Lightless

About

Lightless is a single player action game with a horror theme. It was developed by Bahman and was released on June 19, 2020. It received positive reviews from players.

Lightless: The 21st Sacrifice is created in the style of point and click adventures from the early 2000s, and it offers a story-driven experience with puzzle-solving through an eerie atmosphere. The game uses unique in-game mechanics like the digital camera or the flashlight to emphasize the horror atmosphere and keeps creating suspense and a sense of discomfort.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

85%

Audience ScoreBased on 114 reviews

story26 positive mentions

monetization10 negative mentions

The game offers an intriguing story set in a unique Middle Eastern horror context, which stands out from typical horror games.
Puzzles are challenging and require thoughtful engagement, providing a satisfying experience for players who enjoy problem-solving.
The atmospheric visuals and sound design effectively create a creepy and immersive environment, enhancing the overall gameplay experience.

The game suffers from slow character movement and awkward controls, which can detract from the overall enjoyment and pacing.
Many puzzles are overly complex or obscure, leading to frustration and reliance on walkthroughs to progress.
The game is criticized for being more of a demo or advertisement for future content, leaving players feeling unfulfilled and disappointed with the lack of a complete experience.

story
51 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51%
43%
6%
The story of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it intriguing and atmospheric, particularly appreciating its unique setting in Iran and the incorporation of horror elements. However, some critics noted that the plot can feel cliched or convoluted, lacking depth in character development and emotional impact. Overall, while the narrative is engaging and offers potential for further exploration, it may leave some players wanting more clarity and resolution.
- “The story is interesting; making you gather notes to fill in the gaps of what happened.”
- “The story was great, style was different, can't wait to see more of this!”
- “The story you are trying to discover is intriguing and complex.”
- “Maybe I just didn't give it enough of a chance, but my interest wasn't caught, and I felt no draw towards the story or characters.”
- “The enemy is just whatever and the game's story has been done before, just in a different way.”
- “There needs to be more effort into the story itself, and its characters for us players to fully be impacted by the emotion this game is trying to convey to us.”
graphics
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
52%
11%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many users noting that they appear outdated and reminiscent of early 2000s titles. While some appreciate the unique aesthetic and how it contributes to the game's atmosphere, others find the visuals cluttered or lacking in detail, which detracts from the overall experience. Despite these criticisms, the graphics have been described as adding a quirky charm to the gameplay, making it enjoyable for those who can overlook their shortcomings.
- “Visuals were amazing, sound was very good.”
- “The absolute best thing about this game is the aesthetic of it.”
- “The graphics are actually in the game's favor here, in my opinion, as I got very uncanny vibes from the mix of 2D and 3D, and it made me feel even more uncomfortable.”
- “The graphics are very outdated.”
- “I'll be honest here; the graphics could be a whole lot better.”
- “The game's graphics remind me of those really, really old online 3D games you'd find in the early 2000s.”
atmosphere
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
33%
20%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its eerie and immersive qualities, effectively creating a haunting experience that draws players into its horror setting. While the graphics and music contribute positively to the ambiance, some players feel that the unpredictability of monster encounters and repetitive gameplay can detract from the overall impact. Despite these criticisms, the atmosphere remains a standout feature, enhancing the game's engagement and emotional depth.
- “The game created a great atmosphere and wrapped me up in the drama of the house of fog.”
- “The haunting atmosphere is what really sells this as a 'horror' game to me.”
- “The atmosphere is great, the story is a little cliché.”
- “However, I can't help but feel that the jankiness of the character's animations, and the overall lack of facial expression he radiates, take away from the atmosphere.”
- “Furthermore, after the first segment with the father (I forget his name, was it Irja?), I found the game to be entirely predictable and then lost any impact from the game's atmosphere, which was further impeded by the fact that the puzzles left me lacking any particular enjoyment or 'fun,' so to say.”
- “Honestly, I notice and respect that the dev has put the heart and effort into making this game and telling its story, but an important aspect of a game is that the gameplay should be fun, not tedious or boring, and that, especially for horror, maintaining the atmosphere is essential, something that can be easily reduced by repetitive gameplay.”
gameplay
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
42%
25%
Gameplay reviews highlight a mix of simplicity and frustration, with some players appreciating the graphics and retro style, while others criticize cluttered mechanics and tedious tasks. A particularly annoying shape-drawing mechanic often fails to register correctly, leading to repeated attempts, especially in high-stakes moments. Overall, while the game offers a decent five hours of free content and has potential, it suffers from bugs and repetitive elements that detract from the overall experience.
