How can I create a 2D sprite shadow like in “Alto's Odyssey”?

I've seen that the game "Alto's Odyssey" has a very nice way of projecting shadows on the ground the player is sliding on:

How could i replicate that? Would I use some shader magic, or by projecting a 3D mesh/image on the ground plane?

• I don't know how the game looks while you are playing (how the shadow moves) but from the screenshot it looks like you just take the player's sprite, mirror it and scale it down on Y and place it on the ground. There is no point over complicating stuff with shaders and 3D meshes for a 2D shadow. – TomTsagk Oct 31 '18 at 9:03
• @TomTsagk the shadow squashes down when the player gets close to the ground, and gets stretched when he goes up – user115399 Oct 31 '18 at 9:24
• @TomTsagk that way though it wouldn't look believable... – user115399 Oct 31 '18 at 9:25
• @TomTsagk I'd upvote an answer about the technique you describe with a little more detail. – DMGregory Oct 31 '18 at 11:58
• Wow, I had never noticed the shadow before... – Quentin Oct 31 '18 at 12:37

float shadowOffset = playerheight / 2; //so shadow is always halfway-> for realistic light effects