this “game” for the fact that it’s cheap, it has trophies, and they are somewhat easy to unlock. Linger In Shadows leaves you wondering WTF? But in a good way. When you are done, you wont really know whether to call it a game, interactive art, or a demo. Just like any piece of art, Linger In Shadows is about what you perceive it as.
PSLS Final Score – 4/5
Check out our Linger In Shadows Trophy Guide
Disclaimer: The score reflects the VALUE of Linger In Shadows taking into consideration the price ($2.99) and the unique experience it offers.
11 Responses to “Linger In Shadows Review”
Agree 100%. The only complaint I have about it is it’s difficulty. It is tough if you don’t know what to do, but once you figure that out it’s TOO simple to solve. I personally would have liked to see some ‘do two things at once’ or ‘hold the SixAxis at a specific angle’ challenges to advance the title..
Yeahhhhhhhhhh sev doing your thing.. 8/10 that’s what im talkin bout yeahhhhhhh
Awwww man! I bought the game/WTF. But I didn’t install or play it. What should I do?
@MadDamage
Install, and play it?
An unspeakable act that you could perform with the game but charge someone 1-4 dollars in exchange for the act I will not mention by name?
Bite the bullet and just learn a not-so-difficult 4 dollar lesson?
Charge people like 1 or 2 dollars for you to get them all the trophies in Linger in the Shadows so that they can save some money and you can possibly turn a legal profit?
Install it and play it MadDamage!
If you didn’t finish downloading it, it should be in your downloads list in the PS Store.
I agree that Linger in Shadows is ‘unique’ relative to everything else available on PSN. But saying it’s a ‘perfect choice for someone who is looking for a unique experience on a gaming console’ is a bit of a stretch. ‘Unique’ is way too broad a quality to categorize like that.
Linger in Shadows is an obscure, interactive, animated short film whose pace is controlled by the viewer/player. It is NOT a typical ‘game’, that’s for sure. The few ‘gamey’ elements are rather simple and are there essentially to make sure you’re paying attention. They serve as a means to advance the story or theme, whatever it may be. I spent my admittedly short experience with Linger in Shadows figuring out just how to experience it, so an analysis on any message conveyed by the piece is beyond me at this point.
The goal of Linger in Shadows is not to ‘beat the game’, as an earlier comment alludes to, so its rudimentary mechanics are really beside the point. At the very least, you’ll need an open mind if you hope to get any enjoyment out of it.
Sorry for the extensive quote usage.
Pizza24/7 (woohoo! go pizza!)
I agreed with you 100% at first. Then I went back just now and played through the demoscene/artwork again, this time looking for those shoutouts to other demoscene groups, this is definitely fun/hard.
In fact, without using a trophy guide, I’m still missing a few.
My wife thought it was weird and I agree with her. It wasn’t really that ARTSY.
How’s this for interactive art? I would have preferred to see some impressionist-style still life where you can shake the controller and it shakes the whole room, breaking glasses, throwing flowers, etc. Then settles down to look beautiful.
The demoscene thing (part of which is keeping the file size small – 105 MB!) is pretty cool. But people should know that it won’t look as good as perfect textures and tons of detail.
Overall, I’d say 6/10. But at $3, that’s an easy price to swallow for the content.
What happens if you complete the trophies? Do you get “Secret” stuff in the main menu?
Also, has anyone tried pushing L3 and R3 at the same time during the main menu?
this is more interactive art than a full game. its still fun.. just not for everyone.
the secret at the end is unlocking the hidden ending without beating it.
@stalking silence
doesn’t do anything but theres another combination at the beginning to unlock a strange introduction
@shadowjin
when you complete the game it tells you the “secret intro” combination.