Nordlicht

About

Nordlicht is a single player casual puzzle game with a violence theme. It was developed by illius and was released on April 2, 2019. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Nordlicht is an adventure-game where you accompany an unusual family on its fascinating journey to the cold north. During the journey, they encounter mysterious star-signs of the polar night, and have to overcome nature's dangers to confront their fears.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

75%

Audience ScoreBased on 75 reviews

story22 positive mentions

stability7 negative mentions

The game features beautiful hand-drawn graphics and a charming art style that enhances the overall experience.
The story is heartwarming and poignant, focusing on family connections and emotional themes, making it suitable for both children and adults.
The music is calming and relaxing, perfectly complementing the game's atmosphere and adding to the overall enjoyment.

The game suffers from slow pacing and character movement, which can make the experience feel drawn out and tedious.
There are several technical issues, including game-breaking bugs, lack of autosave, and unskippable cutscenes that can frustrate players.
The gameplay is quite short, with some players feeling that it lacks depth and replayability, making it less appealing at full price.

story
72 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
65%
4%
The game features a heartwarming and poignant story centered around a family's journey to connect with one another, particularly a father and daughter on a quest to see the northern lights. While the narrative is simple and somewhat predictable, it is well-presented with beautiful visuals and music, evoking strong emotions despite its short length and occasional pacing issues. Overall, it offers a sweet, kid-friendly experience that resonates with themes of love and acceptance, though some players may find the gameplay less engaging.
- “The story: a family overcoming challenges to see each other.”
- “A family story about a dad and his little daughter on a voyage towards the northern lights to fulfill a yearly tradition.”
- “Nordlicht is a small gem of a game that tells a heartwarming story with beautiful visuals and sound design.”
- “Since the game is so short, there isn't much to the story.”
- “The story was sweet, but I found the gameplay boring and the ship portion was annoying.”
- “This game offers really nice graphics, atmosphere, and story, but has terrible pacing.”
graphics
47 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
41%
6%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their colorful, stylized, and hand-drawn artwork, which creates a charming and immersive atmosphere. Reviewers highlight the beautiful art style as the game's standout feature, complemented by uplifting music that enhances the overall experience. While some note the simplicity of the graphics, they agree that it effectively contributes to the game's whimsical and heartwarming narrative.
- “Nordlicht is a short point-and-click game, with stunning visuals, in which a little girl and her father set out on a journey to find her mother.”
- “The hand-drawn artwork is beautiful in this game.”
- “The artwork is really good considering the price; the stylized aesthetic gives it a unique look, not to mention its enjoyable soundtrack.”
- “The game has a deliberately simple graphic style; the characters look like cutouts placed upon the backgrounds, and there is even a visible white outline around the cutout.”
- “- no graphical, audio or gameplay settings.”
- “Even though the game has a childish artwork that works really well with the game atmosphere, the game has much depth behind the scenes.”
music
39 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
49%
43%
8%
The music in the game is widely praised for being calm, relaxing, and uplifting, effectively complementing the beautiful art style and overall tone of the game. While some reviewers noted that the soundtrack may be too soothing or not particularly memorable, it is generally considered a fitting and enjoyable aspect that enhances the emotional experience of the gameplay. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's charm, making it a pleasant backdrop for the short, wholesome story.
- “The music in this is beautiful, uplifting, and relaxing, matching the overall feel of the game with the graphics and story.”
- “Plus the music/melodies are great and very heart-oriented.”
- “The music was an excellent fit in helping to frame the mood of the game.”
- “0 music maybe a bit too relaxing”
- “But with a wonderful art style and complimentary (if not memorable) music, it's a decent game for anyone who wants to play through a short wholesome story.”
- “music works well for the tone of the game - if not memorable, then certainly calming.”
gameplay
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
77%
10%
The gameplay is characterized as a straightforward point-and-click adventure, featuring traditional inventory-based puzzles and exploration elements. While some players found the mechanics easy to grasp and appreciated the nostalgic feel, others criticized the gameplay for being simplistic and occasionally frustrating, particularly during ship navigation. Overall, the experience is described as smooth but lacking in depth, with some unclear mechanics that could detract from the enjoyment.
- “The gameplay is simple and easy to understand.”
- “Gameplay is similar to your basic point-and-click adventure game; examine objects, merge objects, use objects on elements in your environment.”
- “Some of the gameplay mechanics surprised me in a positive way; things I didn't expect to do in a point-and-click game.”
- “The story was sweet, but I found the gameplay boring and the ship portion was annoying.”
- “Without terrible pacing, it would be done in like 15-20 minutes, because there's very little gameplay and puzzles.”
- “Some gameplay elements are also unclear, like when talking to Peter/Rupert at a specific place gives new options.”
emotional
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Nordlicht is praised for its emotional storytelling, offering a heartwarming narrative centered on family and memories, complemented by beautiful hand-drawn visuals and music. While the gameplay is described as short and predictable, it resonates well with players seeking a wholesome experience, though some may find certain elements, like the protagonist's interactions with inanimate objects, a bit tedious. Overall, it is recommended for those who appreciate emotional stories in gaming.
- “The game tries to tell a touching story of family by giving you glimpses of past memories.”
- “Nordlicht is a small gem of a game that tells a heartwarming story with beautiful visuals and sound design.”
- “A short point and click game featuring beautiful hand-drawn illustrations and a heartwarming story.”
stability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability has been criticized for being quite buggy, with issues such as black screens, cutscenes triggering too early, and a significant game-breaking bug that has led some players to change their reviews to negative. While some users find the bugs manageable, the overall consensus indicates that stability is a major concern.
- “The game is really buggy.”
- “I flipped the review to negative, as it's way too buggy, including a game-breaking issue.”
- “It's a bit buggy but not prohibitively so: black screen, screen does not follow avatar, early set-in of cutscene.”
atmosphere
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The game's atmosphere is characterized by its charming, childlike artwork that effectively complements its deeper narrative elements. Players appreciate the combination of appealing graphics and engaging story, although some note that the pacing detracts from the overall experience.
- “This game offers really nice graphics, atmosphere, and story, but has terrible pacing.”
- “Even though the game has a childish artwork that works really well with the game atmosphere, the game has much depth behind the scenes.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is relatively short, lasting between 90 to 120 minutes, and lacks replayability, particularly due to the absence of achievements. Players may find it worthwhile to purchase at a discount, given its limited replay value.
- “It's a relatively short game (90 - 120 mins assuming you don't run into issues) with no replayability (especially since there are no achievements as of writing this), so make sure this is something you're interested in.”
- “Due to the lack of replayability and the short length, this may be a good game to pick up on a discount.”