Shadow Trick is a puzzle-platform game by Neutronized that was released on September 11, 2024 for Steam[2] and September 19, 2024 on the App Store and Google Play. A browser HTML5 version was released on Poki on October 11, 2024.
The game is available to purchase upfront on Steam. On iOS, the first six levels are free to play ad-free, and a one-time payment is required to play from level 7 onwards. On Android, the game is completely free to play with intermittent ads.
Shadow Trick has full controller support for both Xbox and PlayStation controllers on Steam and can also be played on the keyboard. On mobile devices, the game is controlled using on-screen buttons.
The player controls a wizard with the goal of finding and going through doors within a stage. The wizard has the ability to turn into a shadow, allowing the player to interact with different elements of the same part of a level. Three purple crescent moon items are hidden throughout each level, which the player can collect.
Shadow Trick has twenty-four levels which are split into four different themes with their own enemies and elements. A boss appears every six levels.
There are a total of 8 castle levels, 7 garden levels, 4 toy levels and 5 ice levels.
Level 1 (Castle)
This level has several sign posts showing the player the controls for moving, jumping and transforming into a shadow. It is the only level to feature no enemies.
Moon crystal 1 - The moon crystal is directly to the right of the first chain. The player is required to collect it.
Moon crystal 2 - The moon crystal is on a gray platform to the right of the shadow platform that proceeds the sign showing the player how to transform.
Moon crystal 3 - The moon crystal is on the topmost yellow platform just before the doorway.
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Level 2 (Castle)
This level introduces enemies and instructs the player to stomp on them.
Moon crystal 1 - This moon crystal is found on a ledge to the right of the crate. It can be reached using the crate as a step.
Moon crystal 2 - The moon crystal is on top of a yellow platform and can be reached by going to the top while transforming into a shadow to reach the dark platform.
Moon crystal 3 - The moon crystal is on a shadow platform in a step-like pattern, which the player can reach while in shadow mode.
Lemon - The lemon is on top of the pink blocks to the right of the chain and above the slimes.
Moon crystal 1 - The moon crystal is found inside a glass tile directly above the first slime encountered. It can be accessed by going on top of the glass tiles normally, then transforming into a shadow once above the moon crystal.
Moon crystal 2 - The moon crystal is located to the right of the prison guard, in an alcove enclosed by a glass tile.
Moon crystal 3 - This moon crystal is on a ledge to the left of the doorway. It can be accessed by transforming into a shadow to jump on top of the doorway.
Lemon - The lemon is found on a ledge to the farthest right of the level.
Click image to expand map
Level 4 (Garden)
This level introduces ladders and is mainly comprised of wood beetles. It is also the first garden-theme level in the game.
Moon crystal 1 - The moon crystal is located to the left of the player's starting point and is found partially hidden behind some vines.
Moon crystal 2 - This moon crystal is on top of an elevated platform to the right of the red platform. It can be reached by transforming into a shadow and using the shadow platforms at the top.
Moon crystal 3 - The moon crystal is accessed by descending the second ladder and passing through the short vine.
Lemon - The lemon is on a platform to the right of the first ladder.
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Level 5 (Garden)
This level features a small body of water with several catfish.
Moon crystal 1 - The moon crystal is inside the water directly to the right of the player's starting point.
Moon crystal 2 - The moon crystal is below the second bufo encountered, to the right of the body of water with catfish. It can be reached by passing through the glass tiles as a shadow.
Moon crystal 3 - This moon crystal is to the right of the doorway. The player can transform into a shadow, move to the right and jump once they reach the wall.
Lemon - This is the only level with more than one lemon. The first lemon is found to the right of the first bufo, on the ledge just before the water. The second lemon is found on a taller ledge to the right of the second bufo.
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Level 6 (Castle)
This level introduces fire-based obstacles to show the shadow's immunity to fire. The player fights the cash bag at the end of the stage.
Moon crystal 1 - This moon crystal is above the first fire bar and requires transforming into a shadow to jump-boost off the Dark Matter minions.
Moon crystal 2 - This moon crystal is found in between two chains on a fixed platform over the ground. The player can reach it by going on top and jumping on the fire bar blocks. They can transform into a shadow to prevent getting hit by the fire.
Moon crystal 3 - The moon crystal will spawn in the boss arena if the player defeats the cash bag without taking damage.
Lemon - The lemon is found to the right of the third moon crystal, directly preceding the boss.
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Level 7 (Castle)
This level introduces the potion, which the player will use to leap up through a tall passage with pink blocks.
