Deadlight

70%
Game Brain Score Based on 7,940 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Deadlight Game Cover
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Deadlight is a single-player Horror Platformer game with a good plot and amazing gameplay, set in a decaying 1980s Seattle. As survivor Randall Wayne, you'll navigate a beautiful yet deadly world, solving puzzles and avoiding zombies in a 2.5D Cinematic Platformer. Despite some bugs, delightful graphics, perfect soundtrack, and dense atmosphere create a wholesome story, although it's not very replayable.

  • PC
  • Steam Deck
  • Windows
  • Xbox
  • Xbox 360
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

70%
Audience ScoreBased on 7,940 reviews
story1,584 positive mentions
stability358 negative mentions
  • Beautiful graphics and art style that create a haunting atmosphere.
  • Engaging story with emotional depth, despite some predictability.
  • Fun platforming mechanics that provide a mix of challenge and exploration.
  • Clunky and unresponsive controls that lead to frustrating gameplay.
  • Frequent trial-and-error deaths due to poorly designed puzzles and obstacles.
  • Short playtime of around 3-5 hours, leaving players wanting more.
  • story4,222 mentions

    The story of "Deadlight" is often described as generic and predictable, following the familiar trope of a protagonist searching for his family in a zombie apocalypse. While some players appreciate the atmospheric storytelling and the integration of diary entries that add depth, many criticize the narrative for its lack of originality, poor voice acting, and abrupt or unsatisfying endings. Overall, the story is seen as a mixed bag, with some finding it engaging and others deeming it lackluster and filled with clichés.

    • “Despite its short length and occasional frustration with trial-and-error gameplay, its engaging story and tense atmosphere make for a memorable experience.”
    • “Deadlight offers a refreshing take on the zombie genre, blending action, exploration, and storytelling seamlessly.”
    • “The game's narrative is told through a combination of in-game cutscenes and journal entries, which add depth and emotion to the story.”
    • “The story feels generic and lacks depth, often failing to maintain consistency.”
    • “Such glaring plot holes detract from immersion and make the narrative feel half-hearted.”
    • “- generic story without any depth that doesn't know what it wants to focus on and doesn't try to be consistent with itself.”
  • gameplay2,168 mentions

    The gameplay of *Deadlight* is a mix of platforming, puzzle-solving, and combat, set against a visually striking backdrop. However, it suffers from frustrating mechanics, clunky controls, and a reliance on trial-and-error gameplay, which can detract from the overall experience. While some players appreciate the atmosphere and art style, many find the gameplay repetitive and unpolished, leading to a mixed reception overall.

    • “The game's platforming mechanics and puzzle-solving elements add depth to the gameplay, requiring players to navigate treacherous environments while avoiding the undead.”
    • “Its unique art style, engaging story, and satisfying gameplay make it a standout game that's well worth the investment.”
    • “The game's platforming mechanics are intuitive and satisfying, and the puzzles are challenging without ever feeling unfair.”
    • “Deadlight attempts to combine stunning visuals with a compelling narrative in a post-apocalyptic world, but it ultimately falls short due to numerous gameplay issues and design flaws.”
    • “The one way to suck the fun out of any game is to have to replay segments over and over due to poor mechanics, which in this case would be climbing over walls and certain timed events.”
    • “The gameplay just feels off, it never manages to find its foothold, the story is the weakest I've ever seen, and finally, the horrendous dialogue sounds like it was ripped straight from a kid-friendly 2000's educational cartoon, and it's utterly traumatizing.”
  • graphics1,974 mentions

    The graphics in *Deadlight* are widely praised for their high-quality, hand-drawn art style and atmospheric visuals that effectively convey a dark, post-apocalyptic world. Many reviewers highlight the game's unique 2.5D perspective, which enhances the depth and immersion of the environments, making it visually striking despite some technical issues and gameplay frustrations. Overall, while the visuals are a standout feature, they are often noted as insufficient to compensate for the game's clunky controls and inconsistent design.

    • “With its atmospheric visuals and haunting soundtrack, it immerses players in a world filled with danger and despair.”
    • “Deadlight features high-quality, hand-drawn graphics with detailed environments and character designs.”
    • “The graphics are beautiful, the animations and controls are fluid, and the puzzles won't keep you stuck for long.”
    • “The graphics quality is low and zombie animations are clunky.”
    • “The only major fault in the game is that the graphics make it hard to see what's there.”
    • “The graphics are quite choppy and resource-intensive, at least on my PC.”
  • atmosphere1,086 mentions

    The atmosphere of "Deadlight" is widely praised for its immersive and haunting qualities, effectively capturing a post-apocalyptic world through stunning visuals and a compelling soundtrack. Many reviewers highlight the game's ability to evoke feelings of danger and despair, although some note that gameplay frustrations can detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game's atmospheric design, characterized by its dark and gritty aesthetic, is considered one of its strongest features, making it a memorable experience for players.

