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Fall of Light

Fall of Light Game Cover
59%Game Brain Score
story, gameplay
music, grinding
56% User Score Based on 160 reviews
Critic Score 71%Based on 1 reviews

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Fall of Light Game Cover

About

Fall of Light is a single player hack and slash game with horror and fantasy themes. It was developed by RuneHeads and was released on September 27, 2017. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and neutral reviews from players.

In "Fall of Light" , players step into the role of Nyx, a retired warrior, as they navigate through dark dungeons and treacherous pathways to evade the Shadows and defeat enemies. The game is inspired by Dark Souls, featuring a similar control scheme and atmosphere, but with a touch of Ico's companionship element. For optimal gameplay, a gamepad is strongly recommended. The game's recent update has been featured as a "Hidden Gem" and one of the "Best new Steam games" of the week on Rock, Paper, Shotgun.

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56%
Audience ScoreBased on 160 reviews
story20 positive mentions
music4 negative mentions
  • The game features a compelling story that engages players emotionally, particularly through the relationship between the father and daughter.
  • The atmosphere and graphics are praised for their beauty and minimalistic style, creating an immersive experience.
  • The combat system, while initially frustrating, becomes enjoyable as players learn enemy patterns and improve their skills.
  • Controls are often described as sluggish and unresponsive, particularly when using a keyboard and mouse, leading to a frustrating gameplay experience.
  • The game features punishing mechanics, such as instant death traps and the need to escort the daughter, which can detract from enjoyment.
  • Many players report issues with the game's design, including poor itemization, lack of inventory management, and unclear objectives.
  • story
    76 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of "Fall of Light" centers on the journey of Aether and her father as they navigate a dark world in search of crystal shards, blending themes of light and darkness. While some players found the narrative intriguing and emotionally resonant, others criticized it for being predictable and poorly presented, with gameplay mechanics detracting from the storytelling experience. Overall, the story is seen as a mixed bag, offering moments of depth but often overshadowed by gameplay issues and a lack of engaging presentation.

    • “Great story: starts out mysterious and develops into one of three awesome endings.”
    • “The storyline is actually pretty interesting and for me, seemed influenced by the concept of darkness/light, good/evil and that story running parallel to an underlying story.”
    • “I loved the story, I loved the ending, loved the little pieces we got along the way to build up the story.”
    • “Fall of Light follows the journey of Aether and her father as he explores and guides her throughout a world shrouded in darkness in search of three crystal shards. Suffice to say that the story is alright, but definitely nothing to write home about.”
    • “The story doesn't try to disguise that it is a mere Souls knockoff.”
    • “The story isn't presented very well in the beginning.”
  • gameplay
    38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay has drawn mixed reviews, with many players criticizing the clunky controls and a lack of depth in mechanics, particularly when compared to the Dark Souls series. While the escort mechanic involving the player's daughter adds a unique narrative element, it fails to enhance the overall experience and can feel repetitive. However, some players find enjoyment in mastering the mechanics and appreciate the variety in weapons and tactics once they overcome initial frustrations.

    • “However, once you get the mechanics down, it is a very fun game with a lot of variation between weapons and tactics.”
    • “Fall of Light is a top-down soulsborne, with the same principles, concepts, and core mechanics.”
    • “The simple mechanic of holding your daughter's hand as you explore made it more meaningful to reach the end than I ever spent wondering if I was almost ready to level.”
    • “However, the controls and mechanics are clunky at best - it is hard to appreciate its novel storyline.”
    • “6 hours - bored by repetitive gameplay.”
    • “Sure, there's hints of a really brilliant and touching plot twist right off the bat, but this doesn't overcome the mediocre gameplay.”
  • graphics
    34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the charming aesthetics and art style, while others criticize the use of mismatched assets and poor execution. Many find the visuals enjoyable, particularly for an indie title, but note that they do not compensate for gameplay difficulties. Overall, the minimalist approach is seen as a positive by some, though others feel it detracts from the experience.