Moon crystal 1 - The moon crystal is on the topmost ledge above the tall pink block passage. The player may need to boost off the Dark Matter minions as a shadow to reach it.
Moon crystal 2 - The moon crystal is located below the glass tiles, where a slime is encountered.
Moon crystal 3 - This moon crystal is found in an area directly to the right of the second moon crystal, on the ground nearby a prison guard.
Lemon - The lemon is on some pink blocks to the right of the first yellow platform where the first prison guard is encountered.
Click image to expand map
Level 8 (Toy)
This level mostly involves navigating around spring soldiers and conveyor belts. The doorway is hidden with a curtain.
Moon crystal 1 - The moon crystal is above the player's starting position and can be reached by going onto the ledge to the right of the first two conveyor belts, then jumping to the left onto the pink blocks.
Moon crystal 2 - The moon crystal above a spring soldier on a conveyor belt. The player will need to jump-boost off the spring soldier to reach it.
Moon crystal 3 - This moon crystal is hidden behind a curtain, the handle of which can be reached using a spring.
Lemon - The lemon is on some pink blocks above the sign post and the player will need to transform into a shadow to reach it on the dark platform.
Click image to expand map
Level 9 (Toy)
This level involves the player using accordions to descend to certain areas, along with large gaps bridged by red platforms.
Moon crystal 1 - This moon crystal is floating above the large gap above the first red platform. The player can reach it from the top by jumping to the left from the platform with the first encountered conveyor belt and using the shadow platform while in shadow mode.
Moon crystal 2 - The moon crystal is hidden behind the second curtain with the handle above an accordion.
Moon crystal 3 - This moon crystal is to the right of the glass tiles. It can be reached by transforming into a shadow and jump-boosting off the nearby jester onto the dark platform. The player can also turn into a shadow and jump to the platforms from the left.
Click image to expand map
Level 10 (Garden)
This level mainly has the player going to the right with multiple plant minions on platforms above.
Moon crystal 1 - The moon crystal is above the vine directly to the left of the player. To reach it, the player should use the ladder and transform into a shadow to jump off the plant minion to the left.
Moon crystal 2 - The moon crystal is seen inside the log.
Moon crystal 3 - The moon crystal is located at the top of a ledge to the right of the doorway. The player will need to transform into a shadow to jump on top of the doorway, then transform back to pass through the vine.
This level has several logs and has the player shrink using a potion for the middle portion. Dark Matter minions and plant minions are located on the far right.
Moon crystal 1 - This moon crystal is located on a ledge on the far right. The player can transform into a shadow and use the shadow platform at the top to reach it.
Moon crystal 2 - At the bottom of the level, below the plant minions, is a long log that when walked through, leads to the moon crystal on the far right.
Moon crystal 3 - This moon crystal is found to the left of the doorway. The player will need to go in the water and transform into a shadow to get around the doorway.
Lemon - The lemon is on a ledge directly below the left plant minion.
Click image to expand map
Level 12 (Garden)
This level features an area with flamethrowers and fire bases in between two ladders. The player fights the eel at the end of the stage.
Moon crystal 1 - This moon crystal is located above the first yellow platform to the right of the player's starting position. The player can reach it using a jump-boost to the left off a fire rock minion while in shadow mode to reach the shadow platform.
Moon crystal 2 - The moon crystal on the upper platform to the right of the first set of spikes. While in shadow mode, the player can reach the upper platform by jump-boosting off the Dark Matter minions.
Moon crystal 3 - The moon crystal is on top of a shadow platform above the doorway. The player can use the last set of yellow platforms and jump-boost to the left off a Dark Matter minion or the fire rock minion. This will allow them to use the shadow platforms to go on top and to the right.
Lemon - The lemon is on the ground below the two fire bars.
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Level 14 (Castle)
This level follows a zigzag-like structure and involves several narrow passages with spiky blocks.
Moon crystal 1 - The moon crystal is located above a snowy platform directly to the left of the pink block area. To reach it, the player will need to transform into a shadow and reach the shadow platform above the snowman, then jump to the left.
Moon crystal 2 - This moon crystal is found at the top of the pink block area, above the two penguins. The player may need to defeat one of the penguins to reach it.
Moon crystal 3 - This moon crystal is found to the right of the doorway, past the crystal barrier.
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Level 16 (Ice)
This level introduces snowflakes, found at the beginning and end of the stage.
