Dark Light

About

"Dark Light" is a souls-like game set in a post-apocalyptic world shrouded in darkness, where you play as the last planetary defender against creatures born from the Dark Void. Equip cyberwares to augment abilities, battle challenging enemies, and join factions to unlock skills in your quest to seal the Dark Void and save humanity from eternal darkness. The game offers unique visuals and fast-paced combat with challenging bosses.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

80%

Audience ScoreBased on 396 reviews

graphics105 positive mentions

grinding27 negative mentions

Stunning graphics and art style that create a captivating atmosphere.
Engaging combat mechanics with a mix of melee and ranged options, allowing for varied playstyles.
Challenging gameplay that encourages skill development and mastery of enemy patterns.

Clunky controls and platforming mechanics that can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences.
Lack of clear direction and objectives, making it difficult for players to know where to go next.
Some performance issues, including long loading times and occasional stuttering during gameplay.

graphics
155 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
68%
30%
2%
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their stunning art style and atmospheric design, blending post-apocalyptic and cyberpunk aesthetics that captivate players. Many reviewers noted the impressive detail and unique visual elements, although some pointed out issues with character models and level design. Overall, the visuals are considered a strong point of the game, contributing significantly to its immersive experience despite some technical shortcomings.
- “The game's got this cool cyberpunk post-apocalyptic vibe going on, with unique graphics that'll blow your mind.”
- “The atmosphere, visuals, and soundtracks are astonishing.”
- “The graphic and art style is stunning, combat system is satisfying, map design is full of surprises.”
- “For what this game has in cyberpunk theme, visuals and atmosphere, it lacks in sound effects, sound equalization, animations, UI, and level design.”
- “Instead what I got was glitchy graphics, unwanted interactions during fights, and hard-to-read environments.”
- “Even with that being said, however, I feel as though the current focus of this game's development is the graphics, and as a result, the gameplay actually suffers from it.”
gameplay
116 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
57%
7%
The gameplay of "Dark Light" is generally praised for its engaging mechanics, tight combat, and impressive visuals, though it can be challenging to master due to its complexity and some clunky controls. Players appreciate the mix of melee and ranged combat, as well as the unique stamina system, but many express frustration with the game's confusing mechanics and lack of clear guidance. Overall, while the gameplay shows potential and has received positive updates, it still requires further polish to enhance the overall experience.
- “The gameplay is amazing, and the story looks to be shaping up well.”
- “The combat is amazing, melee strikes and gunshots can be interwoven with each other with instant responsiveness for some pretty sick and creative combos.”
- “Dark light has an outstanding graphic and polished gameplay and precise button reactions.”
- “The game also does a pretty bad job of explaining its mechanics, and the path forward is unclear at times.”
- “80% of boss fights are so easy you just hit them 5 times and they die because they have too little HP, and then the last 20% are so frustrating because they all have some really dumb one-shot mechanics or spam bullet hells that you can't possibly dodge all.”
- “The tutorialization is simultaneously overbearing and unhelpful, throwing overbuilt popups at you that tell you about parts of the control scheme while nothing whatsoever explains the gameplay mechanics or loop.”
story
72 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
69%
7%
The story aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it confusing, underdeveloped, and lacking clear direction. While some appreciate the intriguing lore and atmospheric setting, others criticize the disjointed narrative, poor dialogue, and insufficient storytelling elements that detract from the overall experience. Overall, players suggest that the game could benefit from a more cohesive and fleshed-out plot to enhance engagement.
- “Love the lore/graphics, cool story and unique enemies.”
- “I immediately fell in love with the lore, the backstory that some ancient war between the celestials allied with humans vs the hellish demons from another universe.”
- “The story is intriguing, there's tiny tidbits here and there that make me think about a realm of cosmic horror and does great with the aesthetic, but seems to fall short of giving enough breadcrumbs to instill that nerdy fervor in people learning about a new world.”
- “The story has bad dialogue and it's corny and predictable.”
- “There's no story, and it feels like it's trying to be like Dark Souls in its limited 'direct' storytelling, but it just misses the mark entirely in the opening act by making the player wander aimlessly.”
- “The 'storytelling' (I use the word very loosely) starts off with a massive exposition dump from a robot and then you're just left to figure out what to do and where to go.”
atmosphere
63 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
35%
5%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its unique blend of cyberpunk and post-apocalyptic aesthetics, creating a dark, immersive world filled with haunting visuals and eerie soundtracks. Reviewers highlight the strong sense of place and mood, describing it as both beautiful and nightmarish, though some note that the storyline and level design could use further development to match the atmospheric depth. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's appeal.
- “The atmosphere, visuals, and soundtracks are astonishing.”
- “Sourced from various inspirations, yet attributable to none in particular, the distinct art style is breathtakingly gorgeous, with a grim and brooding atmosphere to the world that is both nightmarish yet beautifully mesmerizing at once.”
- “The atmosphere is beautiful, as promised; the previews built up high expectations, and those have been exceeded.”
- “For what this game has in cyberpunk theme, visuals, and atmosphere; it lacks in sound effects, sound equalization, animations, UI, and level design.”
- “The labs and the city of flesh give off a creepy, 'you should not be here' atmosphere.”
- “Hellish landscapes that are oozing with atmosphere, and also oozing with the decomposing corpses of some poor individuals who appear to be somehow fused into the environment.”
music
50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
56%
6%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its ability to enhance the atmosphere and complement the visuals, creating a compelling and immersive experience. However, others find the soundtrack forgettable, dull, or repetitive, suggesting it detracts from the overall enjoyment. While certain tracks are noted for their effectiveness in key moments, there are calls for more variety and improvement in the music to better match the game's exciting visuals and themes.