- “I liked the simplicity of the gameplay and the nice graphics as well (although some of the animation for picking things up is quirky, to say the least).”
- “A strange style of retro you don't see very often - but it works in portraying suspense and providing creepy gameplay.”
- “Honestly, I notice and respect that the dev has put heart and effort into making this game and telling its story, but an important aspect of a game is that the gameplay should be fun, not tedious or boring. Maintaining the atmosphere is essential, something that can easily be reduced by repetitive gameplay.”
- “Everything from the visuals to the gameplay just seemed a bit cluttered.”
- “There is one very annoying mechanic in the game that involves you 'drawing' random shapes with your mouse; however, it won't register them sometimes, forcing you to keep trying over and over until it randomly decides that you made the correct shape. This is why the last encounter is so annoying, as if you somehow guess the last shape by some miracle, you only have a few seconds to draw it before something comes and instantly kills you. More often than not, the game will decide you did not draw the correct shape.”
- “Whenever I take out the flashlight, the character locks into one direction, and making him turn around takes way longer than necessary. Another thing that bothers the gameplay is how you cannot move while holding the flashlight, which would be a huge help for any new enemies that may come after you.”
monetization
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy of this game has been criticized for being misleading, as it presents itself as a full game while actually functioning as an advertisement or demo that requires additional payment for content. Users express frustration over the practice of charging for DLC to unlock essential features, labeling it as exploitative and detrimental to the gaming community. Overall, the approach is seen as a harmful tactic that detracts from genuine game development and misleads players.
- “It's an advertisement/demo, and you have to pay more money through DLC to actually unlock the game.”
- “While it might seem like an innocuous mistake, publishing demos and advertisements as if they are full games is misleading and in some ways harmful.”
- “It's impossible for me to recommend this incorrectly published advertising spam to gamers; you deserve better than adverts.”
music
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
The music in the game is generally well-received for its atmospheric and creepy qualities, effectively complementing the horror setting, with contributions from the composer myuu. However, some players find it repetitive and suggest improvements in technical aspects, such as volume balance with voice acting. Overall, while the music enhances the experience, expectations may vary based on personal preferences.
- “The music is appropriately somber, there are creepy dolls and messages written in blood, and scattered notes that fill you in about the backstory.”
- “The music and audio soundscape is equally creepy and amazing.”
- “While the graphic is not as good as Doom 4, I see a unique harmony between the story, environment, music, and its old-fashioned graphic design.”
- “The music is decent but can get repetitive.”
- “I would say the music can be enhanced a little in terms of technical aspects but not the composition, which was great.”
- “I definitely think there should be an option to turn the voice acting up and the music down as the voices were very quiet!”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
20%
60%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, primarily due to the slow movement speed that makes item collection feel laborious. While some appreciate the effort put into the game's design and story, many feel that the repetitive nature of the gameplay detracts from the overall experience, particularly in maintaining the intended atmosphere.
- “Honestly, I notice and respect that the dev has put their heart and effort into making this game and telling its story. However, an important aspect of a game is that the gameplay should be fun, not tedious or boring. Especially for horror, maintaining the atmosphere is essential, something that can easily be reduced by repetitive gameplay.”
- “The player character only has one walk speed, and it's comparable to a turtle's, so it gets very tedious having to walk around everywhere to grab all the items you need.”
- “I felt the puzzles were really too bizarre, and ultimately tedious and far over-saturated, although it could be possible that my 'big brain' just wasn't really up to the challenge at the time.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the game emotionally engaging, evoking a sense of dread and curiosity about the unfolding story. The unique graphics contribute to an unsettling atmosphere, enhancing the overall emotional experience, despite some frustration with certain gameplay mechanics.
- “All in all, this game made me feel a sense of dread and an extreme curiosity to know what will happen!”
- “The graphics actually work in the game's favor, in my opinion, as I got very uncanny vibes from the mix of 2D and 3D, which made me feel even more uncomfortable.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is inconsistent, with some players finding amusement in the poor graphics and animations, while others note that the game lacks continuous comedic elements, alternating between suspenseful moments and stretches of inactivity.
- “It wasn't always suspenseful and uncomfortable; sometimes the poor graphics and animations just made me laugh, and I could pass through several parts of the game without anything really happening.”
- “But, the game wasn't just funny all the time either.”