Moon crystal 1 - The moon crystal is found above the player's starting position. They can use the snowflakes to jump upwards and reach the ledge on the left.
Moon crystal 2 - The moon crystal is on a shadow platform in between the first two penguins. The player can defeat one of the penguins and transform into a shadow to reach it.
Moon crystal 3 - This moon crystal on a platform above the prison guard. As a shadow, the player can jump-boost off the snowman from the shadow platform, then change back to the foreground to pass through the crystal barrier.
Lemon - The lemon is sitting on two pink blocks to the right of the area with the spiky blocks.
Click image to expand map
Level 17 (Toy)
This level mostly involves weaving through passages with jesters and Dark Matter minions.
Moon crystal 1 - The moon crystal is found in a glass tile above the red platforms. The player can use the handle to lift the curtain and access the glass tile from the top using the shadow platform.
Moon crystal 2 - The moon crystal is hidden behind the second curtain encountered to the right of the conveyor belts. There is a jester hidden behind the curtain that will fall to the ground once the handle is lifted.
Moon crystal 3 - This moon crystal is found among three Dark Matter minions above the conveyor belts to the right of the toy barrier. The player can jump to the left off the ledge to the left of the door and transform into a shadow to reach the dark platforms and the moon crystal.
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Level 18 (Toy)
This level has the player passing through glass tiles while on red platforms. At the end, the player fights the marionette.
Moon crystal 1 - This moon crystal is located above the glass tiles. To reach it, the player should transform into a shadow and use one of the Dark Matter minions for a jump-boost. Once on the pink blocks, the player can jump onto the shadow platform with the moon crystal on top of it.
Moon crystal 2 - This moon crystal is found above the first, shorter accordion. The player should transform into a shadow to collect it by jumping off the taller accordion to the left.
Moon crystal 3 - This moon crystal will appear in the arena if the marionette is defeated without taking damage.
Lemon - The lemon is on the ground in between the conveyor belts with the spring soldiers and the toy barrier, just before the boss arena.
Click image to expand map
Level 19 (Garden)
This involves the player ascending the first section of the level using the potion.
Moon crystal 1 - This moon crystal is found inside a log above a plant minion. The player may need to transform into a shadow to land on the shadow platform to access the log.
Moon crystal 2 - The moon crystal is floating above two bufos to the right of the crate. The player can jump-boost off one of the enemies to reach it.
Moon crystal 3 - The moon crystal is located to the right of the doorway. The player can transform into a shadow to bypass the doorway and reach the moon crystal on the far right of the passage.
Lemon - The lemon is found on a ledge above a spring. If the player uses the spring, they can transform into a shadow to use the darker platform as a way to reach it.
Click image to expand map
Level 20 (Garden)
This level is mainly underwater with many catfish swimming among spikes and vines.
Moon crystal 1 - The moon crystal is visible and accessed through a hidden passage that can be entered from the right side in the lower part of the ceiling just below the catfish swimming among the vines.
Moon crystal 2 - The moon crystal is partially hidden among a group of vines hanging from the ceiling. The player will need to make sure they are touching the right wall otherwise they may not be able to transform into a shadow if they are partially over the vines.
Moon crystal 3 - The moon crystal is found above and to the left of the log. It can be collected by approaching the log from the right side, where the player can transform into a shadow to reach the shadow platform and jump-boost off a Dark Matter minion or a wood beetle.
Click image to expand map
Level 21 (Castle)
This level mostly involves navigating around areas with fire rock minions. Its main trajectory is to go right, down and to the left.
Moon crystal 1 - This moon crystal is found above a fire rock minion directly to the right of the first chain encountered. To enter the enclosed area, the player can jump onto the nearby shadow platform, then transform back into the foreground as they jump to pass through the chain. They can then transform back into a shadow to jump-boost off the fire rock minion.
Moon crystal 2 - The moon crystal is found above the second red platform encountered, nearby the first spring with spikes on the underside of a floating platform. To reach it, the player can go onto the floating platform and transform into a shadow while jumping to the right.
Moon crystal 3 - The moon crystal is located at the top of the farthest right side of the level. The player can reach it using the yellow platforms and jumping to the right while in shadow mode. After reaching the platform with the lemon, they can jump off to the right and fall above the moon crystal's location.
Lemon - The lemon is found on the topmost platform to the left of the third moon crystal and can be obtained using the yellow platforms and jumping to the right as a shadow.
Click image to expand map
Level 22 (Ice)
This level involves the player travelling mostly to the right to reach the exit. There are many short snowy platforms with snowmen in the left half and penguins in the right half.
