Northern Lights
- December 14, 2020
- MadGoat Studio
- 10h median play time
Get on SteamNorthern Lights is a first-person survival experience in which you step into the shoes of a ranger, sent on a Siberian island to investigate the disappearance of the crew in charge with a secret facility, whose contact with homeland was lost due to abnormal weather conditions.
Reviews
- The game features beautiful graphics and an immersive atmosphere, particularly with the depiction of the Aurora Borealis.
- Engaging gameplay with a variety of survival mechanics and exploration opportunities, making it addictive for players.
- The developers are responsive to community feedback and actively working on improvements, showing commitment to the game's development.
- The game suffers from numerous bugs and performance issues, including crashes and lag, making it frustrating to play.
- Many players find the inventory and UI clunky and unresponsive, which detracts from the overall experience.
- The gameplay can feel repetitive and lacks engaging content, leading to a sense of boredom during exploration.
- story28 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 75 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The game's story is described as linear and somewhat lacking, requiring players to follow a specific sequence of quests that can feel tedious. While some players found the narrative engaging and appreciated the survival mechanics, others felt it became dull and underdeveloped, with many aspects still in early access. Overall, the story mode shows potential for improvement, but current execution leaves some players unsatisfied.
“The story was very engaging and easily led through exploring the island, finding the maps and notes and stuff needed to complete the escape.”
“Although early access, it's in a good advanced state right now with plenty of gameplay in both the story mode and the sandbox.”
“I also love the story mode so far.”
“Also, this is my third time circling the whole map because someone decided to make the story narrative so linear that you cannot progress or do anything unless you find 'A' first to progress with 'B', even if you find 'B' first.”
“I explored so much of the game with no story to speak of happening as a result.”
“The story, as I know it at the time of this review, is not enough for me to say 'yes'.”
- gameplay24 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
Gameplay reviews highlight a mix of engaging survival mechanics and frustrating bugs, with players appreciating the beautiful environment and unique features like the sanity and frostbite mechanics. While some find the mechanics intuitive and the exploration addictive, others criticize the lack of content, tedious weight management, and certain gameplay elements that feel forced or poorly designed. Overall, the game shows promise, especially for early access, but still requires improvements in mechanics and bug fixes to enhance the overall experience.
“I find it to be thoroughly engaging as I try to learn the mechanics of what to do and how to survive.”
“Engaging gameplay, plenty of places to explore and constant survival constraints (lack of water, food, shelter, etc.) make for an addictive experience.”
“I'm really picky about my survival games and I love this game; the mechanics are great.”
“For now, the lack of content and grindy gameplay just kinda snowballs into a bleak tundra of an experience.”
“I played the survival mode first and was a bit overwhelmed and confused by the mechanics.”
“It is a survival game that railroads you into playing it the way the designers want you to with dodgy logic and extremely unrealistic and forced game mechanics.”
- graphics22 mentions
- 55 % positive mentions
- 32 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the stunning and immersive art style, particularly in the depiction of environments like the arctic tundra and the northern lights. However, some users criticize the graphics as outdated or inconsistent, likening them to 90s games, and report performance issues such as freezing and glitches. Overall, while the visuals are often described as beautiful and atmospheric, there are notable concerns regarding technical execution and graphical coherence.
“The game has an amazing and immersive world with stunning and beautiful art style.”
“Absolutely beautiful graphics.”
“Lovely art, amazing graphics, harsh arctic tundra.”
“Utter crap, not worth £1. The graphics are terrible, like a 90s game. The sound is awful, and the voiceover features poor Eastern European vocals. Genuine rubbish, keep away; this will never be a decent game. Honestly, save your money.”
“It was having bugs and glitches too, very basic graphics, terrible UI. Over the years, they fixed it and improved it based on community feedback. The cinematic from story mode was added as improvements to their game after several years when they had enough budget to afford it.”
“The game world has a different graphic style than the items in your backpack.”
- optimization10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is currently a mixed bag; while some players report smooth performance on decent hardware, others experience significant lag and bugs, which the developers acknowledge as part of the early access phase. Overall, there is optimism that ongoing updates will improve performance and address existing issues, but players should be prepared for some current limitations.
“Performance is alright on an older FX 8320 and a GTX 1080 (60fps+ at high).”
“Runs with high FPS on my build, so it is well optimized.”
“Much better performance than before and more fun and diverse.”
“It's incredibly laggy, which the devs openly admit is due to the fact that it is not optimized yet.”
“To the devs' credit, the game intro is quite honest and states the game is in early access, it's not optimized, and it's quite likely players will find bugs, which they ask be reported.”
“Game is now in a much better state than before (watched some streams and reviews before buying), still needs some optimization in UI and performance-wise but otherwise it's a good and fun experience.”
- music6 mentions
- 83 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is consistently praised for its beauty and ability to enhance the overall ambiance, contributing to a captivating gaming experience. Reviewers highlight the awesome soundtrack as a standout feature, complementing the game's impressive graphics and immersive landscapes.
“Great landscape, ambiance and soundtrack!”
“It does show a lot of promise and the soundtrack is great.”
“Lovely game, amazing soundtrack.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players have mixed feelings about the grinding aspect of the game; while some appreciate the unlimited endgame grinding opportunities and strategic gameplay that allows for extensive crafting, others find the repetitive nature and weight mechanics tedious, leading to a less enjoyable experience. Overall, the game offers a deep grinding system but may require updates to improve user experience.
“For now, the lack of content and grindy gameplay just kinda snowballs into a bleak tundra of an experience.”
“The weight/overburden mechanic was tedious (by default I think this kind of mechanic is)... yet it was friendlier than a lot of other games.”
“Looking forward to the next update because this interface can get tedious sometimes.”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability has seen significant improvements over time, with ongoing efforts from both the community and the development team addressing numerous glitches, bugs, and counterintuitive functionalities. While issues like slow loading and freezes have been reduced, players still report some remaining bugs and basic graphics. Overall, the responsiveness to community feedback has led to a more stable and enjoyable experience.
“Tons of glitches and bugs.”
“There are still bugs, there are still functionalities that are counterintuitive, but hey, the game improved a lot and this is because of the proactivity of the community that is reporting bugs or expressing their wishes on what they expect from the game and, of course, also because of the team that is very responsive in solving the bugs, the glitches, or the counterintuitive functionalities.”
“It was having bugs and glitches too, very basic graphics, terrible UI, but over the years they fixed it and improved it based on community feedback.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its realism and immersive survival experience, particularly in the harsh taiga setting. Players appreciate the strong sense of exploration and the impressive visuals, making it a compelling choice for those seeking an atmospheric adventure, despite some early access polish issues.
“Considering it's early access and the usual polish comments apply, it's a good game if you want an atmospheric experience and are in the mood for exploration.”
“The atmosphere really gives you the feeling that you are in a harsh survival situation in the taiga.”
“The atmosphere is really realistic, and the survival aspect feels great for a game this big.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users appreciate the humor in the game, noting that the AI frequently delivers amusing moments that enhance the overall experience.
“The AI delivers hilarious one-liners that caught me off guard!”
“I couldn't stop laughing at the quirky interactions and unexpected jokes.”
“The humor is cleverly woven into the gameplay, making every moment enjoyable.”
