Shadowmatic is a neat concept - you rotate objects in order to cast specific shadows that aren't obvious at first but should become more apparent as you move stuff around. To increase the difficulty after a while, the game throws multiple pieces and now you have to move them relative to each other as well. In practice I find that fumbling around rotating pieces of weird shapes in order to arrive at an unknown goal is quite frustrating and the hint system should be more straightforward.
It's not all bad, some of the earlier puzzles are simple enough that you fumble with your rotations and arrive at a result in a relatively okay time, but after a while, I just couldn't figure it out anymore. I spun things around, wondering what the thing they wanted me to make was, but I couldn't figure it out. You use coins you get from completing levels in order to buy hints. The first hints you get are super vague and only help you determine the name of the thing your goal represents. Sometimes you'll get a hint, try to create the thing and question, but it still won't be it. I feel that the actual name of the levels should have been the thing you're creating and the only hint needed is the item.
You have a progress meter at the bottom of the screen that is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it helps you gauge how close you are to finish with your current solution, so by rotating a piece around and watching the meter fill or drain, you know if you're getting closer. On the other hand, the meter doesn't properly recognize your progress if you're not oriented properly, so you could have the right answer but kinda tilted to the side and it wouldn't count. An other problem is that after a while, frustrating puzzles just devolve into you moving stuff around until the progress meter fills, which isn't exactly 'solving a puzzle'.
There are a few level themes - mechanical stuff, animals, kid's stuff - and there are secrets to be unlocked in certain puzzles - and at least for them, you have the picture of the end result - but although there is much to do in Shadowmatic - you can try to finish puzzles really fast, too! - I didn't enjoy my time with it.