Moon crystal 1 - The moon crystal is located floating above the first set of pink blocks encountered. It can be reached by jump-boosting off the nearby snowman. The player can also turn into a shadow to use the upper platforms.
Moon crystal 2 - This moon crystal is found on a shadow platform in between two penguins and red platforms. To reach it, the player can approach it from the right side and jump-boosting off the right penguin to the left from the ledge to the left of the crystal barrier.
Moon crystal 3 - The moon crystal is floating on an upper platform to the left of the exit. The player should run and jump-boost off the snowman to reach the above platform.
Click image to expand map
Level 23 (Ice)
This level mainly involves the player travelling to the right to reach the exit. A pair of spiky blocks can be seen at the beginning and the remainder of the level has many Dark Matter minions and penguins.
Moon crystal 1 - This moon crystal is inside the right side glass tile seen at the bottom of the spiky blocks area. The player will need to transform into a shadow to enter the glass tiles while avoiding the spiky blocks.
Moon crystal 2 - This moon crystal is found in an enclosed area with a crystal barrier. The player can use the snowflakes while in shadow mode to reach the pink blocks with the lemon and then change back into the foreground to pass through the barrier.
Moon crystal 3 - The moon crystal is located to the left of the leftmost penguin on pink blocks. To reach it, the player can jump on the shadow platform using the lower blue platform closest to it, then jump-boost to the left off the penguin or Dark Matter minion.
Lemon - The lemon is sitting on the first pair of pink blocks to the right of the snowflakes.
Click image to expand map
Level 24 (Ice)
This level will only unlock when the player has collected at least 60 moon crystals. Its general trajectory is to the right while navigating on fire bars above endless pits and snowy platforms. At the end of the level, the player fights the red ghost.
Moon crystal 1 - This moon crystal is found above the player's starting position. To reach it, the player can transform into a shadow and jump-boost off the Dark Matter minions. The player can also jump from the shadow platform to reach it.
Moon crystal 2 - The moon crystal is found to the right past the second crystal barrier. The player can reach it with a jump-boost off the snowman. The player can also jump to the left from the snowy platform to reach the shadow platform in order to reach it.
Moon crystal 3 - After defeating the red ghost without taking any damage, the moon crystal will spawn in the arena.
Lemon - The lemon is found directly to the right of the third crystal barrier directly preceding the boss arena.
To view the ending, the player must collect every moon crystal at least once and then complete level 24. If the player completes level 24 before collecting all moon crystals, they will see a screen that reads: "Get all moons to unlock the ending."
This box contains SPOILERS! Click [show] to reveal.
The moon crystals are seen culminating into the center to form a pink orb. The wizard is then shown moving slightly up and down against a background, with the text at the bottom reading: "The fractured moon has been restored!" After pausing on the final ending screen, the game will automatically go back to the titlescreen.
May 29, 2024 - Neutronized announces Shadow Trick on X and launches the Steam page to wishlist the game. A trailer is also published on YouTube showcasing the gameplay and level select screen.[3]
June 1, 2024 - Neutronized shares a post on X announcing adjustments to the player physics, along with a GIF. If the wizard's head does not completely hit the underside of a tile, the player will continue upward along the side of the tile to complete the jump.[4]
June 4, 2024 - Neutronized posts a YouTube Short to their channel. The video is a fifteen second clip from the full trailer and vertically cropped. In the last few seconds, the Shadow Trick logo appears near the bottom of the video, which then changes to "Wishlist on Steam" displayed in white letters with a black outline.
June 5, 2024 - Neutronized posts a YouTube Short featuring a fifteen second clip from the full Shadow Trick announce trailer. Unlike the previous short, the Shadow Trick logo and "Wishlist on Steam" text are displayed at the start of the video.
June 6, 2024 - Neutronized publishes a GIF on X that is identical to the GIF in the game's description on the Steam page. The post refers to the image as the "main mechanic of Shadow Trick in one [GIF]".[5]
June 8, 2024 - Neutronized publishes a YouTube video titled Tips for Better Platformer Controls which has coding tips for improving player character behavior in platformers. It begins with a promotion to wishlist Shadow Trick on Steam, and the game is used as part of the demonstration for the advice provided.
June 10, 2024 - Neutronized publishes a YouTube Short that contains a 14-second clip from the intro of the Tips for Better Platformer Controls video.