    • “With its atmospheric visuals and haunting soundtrack, it immerses players in a world filled with danger and despair.”
    • “The atmosphere is phenomenal, the music, the main character, the society, the zombies, everything in this game makes you feel like in an apocalyptic environment.”
    • “The attention to visual detail was noticeable from start to finish and the dark, brooding atmosphere provided by these visuals made for a deeply memorable gaming experience.”
    • “I was excited for the gritty atmosphere and the story, but I couldn't enjoy those two because of the incredibly clunky controls, the bad port, the bad voice acting, poor pacing, inconsistent parkour, bad level design, and the forgettable storyline.”
    • “The grim, unforgiving atmosphere is not very well conveyed, despite the aesthetics indicating otherwise.”
    • “The atmosphere of the game is ruined by horrible controls that have you jumping around in the wrong direction, and getting countless times because of it.”
  • music520 mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for its atmospheric and haunting quality, effectively enhancing the overall experience and immersing players in the post-apocalyptic setting. Many reviewers highlight the soundtrack's ability to evoke strong emotions and complement the game's visuals, with some even considering it a standout feature worthy of a separate purchase. While there are occasional criticisms regarding the music's repetitiveness or lack of intensity in certain moments, the consensus is that it significantly contributes to the game's mood and storytelling.

    • “With its atmospheric visuals and haunting soundtrack, it immerses players in a world filled with danger and despair.”
    • “The game's sound design is also top-notch, with a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack that perfectly captures the game's atmosphere.”
    • “The music, the style, the story, it's all beautifully done even if at times the pacing gets a bit muddled by harder than average puzzles requiring some intense timing.”
    • “For 90% of the game there is no music!”
    • “The soundtrack is not noteworthy either, it's just there.”
    • “The music was atmospheric though it starts to loop and it can get annoying when you have to retry a section over and over due to the previously mentioned controls.”
  • stability362 mentions

    The game is widely criticized for its numerous stability issues, including frequent glitches, unresponsive controls, and frustrating freezes, particularly when pausing or during key gameplay moments. Many players report that these bugs significantly detract from the overall experience, making it feel unpolished and at times nearly unplayable. While some users found enjoyment in the game, the overwhelming consensus is that its stability problems prevent it from being recommended at full price.

    • “The game is fairly bug free and smooth, however.”
    • “This game can be frustrating at times when your character glitches through objects, doesn't grab ledges or refuses to let go of ledges.”
    • “The game is a hot buggy mess, glad it was on sale because full price to redownload patches in order for it to work is not my idea of a decent product.”
    • “Game freezes up a lot about halfway through, which is very frustrating.”
  • replayability136 mentions

    The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with many players noting its short length (around 3-6 hours) and linear gameplay as significant drawbacks. While some features like a "nightmare" mode, alternate endings, and collectibles offer minimal replay value, the overall consensus leans towards a lack of substantial content to encourage multiple playthroughs. Players recommend it primarily for its story and atmosphere, suggesting it may be best enjoyed on sale rather than at full price.

    • “The game is fairly short, but it adds a new mode after you beat it to encourage replayability, so it has that going for it.”
    • “Grab it on sale, it will give you a nice afternoon/weekend of entertainment and there's also some replay value in it: an alternate ending, minigames, and many other things to discover that you can miss on one or two playthroughs + there's a nightmare mode that doesn't save checkpoints, meaning you have to go through an act completely, and every death puts you back at the start.”
    • “It has a good amount of secrets and challenges to satisfy the completionist and provide you with ample replayability.”
    • “There is no replay value in this game, especially when there are no alternative characters to unlock or choose from, no alternative game paths or locations to explore.”
    • “Overall, this game excels in its atmosphere; however, due to its short length and limited replay value, I recommend buying this game on sale.”
    • “You should only buy this game if you want a story; it has no replay value at all and the game mechanics aren't something to celebrate.”
  • emotional90 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding the story touching and immersive, particularly in its portrayal of loss and survival in a post-apocalyptic setting. However, many criticize the execution, citing poor voice acting, a lack of character development, and a predictable storyline that diminishes emotional impact. While some moments resonate, the overall emotional connection is often undermined by gameplay issues and a failure to engage players deeply with the characters.

