Shady BearsCollect acorns and avoid your own trailing shadow in Shady Bears, an original platform game playable for free directly in your web browser.
Shady Bears
Shady Bears is an arcade platform game developed by Air Guslar in 2023 where you guide a nimble bear through lively arenas to collect scattered acorns. The core challenge comes from your past actions: every run and leap creates a duplicate shadow that traces your exact route moments behind you. Touching your own silhouette ends the run immediately, turning routine movement into a test of positioning.
As you survive longer, the arena demands constant focus. You must remember where you walked, time your hops over lingering trails, and plan your path before previous routes block your movement.
How to play Shady Bears
The main objective is to gather as many acorns as possible without colliding with any active shadow. The game supports solo play as well as local multiplayer sessions for up to 4 players on a single keyboard.
- Player 1: Left arrow and Right arrow to move, Up arrow to jump.
- Player 2: A or Q to move left, D to move right, W or Z to jump.
- Player 3: J to move left, L to move right, I to jump.
- Player 4: F to move left, H to move right, T to jump.
A round begins with an empty arena where acorns drop onto platforms. Grabbing items forces you to continuously change your elevation, but jumping back and forth across the same ledges fills the screen with dangerous echoes of your previous leaps.
Honey, bees, and fireflies
Special pickups introduce strategic trade-offs during a run. Scooping up jars of honey provides an instant boost to your acorn tally. However, collecting honey also summons persistent bees that pursue your character across platforms, forcing you to dodge airborne threats alongside ground shadows.
When the screen becomes crowded, keep an eye out for glowing fireflies. Touching a firefly instantly eliminates an active shadow, clearing out dangerous obstacles and opening up fresh room to maneuver.
Multiplayer teamwork
In local multiplayer mode, up to 4 players share the screen simultaneously. Each bear generates its own separate shadow trail. Teammates must coordinate their movement corridors carefully, because colliding with any player shadow triggers a game over for the group.
Tips for higher scores
- Move in continuous loops: Avoid doubling back over platforms you just crossed so you never walk directly into a trailing silhouette.
- Time your honey grabs: Collect honey only when you have a clear vertical opening to dodge incoming bees.
- Prioritize fireflies: Grab fireflies immediately whenever a central pathway becomes blocked by old shadow paths.
- Spread out in multiplayer: Assign specific platform heights to each player so teammates do not cross paths.
Similar platform games
- Burrito Bison Revenge: A high-flying launch game focused on momentum and bouncy destruction rather than precise shadow evasion.
- We Skate: A fast side-scrolling obstacle game that tests reflex timing across urban courses.
- Moving Truck: Bounty: A physics-based driving platformer centered on cargo delivery over uneven terrain.
Shady Bears runs directly in your web browser on desktop computers and on mobile devices in landscape orientation.