For me, some of the most enjoyable moments of this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo were the ones in which I was blindsided by something truly unique. My hands-on time with Hudson Soft's upcoming Wii exclusive Lost in Shadow was such a moment.

When I was very young, I thought that graphics made the game. If it wasn't out to stun me, it couldn't possibly be fun. As I matured, I realized that those thoughts were silly; games could look uglier than sin and still be a total blast. Lost in Shadow doesn't bring me back to my earlier days, but it does make an interesting case for visuals in service to gameplay.

In Lost in Shadow, you play as a young boy. Actually, you play as his shadow. For some reason, he has lost his body. His identity is a mystery, so for the sake of writing, I'll simply refer to him as Shadow Boy. His predicament goes beyond the fact that he's been reduced to a shadow; he finds himself confronted with a giant shadowy tower. Putting two and two together, the boy decides to venture deep into the Tower in order to find answers. As he makes progress, he gains more understanding of who he was and what has happened to him. As this happens, his shadow gets "heavier." It's hard to tell how (and if) this will figure into the gameplay, but we'll know once we get our hands on the full product.

Lost in Shadow is a side-scrolling platformer with a catch: your character can only walk on shadows. Even if it looks like Shadow Boy can jump from a shadowy platform to an actual platform, he can only do so if there's a visible shadow to land on. Certain visual cues are designed to mislead gamers into making mistakes, and learning how to avoid them makes Lost in Shadow a more cerebral kind of platforming experience. Playing this game requires gamers to rethink what they know about the genre, and for that, I give the development team kudos.

Shadow Boy finds himself in the company of a slyph called Spangle. This entity introduces a new gameplay mechanic, and it opens the door for some puzzle platforming. Spangle is mapped to the Wii-mote's cursor. By highlighting special objects and pressing a button, you can have Spangle interact with them. This usually results in a machine being activated. Many of these machines have moving parts, some of which look like they could never support Shadow Boy's weight. But gamers must remember to think outside the box: if it casts any kind of shadow, it gives Shadow Boy something to work with. Previously inaccessible areas are opened up by the machines by way of conveniently-cast shadows.

Lost in Shadow is looking like a sleeper hit. Its unique artistic flair and intriguing gameplay mechanics lead me to believe that this may be a Wii game to look out for. This is taking into consideration Nintendo's impressive lineup. Gamers can become Lost in Shadow during this year's third quarter.