- “The atmosphere, visuals, and soundtracks are astonishing.”
- “The music in turn complements the art very well, and backs the intensity of the action and goes hard for the boss battles while maintaining a brooding ambiance when exploring the ruined and mutated landscapes.”
- “The game just has this compelling visual and aural ambience (the music is really damn good at being ominous, spooky, and fueling adrenaline) that drew me in.”
- “The music is dull, depressing, and features repetitive loops.”
- “The trailers suggested excitement and action, but the in-game music instead gives you a dreary and tiresome experience.”
- “I like this game, but something makes me hate it also, and I think it's the soundtrack; the vibe is depressing.”
grinding
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
3%
93%
The reviews highlight a mixed sentiment towards grinding in the game, with many players finding it tedious and cumbersome due to a poorly designed user interface and the necessity of extensive farming for upgrades and materials. While some appreciate the depth and challenge it adds, others feel it detracts from the overall experience, making progression feel more like a chore than an engaging part of gameplay. Overall, the balance of grinding seems to be a significant point of contention, with some players enjoying the challenge while others find it frustratingly excessive.
- “The pros are that it's amazing once you get the hang of it; guns and melee mesh very well, exploration is thorough but not tedious, and the art is amazing!”
- “I played just very little, and everything is just so tedious, cumbersome, and unresponsive, with just heaps of menus and a terrible user interface to tie it all together.”
- “My main issue with the game is that fairly early on, your ability to improve your character is locked not just behind farming currency, but upgrades start to require rare materials.”
- “The upgrade system demands extensive farming and there is no fixed place where you can reliably get the gems necessary for the more advanced upgrades.”
optimization
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
31%
46%
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing smooth performance for the majority of their playtime, while others report significant stuttering, bugs, and inconsistent collision detection. Recent patches have addressed some performance issues, but many still find the controls clunky and the overall technical execution lacking. While some players recommend the game despite these issues, others advise caution until further improvements are made.
- “Still, for 98% of the time, it runs smoothly and it's fun in a simple way.”
- “Each gem type will tell you what performance increase it will add to your weapons; some will give more power than others, but it’s up to you how you would like to upgrade your weapons.”
- “The game had an ~1GB patch today that contained fixes for the performance issues and the controls, both displaying the correct buttons in the UI and saving remappings.”
- “It ends up feeling like the game is stuttering or glitching.”
- “Pretty bad technical executions, with bugs, inconsistent collision boxes, and performance problems.”
- “The controls are a clunky mess, and there are performance issues in some areas, especially during transitions.”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is a mixed bag; while some players report smooth performance with high frame rates and minimal stuttering, others encounter significant bugs, particularly with platforming mechanics and initial HUD issues. Frequent updates are being released, but some users feel that promised fixes are misleading or incomplete. Overall, while the game can be enjoyable, players should be prepared for occasional glitches that may disrupt gameplay.
- “There is a laser platforming puzzle right before the boss where you have to wait for platforms to spawn in, but it's buggy. Sometimes they don't spawn at all or spawn right when you jump, causing you to fall through.”
- “I had to make the game even playable with a recent patch, and all they did was lie to more people about the game regarding things that don't exist or are buggy and misleading.”
- “Really great game, but a little buggy at times. For example, the first time I booted up the game, the HUD did not show and there was no audio. If you can get over some minor bugs, it's a great game to pass the time and is still getting updated.”
humor
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is described as dark and grim, appealing to those with a specific taste, while also featuring moments of unintentional comedy, such as amusing bugs and gameplay quirks. However, the writing is criticized for being poorly executed, lacking depth and coherence. Overall, the humor is a mixed bag, with some players finding enjoyment in its absurdities despite its shortcomings.
- “But hey, if you enjoy a challenge and have a dark sense of humor, this game might just be your cup of radioactive tea.”
- “It's a 2D souls-like, with hilariously bad writing, no world-building to speak of, and toddler-level challenges.”
- “But I did run into a funny bug though; I think I was in the Cult of Flesh III when I tried to convert the temporary currency to the permanent currency, but my temporary currency didn’t go away. So after 2 hours into the game, I made millions already just by keeping converting currency. Cool.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
The game offers some replayability with its multiple endings, requiring players to complete it at least eight times to unlock all content. However, the randomized maps do not significantly enhance this aspect, leading some users to question whether the game has enough appeal for repeated playthroughs.
- “It sports upwards of 8 endings according to the achievements, so there is replayability there for those who want to try to 100% as it does require multiple playthroughs to get them all.”
- “As far as replay value goes, the randomized maps also don't add much to it.”
- “If you want all of them, you need to beat the game at least 8 times because there are 8 endings. I'm not sure the game has the replayability for that.”
- “It sports upwards of 8 endings according to the achievements, so there is replayability there for those who want to try to 100% it, as it does require multiple playthroughs to get them all.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Reviewers highlight that the game excels in creating a wholesome and emotionally engaging gameplay experience, making it both enjoyable and impactful.
- “The game masterfully evokes a range of emotions, making every moment feel impactful and meaningful.”
- “I was genuinely moved by the story and the characters; it felt like I was part of their journey.”
- “The emotional depth of the gameplay left me reflecting on my own experiences long after I finished playing.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game has generated interest, as users have encountered persistent advertising on social media platforms like Instagram for an extended period, leading to anticipation for the early access version.