Dark Light

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"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

Reviews

80%

Audience ScoreBased on 325 reviews

graphics78 positive mentions

grinding24 negative mentions

Stunning graphics and unique art style that creates an immersive post-apocalyptic atmosphere.
Challenging gameplay that requires mastering combat mechanics and enemy patterns, providing a rewarding experience.
Fluid movement and responsive controls, making combat engaging and dynamic.

Clunky controls and inconsistent jumping mechanics that can lead to frustrating platforming experiences.
Lack of clear direction and objectives, making it difficult for players to know where to go or what to do next.
Some gameplay elements, such as the stamina system and enemy difficulty spikes, feel unbalanced and can detract from the overall enjoyment.

graphics
117 mentions
67 % positive mentions
31 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their stunning art style and atmospheric design, blending elements of cyberpunk and post-apocalyptic aesthetics. Many players appreciate the unique visuals and detailed environments, although some note issues with level design and character models. Overall, the game's graphics are considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to its immersive experience.
- “The game's got this cool cyberpunk post-apocalyptic vibe going on, with unique graphics that'll blow your mind.”
- “The graphic and art style is stunning, combat system is satisfying, map design is full of surprises.”
- “Graphically, the game is still gorgeous - but it throws the most gorgeous parts at you right there in the beginning.”
- “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
96 mentions
34 % positive mentions
58 % neutral mentions
7 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Dark Light" is generally well-received, praised for its engaging combat mechanics, movement fluidity, and visual style, though it can be challenging and requires some adjustment. However, players have noted issues with complexity, unclear mechanics, and occasional clunky controls, which detract from the overall experience. While the game shows potential and has improved with updates, it still needs further polish to fully realize its gameplay ambitions.
- “The gameplay is fast-paced and exciting.”
- “The gameplay is amazing, and the story looks to be shaping up well.”
- “Awesome graphics, fun action-packed gameplay, and super responsive controls.”
- “The game also does a pretty bad job of explaining its mechanics, and the path forward is unclear at times.”
- “In addition, I feel as though the game is unnecessarily complicated by too many in-game mechanics as well as a menu system that feels like a chore to use.”
- “It's one of those 'I'm not really fighting baddies, I'm fighting terrible mechanics' sort of games ... thus far.”
atmosphere
54 mentions
61 % positive mentions
33 % neutral mentions
6 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its unique blend of cyberpunk and horror aesthetics, creating a dark, immersive environment that captivates players. While the visuals, soundtracks, and overall ambiance are considered exceptional, some reviewers note that the storyline and level design could use further development to enhance the experience. Overall, the atmosphere stands out as a major strength, 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.”
story
51 mentions
31 % positive mentions
63 % neutral mentions
6 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it underdeveloped and confusing, often lacking clear direction and coherence. While some appreciate the intriguing lore and atmospheric setting, they feel that the storytelling is hampered by poor pacing, limited dialogue, and a lack of engaging quests. Overall, players suggest that the game could benefit from a more fleshed-out narrative and clearer objectives to enhance the overall experience.
- “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.”
- “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.”
- “There's only a few story moments and the pacing and writing of these is off, making it so you have a hard time caring about the world and its characters.”
- “The story is not great, which seems mostly due to the poor English translation.”
music
34 mentions
44 % positive mentions
47 % neutral mentions
9 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its ability to enhance the atmosphere and complement the visuals, particularly during exploration and boss battles. While some users find the soundtrack to be diverse and engaging, others note issues with sound consistency and occasional forgettability. Overall, the music is generally regarded as a strong aspect that contributes significantly to the game's immersive experience.
- “The atmosphere, visuals, and soundtracks are astonishing.”
- “This game is incredible in the feel, the atmosphere, the music, the sounds.”
- “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 music or sound disappeared in the very first intro zone when I jumped up onto platforms and restarted after I got up there.”
- “Like the music just blanks out during the climb.”
- “You can't hear the background music, and then suddenly I jumped out of my seat when butcher music blared in.”
grinding
26 mentions
4 % positive mentions
4 % neutral mentions
92 % negative mentions
The reviews highlight a mixed sentiment towards grinding in the game, with some players finding it tedious and cumbersome due to a lack of balance and a frustrating user interface. While some appreciate the necessity of grinding for upgrades and materials, others feel it detracts from the overall experience, making progression feel more like a chore than an engaging challenge. Overall, the game requires significant grinding, but opinions vary on whether this enhances or hinders enjoyment.
- “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.”
- “Well, I really like the game, but this needs constant grinding and requires a lot of time.”
- “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
9 mentions
33 % positive mentions
22 % neutral mentions
44 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it runs smoothly for the majority of the time and has received patches to address performance issues, players still report bugs, inconsistent collision boxes, and clunky controls that detract from the experience. Some users have experienced stuttering, particularly in earlier areas, but recent updates appear to have mitigated these issues for many. Despite these challenges, the game is still enjoyable, especially if future updates improve the control customization and overall performance.
- “Still, for 98% of the time, it runs smoothly and it's fun in a simple way.”
- “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.”
- “Pros: looks, performance, price.”
- “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.”
- “Even with the performance issues, if the controls were fixed or at least able to be fully customized, I'd recommend this game, but not in its current state.”
humor
5 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
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 world-building, which detracts from the overall comedic experience. Despite these flaws, some players find enjoyment in the game's humorous elements amidst its challenges.
- “But hey, if you enjoy a challenge and have a dark sense of humor, this game might just be your cup of radioactive tea.”
- “There are some issues in terms of gameplay (it looks funny when an enemy falls off an edge, for instance), but I still loved it.”
- “It's a 2D souls-like, with hilariously bad writing, no world building to speak of, and toddler-level challenges.”
stability
4 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is generally described as decent, with some users experiencing minor bugs and glitches, particularly at startup, such as missing HUD and audio. While some issues can be resolved by restarting the game, players express frustration over misleading updates and a lack of feedback for certain in-game actions. Overall, the game is still considered enjoyable despite these stability concerns.
- “I had to make the game even playable with the 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, 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. However, if you can get over some minor bugs, it's a great game to pass the time and is still getting updated.”
- “Any glitches were easily resolved by closing and reopening the game.”
replayability
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
-100 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is limited, as players must complete it multiple times—at least eight—to unlock all endings, which may not be enticing enough for many. Additionally, the randomized maps do not significantly enhance the replay value.
- “The game features multiple endings, encouraging players to complete it at least 8 times to experience everything.”
- “The randomized maps provide a unique experience each time, enhancing the game's replayability.”
- “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.”
monetization
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game has generated interest, as users have encountered persistent advertisements on social media platforms like Instagram for an extended period, leading to anticipation for the early access version.