June 11, 2024 - Neutronized publishes a YouTube Short with a 24-second clip from the Tips for Better Platformer Controls video. It is cut from the section where Gionathan talks about the phrase "coyote time".
June 13, 2024 - Neutronized publishes a YouTube Short consisting of a 24-second clip from Tips for Better Platformer Controls. It focuses on the part where Gionathan talks about jump buffer time.
June 15, 2024 - Neutronized shares a GIF of an underwater boss to X and in a YouTube community post. The wizard is seen entering the water and going through a short passage. The focus then shifts to a blue pot, where the head and part of a the body of an eel slowly comes up. As the eel wriggles its body, it fires out bones.
On X, the text in the post reads, "G I A N T E N E M Y E E L". A link to wishlist on Steam is included in a threaded reply.[6]
On YouTube, the text in the post reads, "Game bosses are back 💥" and also includes a link to wishlist on Steam.[7]
June 17, 2024 - Neutronized publishes a YouTube Short clipped from Tips for Better Platformer Controls. This segment focuses on the part where Gionathan talks about jump height being controllable by the player based on how long they press the jump key for.
June 20, 2024 - Neutronized publishes a YouTube Short clipped from Tips for Better Platformer Controls with the segment focusing on the part where Gionathan talks about creating test rooms when developing platformers to properly test mechanics.
July 9, 2024 - Neutronized publishes a YouTube post with the text "who is ready for Shadow Trick? 💫" and a link to wishlist the game on Steam. A GIF is included in the post which features the wizard stomping on a slime, which is a close-up of the GIF in the Steam description.[8]
July 26, 2024 - Neutronized posts a video on X showing footage from a snow-themed stage and showcasing the player's ability to jump on snowflakes when they are a shadow.[9]
July 30, 2024 - Neutronized posts a thread on X announcing that Shadow Trick is available to pre-order on mobile. The second post includes a video showing some gameplay footage.[10]
August 2, 2024 - Neutronized releases a devlog mentioning Shadow Trick, its gameplay mechanics and parts of its development history.
Neutronized also publishes a post on X announcing that Shadow Trick got approved for release on Steam.[11]
September 3, 2024 - Neutronized publishes a post on X announcing that Shadow Trick is coming out the following week. The post includes a link to wishlist the game on Steam along with a GIF showing gameplay footage from the puzzle-themed area.[12]
September 11, 2024 - Shadow Trick is released on Steam with a week-long 10% discount. The Neutronized X account publishes a post announcing the Steam release[13], along with a launch trailer on their YouTube channel.
A mockup of the 2010 Flash game from the Aug. 2, 2024 devlog.
Shadow Trick began development in March 2024 and was based on an unreleased Flash game concept Gionathan created mockups for in 2010.[14]
A Steam page for Shadow Trick was announced on May 29, 2024 and was promoted in the trailer and YouTube Shorts on the Neutronized YouTube channel. On August 2 that same year, Neutronized posted on X that the game was approved for release on Steam.[11]
Shadow Trick was rejected upon its submission to the App Store due to "misrepresenting itself as another popular app or game already available on the App Store". Neutronized received this same message from Apple when re-submitting.[15] The game was submitted for an appeal and later accepted, confirming its release to the App Store.[16]
The level select screen was originally going to be an overworld map, but it was changed to a grid menu for its release. A preview of the level select map can still be seen on the Steam wishlist trailer released on May 29, 2024. A screenshot of the level select screen could also be seen on the Steam page, but was removed after the game's release.[17]
An early version of the level select screen as previously seen on the Steam page
The grid-style level select screen in the final release version
Left/right - Move in the respective direction
A button - Jump
X button - Toggle shadow mode
Up/down - Go up and down ladders
Start button - Pause and bring up the options menu in-game
Left and right arrow keys
A and D keys
Up arrow key
W key
Down arrow key
S key
Spacebar
Moon crystal 1 - The moon crystal is directly to the right of the first chain. The player is required to collect it.
Lemon - The lemon is on top of the pink blocks to the right of the chain and above the slimes.
Getting Started
Lunar Novice
Cash Crash
Crystal Harvester
Gone Fishing
Galactic Specialist
Master of Puppets
Stellar Master
Bone to Pick
Game Completed
The GIF posted on June 1, 2024 showing the wizard's physics tweaks
The GIF shared in the Steam description as well as the X post on June 6, 2024.
The GIF in the YouTube post on July 9, 2024.
A beta preview of the level select screen that was removed after release
The grid-style level select screen in the final release version