her tears were my light

About

"Her Tears Were My Light" is a narrative-driven puzzle game where players manipulate light and shadows to guide a lost girl through a dark, surreal world. The game explores themes of grief, loss, and healing, with the player uncovering the emotional story of the girl and her family. Gameplay involves solving light-based puzzles in order to progress through atmospheric, hand-drawn environments.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

100%

Audience ScoreBased on 230 reviews

story33 positive mentions

stability3 negative mentions

The game features a charming and heartwarming story about love and acceptance, with unique characters that players can easily connect with.
The art style and music are beautifully crafted, creating a delightful atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.
Despite its short length, the game effectively utilizes its mechanics, such as the rewind function, to create an engaging narrative that encourages multiple playthroughs.

The game is very short, with most players completing it in under an hour, which may leave some wanting more content.
Some players feel that the story rushes character development due to its brevity, potentially missing deeper exploration of themes.
There are occasional technical issues reported, such as control lock-ups on certain platforms, which can detract from the experience.

story
79 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
54%
4%
The story is a short, sweet, and engaging love tale centered around the themes of time and space, featuring unique characters and a creative rewind mechanic that enhances the narrative experience. While the game can be completed in under 30 minutes, players appreciate its emotional depth and the multiple endings that encourage exploration. Overall, the charming art and music complement the heartfelt storytelling, making it a memorable visual novel.
- “The story itself is open to interpretation, but for me, it's about embracing your partner in their entirety.”
- “Beautiful story, I really enjoyed it, very interesting concept and characters.”
- “It's a love story about time and space.”
- “While the writing is a bit hurried, as the story is rather short, and rushes some development, it's reasonable given the time constraint the game has.”
- “The rewind 'mechanic' is interesting; it's cool to see something like that incorporated into the story of a visual novel, even if it kinda gets phased out as you go through more and more.”
- “Although the backgrounds are very simple, as the story takes place in space, I found them to be appropriate.”
music
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
50%
11%
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its calming and enchanting qualities, with many players noting its ability to create a celestial atmosphere that enhances the overall experience. The soundtrack features beautiful tracks, including a memorable ending song and a Spanish version, which players found particularly delightful. Overall, the combination of lovely art and music contributes significantly to the game's charm, making it a standout aspect for many reviewers.
- “The music, the art, the characters, the story... all of it created a pure, celestial atmosphere that I'll never forget.”
- “Overall the highlights for me were the lovely art and scenery, the calming soundtrack, and the characters.”
- “This game has a great soundtrack with wonderful vocals as bonus content.”
- “For me, the music is calming; it makes me feel at peace, but the nil theme is more 'meh' in my opinion. However, I appreciated the new music, even though I had heard it in the past.”
- “I really, really badly want the OST for this; I'd pay any amount of money for it.”
- “The music and illustrations were so enchanting and beautiful.”
gameplay
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
59%
14%
The gameplay of the visual novel is praised for its creative use of mechanics, particularly the time travel feature that enhances the storytelling and character interactions. Players appreciate the multiple choices leading to different endings, as well as the self-aware design that engages them on a deeper level. However, some users noted technical issues on certain platforms and expressed concerns about the game's length relative to its price.
- “Super cute visual novel with a creative use of the mechanics of the engine.”
- “A simple but beautiful story with a pretty creative game mechanic that makes it so much more meaningful seeing how the characters react to what you do.”
- “It's an incredibly self-aware game that uses the tools provided by the engine as an actual game mechanic instead of just being some quality of life function.”
- “For some reason on Steam Deck, my controls locked up after 3-5 minutes of gameplay.”
- “It feels a bit overpriced for the gameplay hours, so I'd recommend holding off for a sale.”
- “It's short, and has a unique mechanic that goes well with the story.”
emotional
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is widely praised for its heartwarming and poignant storytelling, often evoking strong feelings and tears from players. Reviewers highlight its charming art and wholesome themes, particularly its representation of love and identity, making it a deeply touching experience. Overall, the game is described as a beautiful emotional journey that resonates with players on a personal level.
- “It's a small but very heartwarming and wholesome game.”
- “A short game, but an emotional and beautiful roller coaster.”
- “I have to admit... the second I heard these lyrics, I crumpled like I'd been shot in the heart, mind, and soul... and I cried like I had never cried in my life before... this game's utterly sweet and elegantly simple anthropomorphic representation of cosmic trans sapphic entities is poignant and deep, daring to represent a kind of love and purity in a way that is as sacred as it is ancient.”
graphics
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
63%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their cute and charming art style, which enhances the overall aesthetic experience. Reviewers appreciate the unique visual elements, such as the space theme and emotional depth conveyed through the artwork, making it a standout in the indie yuri genre. The inclusion of a wallpaper maker is also seen as a delightful bonus for fans of the visuals.
- “I adore the art style they chose for this game, and the fact that it includes a wallpaper maker is such a fun bonus.”
- “The whole aesthetic of this game (tears that turn to stars, physical forces of the universe but as girls) is so gorgeous it makes your heart feel a sense of love and loss for this world.”
- “Very cute story and very cute graphics.”
character development
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
Character development is praised for its engaging storytelling and unique character designs, which are described as both beautiful and charmingly simple with an elfish vibe. The integration of thematic elements, such as a sand timer as a hair accessory, adds depth to the characters, enhancing the overall experience.
- “The art is lovely, the story is relatively short but engaging nonetheless, and the character designs are wonderful and incredibly unique!”
- “Character designs are good too; realizing partway through that Time's hair accessory is a sand timer was neat.”
- “I love the character designs, they're somewhat simple, yet have a wonderfully cute elfish vibe to them.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is described as pure and celestial, enhanced by its music, art, characters, and story, leaving a lasting impression on players.
- “The music, the art, the characters, the story... all of it created a pure, celestial atmosphere that I'll never forget.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Overall, users find the game's stability to be generally good, though some report occasional bugs that can affect the experience.
- “The game is really well done, but it can be quite buggy at times.”
- “I experienced frequent crashes that made it hard to enjoy the game.”
- “There are numerous glitches that disrupt the gameplay experience.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its cute portrayal of space and clever time-related jokes, with players particularly enjoying the character Nil for adding to the comedic elements.
- “Space is cute, time can be relatively funny at some points, and I like Nil as a character.”