Gleamlight

About

"Gleamlight" is a 2D action game set in a stunning, transient world made entirely of glass, where players navigate without a traditional UI to uncover an unspoken story. The game's unique art style and immersive design aim to provide an organic experience as players traverse this beautiful yet dangerous world, fighting enemies and uncovering the mystery behind the world's history, all while avoiding the damaging effects of darkness on the fragile glass environment.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

36%

Audience ScoreBased on 61 reviews

graphics10 positive mentions

story4 negative mentions

The art style is beautiful, featuring a unique stained-glass aesthetic that enhances the visual experience.
The game has a charming protagonist and an interesting concept of health regeneration through combat.
The soundtrack is enjoyable and fits the game's atmosphere well.

The controls are unresponsive and clunky, making gameplay frustrating and tedious.
The combat system is shallow and lacks depth, leading to repetitive and uninspired encounters.
The game is very short, with a lack of meaningful content and a confusing narrative that leaves players feeling unsatisfied.

story
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
74%
15%
The story in Gleamlight is largely criticized for its lack of depth and engagement, with many reviewers noting that it feels non-existent or poorly conveyed through minimalistic presentation. While some appreciate the subtle dark themes and twists, the overall narrative is described as bland and underdeveloped, lacking character and meaningful context. The absence of dialogue and reliance on silent storytelling leave players feeling disconnected from the game's world and lore.
- “If you want a tl;dr review, this game is a perfectly good little linear action platformer with a subtly dark plot, some fun story twists, decent bosses, and a short but satisfying runtime.”
- “If you go into this game without the preconceived notion that it's a 'Hollow Knight' clone, what you will get is a tight, short, fun little platform hack-and-slash with power-ups that make combat progressively easier and faster, a few interesting twists, and a dark, foreboding atmosphere that helps to subtly tell the minimal story.”
- “The mysterious story worked well, and without a UI in the way, you as the player are able to better immerse yourself into the story and the combat.”
- “Really feels like a game trying to be artistic without any proper story to tell.”
- “The so-called 'unspoken story' might feel like the narrative is non-existent.”
- “With no story to latch onto, it all just feels shallow.”
graphics
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
41%
14%
The graphics of "Gleamlight" are widely praised for their unique stained-glass art style, which creates an atmospheric and visually appealing experience. However, criticisms arise regarding the animations and level design, which can lead to confusion during gameplay. Overall, while the art style is a standout feature, it is often noted that it does not compensate for the game's repetitive and lackluster gameplay elements.
- “Developer dico created a beautiful stained-glass graphic style for their platformer.”
- “The art style is beautiful, and I love the stained glass theme that the developers used.”
- “Gleamlight's art style is beautiful and immersive, but the combat here is slow and tedious.”
- “The only ups may be the art style (that is still not justified lore-wise, has nothing interesting gameplay-wise and at times makes the navigation really confusing, since one can't tell what's in the background and in the foreground and what can be broken due to no consistency in the room level design) and the boss fight song (which is seriously the only thing I enjoyed, even if it doesn't fit with action scenes at all).”
- “If they had gone for a different art style to help differentiate it from Hollow Knight, then maybe it wouldn't feel like such a mediocre game.”
- “I really like the art style, but after the third boss and the poor level design, I gave up and refunded the game.”
gameplay
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
65%
18%
The gameplay of the game has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with users criticizing its basic mechanics, lack of engaging content, and poor level design that relies heavily on backtracking. Many players found the gameplay inconsistent and frustrating, with unclear mechanics and a lack of meaningful progression or story. While some appreciated the art style and music, these elements were not enough to redeem the overall experience, leading to a consensus that the game fails to justify its price or provide enjoyable gameplay.
- “The life steal mechanic makes bosses a nice challenge and adds a nice way to remove item drops.”
- “But learning the mechanics comes with ease after exploring a bit, and there is great forgiveness with the death system.”
- “Gleamlight is its own game, its own story, and definitely its own mechanics.”
- “It's an action platformer with a very basic gameplay formula.”
- “Unfortunately, the inconsistent gameplay focusing on backtracking and re-runs of the game makes it really hard to get engaged.”
- “Avoiding focusing on the plain issues with the main menu, there is no content whatsoever: uninteresting rooms, broken enemies, no story, unclear and broken mechanics, no replayability... there is nothing one would enjoy playing, let alone to justify the price.”
music
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
41%
18%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising the ambiance and boss fight tracks as enjoyable, while others find the overall soundtrack to be bland, repetitive, and forgettable. Although the music contributes positively to the game's atmosphere, many players feel it lacks variety and fails to enhance the gameplay experience significantly. Overall, the art style and music are noted as highlights, but the soundtrack could benefit from more diverse tracks.
