Pseudo Light 3D – Top-Down 2D Pseudo-3D Lighting System
Unity Light2D looks flat in top-down games. This pseudo-3D system gives objects and lights virtual heights, so sprites cast dynamic shadows that shift with light position—no 2D logic changes.
by Unity China Publisher Hub
Price History +
Pseudo Light 3D is a pseudo-3D lighting and shadow system designed specifically for Top-Down URP 2D games.
By assigning virtual heights to 2D objects and light sources, it allows originally flat Sprites to produce more natural spatial relationships and dynamic projection effects under lighting, giving top-down scenes a more pronounced sense of depth.
The system emphasizes a simple, intuitive configuration approach. There is no need to convert the project to 3D, nor to change the original 2D physics and game logic. Simply set the corresponding height parameters for objects and light sources to quickly achieve height-aware lighting and shadow effects.
Key Features:
🌑 Dynamic pseudo-3D projection: Shadows change direction and length in real time based on light source position, light source height, and object height
✂️ Sprite outline-based: Four shape modes—Alpha / Rounded / Auto / Fast—allowing you to freely balance image quality and performance
🧍 Inter-object projection: Shadows can be cast onto other objects and be correctly occluded, with self-shadowing supported
🎨 Colored shadows and multi-light blending: Calculated based on each light source's actual illuminance, so overlapping areas won't become pitch black
💡 Three light types: Point Light, Freeform Light, Global Directional Light (all based on URP Light2D)
🧱 Tilemap support: Two modes—entire-layer walls or manually specified Tiles
🎞️ Animated Sprite support: Frame-by-frame cached projection data
⚡ Visual configuration: Object height, height above ground, thickness, and light source height can all be dragged directly in the Scene view
🎛️ Global adjustments: Height compression, depth compression, maximum shadow distance, indirect light intensity
🛠️ Companion tools: Setup wizard window + project configuration inspector
📦 6 example scenes + PDF documentation
Note:
Only applicable to URP; HDRP and Built-in are about to be abandoned by the official team
The editor version in the store page is for reference only; as long as the URP version is compatible, it can be used correctly. Verified with URP 14/17.
In the example scenes, if the official Light2D shadows do not display, try checking the Shadow option on the corresponding light.
If you encounter any issues, you can contact the author via email.
Contact email: zhong131899@gmail.com
Suitable for Top-Down 2D games using the URP 2D Renderer.
