The Psychology Behind Shadow’s Edge

The key levels in the game, Disruption, Disillusionment, and Discovery, represent different stages of emotional Healing. The Guardians of each world, teenage characters who were left behind in the storm, along with the Wisdom Pigeons, help guide the player through their journey and offer helpful advice. 

 

When the player enters the game world, he begins in the phase of Disruption- a dark, unbalanced, and surreal world where everything is out of whack. The Guardian of this stage, Ty, attempts to keep things “as normal as possible.” Tough as she is, she quickly learns that her old style of pushing forward just doesn’t work anymore.
 

 

This sends the player to the next phase, Disillusionment. Here the player meets the next Guardian, Maize. She is a bit overwhelmed by her feelings and embodies, “now what?” Yet despite Maize’s eb and flow of emotions, her world shows signs of rebuilding--the dust settles, scaffolding and ladders appear, the lights turn on, plants sprout, and animals begin to scurry about. Life comes back as a result of the players’ self-expression through writing and art. Maize can see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel, yet she doesn’t know--and needs to work--through how to get there.

 

Luckily, the player encounters Pax in the next phase, Discovery. Pax has accepted her challenge and embraces it. She chooses to be optimistic. In her world, the player can climb higher up in the city, offering a bird’s eye view of the artistic creations from earlier stages. This symbolizes how empowering it is to look back on how far the player has come, inspiring confidence and a sense of accomplishment.

Shadow’s Edge gameplay is non-linear, mimicking how, in real life, finding and gaining acceptance and moving forward are rarely a straight path. Text messages from the Guardians encourage players to revisit and refine their work from earlier stages and to continue to improve upon it, symbolizing just how, as in real life, people can grow through challenge.