Light&Dark

About

Light&Dark is a single player platformer game. It was developed by Kontrast and was released on June 12, 2022. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

"Light & Dark" is a single-player "roguelight" platformer game with great graphics and music. As Victoria Bloom, fight the darkness overrunning Bloom Manor using a flashlight and slingshot, and save your Grandad. The manor's layout changes with each run, and unlocking new items and perks requires choosing corresponding weaknesses. Combine item effects through tinkering to discover synergies.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

+10

Skip User Reviews

84%

Audience ScoreBased on 90 reviews

graphics18 positive mentions

stability8 negative mentions

The game features a unique and charming black and white art style that enhances the overall experience.
Gameplay is engaging with fun mechanics, particularly the flashlight combat and weapon upgrades.
The soundtrack is creative and adds to the atmosphere, making it enjoyable to play.

Controls can feel sticky and unresponsive at times, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
The roguelike progression system is flawed, with many items being unhelpful or redundant, making runs feel repetitive.
There are significant visibility issues with projectiles and enemies, which can lead to unfair damage taken during gameplay.

graphics
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
35%
9%
The game's graphics feature a unique and charming black-and-white art style that draws comparisons to Edward Gorey and The Simpsons, captivating players with its simple yet stunning visuals. While many appreciate the aesthetics, some find the monochrome palette tiring for the eyes. Overall, the graphics are praised for their creativity and contribution to the game's atmosphere, making it a standout element despite some mixed feelings about visual clarity.
- “However, this game captivated me from the beginning with its simple-but-stunning graphics, easy to learn and hard to master gameplay and phenomenal audio score.”
- “Great roguelite game with some fresh ideas and fun combat + loving the black and white styling with light being a mechanic, makes for some really cool visuals!”
- “I love the art style, the graphics are gorgeous and the gameplay is so well handled that even as someone who isn't hugely into roguelikes, I am drawn into the game again and again, curious what all the upgrades will do, how the story continues, and what other types of nasty monsters lurk in Bloom Manor.”
- “The art style is going to be make it or break it.”
- “The soundtrack, while being some good chiptunes, doesn't quite match the silent movie aesthetic the game is going for.”
- “A light and breezy action-roguelike with a unique black & white art style.”
gameplay
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
53%
9%
The gameplay is a blend of roguelike and platformer elements, featuring unique mechanics and a charming storyline, though some players find it a bit easy and marred by technical issues like glitches. While many appreciate the smooth controls, satisfying combat, and engaging meta-progression, others feel the gameplay lacks depth and variety in weapon impact. Overall, the game is visually appealing and addictive, with a mix of enjoyable and frustrating moments.
- “An interesting combination of roguelike and platformer with some unique mechanics and a cute storyline.”
- “However, this game captivated me from the beginning with its simple-but-stunning graphics, easy to learn and hard to master gameplay, and phenomenal audio score.”
- “Gameplay is smooth, combat is satisfying, and the meta-progression is fair.”
- “The gameplay is solid if a bit easy perhaps... when you're not getting killed by some invisible forces, that is.”
- “- There's nothing special about the gameplay, or the weapons you find don't affect it enough.”
- “Controls are nice, but I shouldn't have to restart a roguelike because I accidentally glitched the boss through the floor by shooting it. I genuinely don't know what happened here; I was attacking the boss, I attacked down, it disappeared, and I didn't have any unusual projectiles. Or I entered the boss arena and both of us are frozen, both of which happened with the same boss within like 30 minutes of gameplay.”
music
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
20%
13%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its creativity and unique elements, such as the crow's croaks, while others find it irritating or mismatched with the game's aesthetic. Overall, the soundtrack is described as solid but not particularly memorable, with some chiptunes that fit the visual style well, though it may not resonate with everyone. Despite the varied opinions, many agree that the music contributes positively to the overall experience.
- “Very unique style, addictive gameplay, pretty hard (if you don't play this genre that often), awesome music... great package overall.”
- “I'm enjoying the game, it has great visuals and a 10/10 soundtrack. I would recommend.”
- “It looks great, the soundtrack is not quite memorable but is strangely fitting, sounds a bit like if Mega Man was composed by Tim Burton, and the controls are really responsive.”
- “The music is irritating; I had to mute it after 1 hour.”
- “The dialogue is distinctly translated, the story is awkwardly paced and shallow, the music doesn't really fit the setting very well.”
- “The soundtrack ranges from totally fine to really creative, but the music doesn't really fit the setting very well.”
story
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
50%
17%
The story is described as having an interesting premise set in Bloom Manor, but suffers from awkward pacing and shallow character development, with the main character serving primarily as a vehicle for exposition. While some players find the narrative engaging and are motivated to uncover its secrets, others criticize it for becoming overly emotional and lacking depth. Overall, the dialogue is noted to be distinctly translated, but the story's execution leaves much to be desired.
- “An interesting combination of roguelike and platformer with some unique mechanics and a cute storyline.”
- “The story is engaging and it pushes you to discover all the secrets of the Bloom Manor.”
- “I love the art style, the graphics are gorgeous and the gameplay is so well handled that even as someone who isn't hugely into roguelikes (pardon, roguelights!), I am drawn into the game again and again, curious what all the upgrades will do, how the story continues, and what other types of nasty monsters lurk in Bloom Manor.”
- “The dialogue is distinctly translated, the story is awkwardly paced and shallow, the music doesn't really fit the setting very well, the combat can be engaging but doesn't have much nuance to it at all.”
- “At that point, the story turns into childish over-emotional nonsense.”
- “The main character isn't really a character so much as a mouthpiece for game concepts and exposition, and the story that the game tries to tell, while interesting, isn't very well capitalized on.”
stability
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
8%
67%
The game's stability is a mixed bag; while some players report it as functional with no significant glitches, others describe it as "pretty...buggy," indicating the presence of minor to moderate bugs. Overall, it seems that while the game can be played without major issues, it is still plagued by various glitches that may affect the experience.
- “The game has few bugs and glitches, making for a smooth experience.”
- “I encountered only minor bugs, which didn't affect my overall enjoyment.”
- “Overall, the stability is impressive with just a few minor glitches.”
- “Pretty...buggy.”
- “The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs/glitches.”
- “It's an interesting concept and the game is functional - I didn't experience any glitches.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate that the emotional aspect of the game is perceived as overly simplistic and childish, detracting from the overall narrative experience.