- “The game lives through its art style and music.”
- “Lastly, the soundtrack, while generally subdued, creates a nice ambiance.”
- “It has a beautiful soundtrack and art style.”
- “The credit music doesn't even last for the whole credit scene, my god.”
- “The only ups may be the art style... and the boss fight song (which is seriously the only thing I enjoyed, even if it doesn't fit with action scenes at all).”
- “And the music's discordant clanging is rubbish, too.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly due to the repetitive nature of boss battles and slow combat mechanics. The need to replay content for trophies exacerbates this feeling, making the experience feel drawn out and less enjoyable despite the game's beautiful art style.
- “The subsequent playthroughs also involve reused bosses which are tedious (mostly the flying one).”
- “You regain HP as you attack and so do enemies, so the flying boss is a big tedious battle most of the time as you both chip away at each other while recovering.”
- “But, fair warning… if you go for the trophies, this game becomes tedious fast.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
75%
The game's atmosphere is characterized by a dark and foreboding tone, complemented by a visually appealing art style that enhances the storytelling. While the music may be somewhat repetitive and forgettable, it effectively supports the overall ambiance, contributing to an engaging experience. Overall, the atmosphere successfully immerses players in the game's world, despite some minor shortcomings in animation.
- “It's got a dark, foreboding atmosphere and environments that help to subtly tell the minimal story, and the whole thing just works.”
- “The art style itself is quite nice and atmospheric.”
- “It's got a dark, foreboding atmosphere and environments that help to subtly tell the minimal story.”
- “The music is forgettable and somewhat repetitive but it fits the game's atmosphere well enough.”
- “I very much liked the art style, music, and atmosphere of the game.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, the game lacks significant replayability due to its unengaging content, linear level design, and repetitive mechanics. Players find little incentive to revisit the game after a short initial playthrough, as there are no compelling story elements or varied challenges to explore. While some may appreciate its simplicity, the consensus is that it does not offer enough depth or variety to warrant multiple playthroughs.
- “Avoiding focusing on the plain issues with the main menu (new commands that get overwritten by the default ones as one replays the game; some options that lack sound effects; simply uncomfortable to navigate in; video settings that just set the window size), there is no content whatsoever: uninteresting rooms (you cannot be serious to make the player walk a linear map to go back just to have a bunch of more enemies there. This is not level design, let alone a metroidvania!), broken enemies, no story (let's be real: nothing transpires in the playthrough; there is no pathos in the bosses you defeat, they have no personality, many just have the same sprite), unclear and broken mechanics (it just praises tanking, it asks no wits from the players. Also, losing life for just moving and double jumping is such a nonsense when you're just going for the other room, I'm serious), no replayability... there is nothing one would enjoy playing, let alone to justify the price (the first playthrough can take at most 2 hours. At most, for €17).”
- “Not a major time investment, not a lot of replay value, but if you stop treating it like something it's not, you will find that it's actually really good at being what it's supposed to be.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players report significant stability issues, particularly noting frequent buggy movements during boss fights, which detracts from the overall gameplay experience.
- “There are lots of buggy movements, especially during boss fights.”
- “The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable.”
- “I experienced constant lag and frame drops, which ruined the overall experience.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The character development in the game is noted for its simplistic designs and artistic style reminiscent of earlier works, featuring elements like black outlines and dynamic sword slashes, though these visual traits are not original to the game itself.
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The humor in the game is highlighted through unique and amusing enemy designs, though many enemies rely on a single quirky trait that, once understood, diminishes their challenge. Overall, while there are moments of genuine humor, the novelty tends to wear off quickly.
- “Some of the enemy designs are nice; some are refreshingly unique and funny. A good majority of the enemies have a quirk, and once that’s figured out, they’re not really a problem going forward.”
- “The humor in the dialogue is spot on, with clever puns and witty banter that kept me chuckling throughout the game.”
- “I love how the game doesn't take itself too seriously, with hilarious situations and absurd character interactions that made every playthrough enjoyable.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a sense of unpredictability in the game's emotional impact, highlighting moments of frustration and surprise where seemingly lethal encounters can vary dramatically in consequence. This inconsistency contributes to a rollercoaster of emotions, enhancing the overall experience.