    • “Excellent game with an emotional and beautiful story.”
    • “Definitely one of the few games that made me feel something, and for that, I definitely would recommend it.”
    • “The story is gripping and sometimes heartbreaking, with an ending that is completely out of the blue; I never saw it coming.”
    • “However, the poor controls, incredibly banal and campy voice acting, and boring storyline made this more annoying than enjoyable to finish.”
    • “It feels like the engine, gameplay, etc. has a big potential, but the boring story and foreseeable end really made me dislike the game.”
    • “You never get a sense of why you are being told this boring story.”
  • grinding86 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for its tediousness, with players frequently expressing frustration over repetitive gameplay, clunky controls, and poorly designed checkpoints that force them to replay sections multiple times. Many reviewers noted that the game transitions from engaging to a chore-like experience, particularly during lengthy and cliché segments, leading to a lack of enjoyment and a diminished sense of achievement. Overall, while some elements of the game are appreciated, the grinding nature detracts significantly from the overall experience.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “Checkpoints often force players to replay tedious sections of the game, including all the dialogue and challenges they have already completed.”
    • “The story elements are mostly boring and tedious, even when you have cutscenes you have to redo because you died; this game could have done without.”
    • “I don't even mind grindy games, but playing this is just work and there is very little sense of achievement.”
  • optimization84 mentions

    The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with players reporting significant performance issues such as stuttering, freezing, and poor control responsiveness, even on high-end systems. Many reviewers noted that the game feels like a poorly executed console port, requiring drastic reductions in graphical settings to achieve playable performance. Overall, the combination of bugs, inconsistent frame rates, and frustrating controls detracts from the gaming experience, leading to a consensus that the game is poorly optimized for PC.

    • “Sound design is excellent and immersive overall, and controls are well optimized for both keyboard & mouse and controller.”
    • “I have heard people have performance issues running this game but so far I have had no problems, I highly recommend this, just make sure your computer can run it.”
    • “The performance is decent.”
    • “The optimization is very bad and you need to crank the resolution down by tons to make it run smoothly.”
    • “The game itself is pretty good - but it's a bad console port that's ridden with annoying bugs (such as not being able to progress until restarting the game or cutscene sound not working), clunky controls, and performance issues.”
    • “Very poorly optimized for PC, very short as well, frustrating controls on keyboard.”
  • humor48 mentions

    The humor in the game is a notable highlight, providing a balance to its otherwise bleak setting and serious themes. Players appreciate the witty moments and absurd character interactions, particularly with a character known as 'the rat,' which adds a comedic touch reminiscent of low-budget sci-fi films. However, some find the humor inconsistent, with technical glitches and poor voice acting leading to unintentional laughter rather than intentional comedy, resulting in a mixed reception overall.

    • “But while the game's setting may be bleak, there are plenty of moments of humor and wit to be found as well.”
    • “And while the game's setting may be serious, the humor helps to balance out the tension and drama, making for a more enjoyable overall experience.”
    • “Portal did this with a pitch-black sense of humor that blended seamlessly with a frighteningly sterile, claustrophobic atmosphere.”
  • character development36 mentions

    Character development in the game is largely criticized, with many reviewers noting it as mediocre or lacking depth, primarily focusing on the main character while neglecting others. The narrative fails to create emotional investment, often leaving players feeling disconnected from the story and its characters. Despite some positive mentions of character development through cut-scenes and narrative inserts, the overall consensus is that the game misses opportunities for deeper engagement, resulting in a disappointing experience.

    • “Not just fab and great storytelling but decent gameplay and amazing character development.”
    • “The character development is done well through inserts in the game, the narrative and the cut-scenes.”
    • “The graphics and artwork of a destroyed post-apocalyptic Seattle were stunning and the character development and pacing are well done.”
    • “There was not much character development, mostly only focusing on your main character, and the start of the game feels like you're playing a game that's halfway done.”
    • “The story makes little sense as it basically starts in the middle with no character development at all.”
    • “The ending is supposed to be a dramatic twist, but given that there's no character development, and really no reason for you to care about these characters at all, the only real emotion it's going to conjure up in you is disappointment that you spent $15 on a game that caps out at 2 hours of gameplay.”
  • monetization4 mentions

    The monetization of the game is criticized as a frustrating cash grab, leaving players feeling disappointed and questioning their purchase. Many users feel that the game fails to deliver value, particularly in the context of sales promotions that may have influenced their buying decisions.

    • “I thought it would scratch the itch for a side-scrolling zombie horror game, but it is nothing more than a frustrating and annoying cash grab.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

5hMedian play time
6hAverage play time
4hMain story
7hCompletionist
4-8hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 148 analyzed playthroughs

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