    • “The graphics are beautiful; but, it does not make up for the controls and other difficulties of the game.”
    • “I really enjoyed the story, the graphics, and the atmosphere.”
    • “The aesthetics are fantastic.”
    • “On top of that, most of the game is made up of assets from the Unity store that weren't even aligned to the same art style, creating a jarring effect that breaks the environment.”
    • “The graphics are poorly done with sad cutscene voiceovers.”
    • “Visuals are okay most of the time for an indie game, but not super impressive.”
  • atmosphere
    22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its depth and beauty, evoking feelings of darkness and desperation reminiscent of titles like Dark Souls. Despite some critiques regarding sound effects and environmental blandness, many players appreciate the game's ability to create a captivating and immersive world, especially considering its indie development. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a standout feature that enhances the gaming experience.

    • “Definitely worth it if you like Dark Souls; it's not too complex but has a ton of atmosphere and looks beautiful as well.”
    • “Really good atmosphere; for an indie game with only 2 developers, it's almost a masterpiece.”
    • “They have worked hard to create a great atmosphere that will accompany you during the whole game, and the final result is just amazing!”
    • “It's not necessarily scary, but it's a lovely world of darkness that really makes you feel that sort of 'dust bunny in the midwest town' type of off-setting atmosphere.”
    • “I’m depressed... the atmosphere in Fall of Light is really strong and when they hit this girl, oh!”
    • “Still somehow this game managed to capture the atmosphere of desperation from Dark Souls 1, which I personally absolutely love.”
  • music
    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is generally described as minimal and lacking, with many reviewers noting its absence in key moments, which detracts from the overall experience. While some appreciate the subtlety of the music and sound effects, others find it insufficient and bland, contributing to a dull atmosphere that makes gameplay feel tedious. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as a significant missed opportunity.

    • “The music and design is subtle and pleasing, not epic and grandiose.”
    • “Sound effects are good and well placed, but I find that I would have loved music here and there.”
    • “The lack of pronounced sound effects and an atmospheric music set in a bland environment makes it a chore to play.”
    • “The game really lacks a soundtrack in many places.”
    • “It's small, dull, it looks bad (exactly like all of the other crappy games on Unity), the music is barely there.”
  • emotional
    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players have noted that the game features a deeply emotional narrative, with impactful plot twists that resonate strongly, evoking tears and nostalgia. Despite some criticism of the gameplay, the emotional engagement and storytelling have been highlighted as standout elements that successfully draw players in.

    • “This game made me cry ;-( ”
    • “Damn game got me emotionally involved like in the old days.”
    • “Fall of Light does two things a lot of games are afraid to do: it strips what you think you need in an RPG and then adds an easy, emotional story to follow.”
  • grinding
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be somewhat repetitive, particularly during fights and exploration, leading to moments of aimless grinding. However, many agree that it is not as excessive as in other games where grinding is essential for progression. Overall, while it can feel tedious at times, it does not detract significantly from the cohesive story and design.

    • “The concept, story, and design seemed cohesive, but fights did get repetitive and after a bit I did feel like I was grinding to level my character.”
    • “Walking is tedious, so is fighting.”
    • “There was a moment in the game where I was really lost and was just aimlessly grinding around.”
  • stability
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game experiences notable stability issues, particularly with movement mechanics, leading to players getting stuck in certain areas and encountering slow ascent on stairs. These glitches have resulted in the need for restarts, detracting from the overall gameplay experience.

    • “Some glitches with movement sometimes make you stuck in certain places. I had to restart the game a few times because I couldn't continue moving, or it made me go up stairs ridiculously slow.”
    • “The mages and archers still do this buggy backwalk.”
    • “Some glitches with movement sometimes make you stuck in certain places. I had to restart the game a few times because I couldn't continue moving, or it made me go up stairs ridiculously slow.”
  • optimization
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some users praising its smooth performance and efficient resource management, while others report occasional frame drops and stuttering, particularly on lower-end hardware. Overall, the game's optimization appears to be a work in progress, with potential for improvement in future updates.

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71%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews
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4h Median play time
7h Average play time
2-16h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 6 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Fall of Light is a hack and slash game with horror and fantasy themes.

Fall of Light is available on PC, Mac OS and Windows.

On average players spend around 7 hours playing Fall of Light.

Fall of Light was released on September 27, 2017.

Fall of Light was developed by RuneHeads.

Fall of Light has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its music.

Fall of Light is a single player game.

Similar games include Fall of Light, Lords of the Fallen, Bleak Faith: Forsaken, Mortal Shell, Darksiders 3 and others.