Oscura: Lost Light

Oscura: Lost Light is a very satisfying puzzle platformer, unfortunately brought down a notch by some troublesome controls and by the fact that it doesn't offer anything particularly new. Everything that it offers has been done before, but if you're fine with that and enjoy some interesting and challenging levels and a pleasant visual experience, then it's a pretty safe bet. While the story isn't all that great, being as cliché as you can get, it still provides a certain feeling of direction. In any case, the game isn't about narrative, but about platforming, and it does that decently enough. It doesn't have enough personality and creativity to make it truly memorable, but it's definitely an enjoyable and challenging game if you're into platformers. Also, the fact that you can remap the keys and use a control scheme you're more comfortable with, if you're not using a gamepad, is a definite plus.

64%Game Brain Score

gameplay, graphics

replayability, character development

63% User Score Based on 67 reviews

Critic Score 70%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

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About

Oscura: Lost Light is a single player platformer game. It was developed by Chocolate Liberation Front and was released on February 24, 2015. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

Oscura, the apprentice lighthouse keeper, has destroyed the Aurora Stone, sending shards across the Driftlands and plunging them into darkness and danger. It’s up to Oscura to find the shards of the stone and restore light to the Driftlands before creatures of the dark can destroy it.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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63%

Audience ScoreBased on 67 reviews

gameplay15 positive mentions

replayability3 negative mentions

The game features decent level design and responsive controls, making the platforming experience enjoyable.
It has a unique mechanic involving different powers that adds variety to the gameplay.
The game is visually appealing with a striking aesthetic, reminiscent of Limbo, and offers a fair difficulty curve.

The game suffers from repetitive level design and lacks originality, making it feel generic and forgettable.
Controls can be imprecise and glitchy, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences, especially in later levels.
The game is relatively short and may not justify its price, with many recommending it only during sales.

gameplay
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
46%
9%
The gameplay of Oscura is a mixed bag, featuring a blend of physics-based puzzle platforming reminiscent of Limbo, with some players appreciating its clever mechanics and responsive controls, while others find it frustrating due to imprecise jumping and repetitive elements. The game offers a variety of challenges and level designs that keep the experience engaging, but some reviewers feel it lacks originality and can become tedious over time. Overall, it presents a decent platforming experience with solid mechanics, though it may not appeal to everyone.
- “This is a fun little puzzle platformer with a good mechanic: you use different colored light for different effects.”
- “Each level challenges your puzzle-solving skills and reactions in this modern adventure built upon the time-honoured mechanics of classic platformers.”
- “The game's platforming gameplay mixed with powers is pretty well done, as mastery of certain powers such as the gravity power can fling you to new parts and get past hazards that you'd never expect.”
- “Unfortunately, the gameplay is frustrating.”
- “Difficult gameplay is compensated for by lots of checkpoints, but they often start in frustrating places, making you needlessly have to pull levers over and over as you make each attempt.”
- “The only flaw of the game is the jump mechanic, which is not nearly as responsive as it should be.”
graphics
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
43%
14%
The game's graphics are generally well-received, featuring a unique shadowy aesthetic reminiscent of titles like Limbo, with decent level design and a distinct art style. While some players appreciate the visuals and the game's overall style, others note that the graphics can become repetitive over time and lack advanced settings for customization. Overall, the visuals are considered good for an indie title, contributing positively to the gameplay experience.
- “The art is good; each level is a different background color, with the foreground being silhouetted like Limbo, making a really nice aesthetic.”
- “Nice graphics and style.”
- “Art style borrows a bit from other games but it certainly does its own thing.”
- “The dark aesthetics work against the game, despite its good controls and low frustration.”
- “The graphics and music are nothing to write home about, but considering it's a single developer game, I didn't expect AAA standards.”
- “It would be nice to have more graphical options, as the game is fairly easy to run with its simple graphics.”
music
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
27%
20%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its atmospheric quality and composition, while others find it repetitive and occasionally annoying. A common complaint is the inability to mute the music without also turning off all sound effects, which detracts from the overall experience. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as a decent complement to the gameplay, though it may not stand out for everyone.
- “This is one of those games that makes me realize how important a good soundtrack is to a game.”
- “I loved the soundtrack and all the artistic style of the game.”
- “The music and sound effects were also fitting, and the game moves along at a nice pace.”
- “The music is awful, new-agey stuff, and muting it mutes all sound.”
- “I would’ve appreciated allowing the user to turn the music off and allow the sound effects.”
- “Additionally, the sound effects and music have a quality feel to them with some weird distortions and 'fuzzy' sounds.”
story
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
53%
20%
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it lacking in depth and originality, often describing it as cliché and abysmal. While some appreciate the basic premise of an apprentice on a quest to recover light crystals, others feel it fails to engage or provide a compelling narrative. Overall, the story serves as a minimal framework for gameplay rather than a strong focal point.
- “This game's story, from what I can tell, is about you being an apprentice of the great lighthouse, the only thing that protects your entire world from darkness. You screw up, it breaks, and now you get to go on an epic quest to find the light crystals that were in the lighthouse.”
- “In addition, there is an interesting story - narrative.”
- “The game has a pretty good story as well from what I have played of it so far.”
- “The supposed 'story' behind the game is abysmal, so if you have read that this game has an interesting story, I am sorry but they are trying to fool you, believe me.”
- “Also, there is not really much story at all.”
- “While the story isn't all that great, being as cliché as you can get, it still provides a certain feeling of direction.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
The game offers good replayability due to features like a death counter, collectible items, and a best time to beat, encouraging players to improve their performance. However, the absence of a leaderboard is noted as a missed opportunity to enhance competitive replay value.
- “I think the game has pretty good replayability, since there is a counter for your number of deaths, collectibles to get, and a 'best time' to beat.”
- “Adds to the replayability, though I would have liked to see a leaderboard.”
- “The game adds to the replayability, though I would have liked to see a leaderboard.”
- “After completing the game once, I found little incentive to play again.”
- “The lack of varied endings really diminishes the replayability factor.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The atmosphere in the game is visually stunning, complemented by good music, though some players find it overshadowed by the challenging platforming elements. However, there is a consensus that the game lacks a deep, immersive atmosphere that is often essential for this genre.
- “The atmosphere is beautiful, the platforming is challenging, and I was completely immersed in the experience.”
- “The music is atmospheric and pretty good, though I didn't notice it half the time with all the platforming distracting me.”
- “It doesn't have a thick atmosphere to draw you in, which is something these kinds of games need.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development has been criticized for its poor design, with many users finding the character aesthetics to be unsettling and unappealing, which detracts from the overall experience and makes players want to avoid encounters with enemies.
- “In addition, the character design is also very poor.”
- “Character designs are really scary and generally make you want to run away from the enemies.”
- “Character design is really spooky and generally makes you want to run away from the enemies.”

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70%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews

Oscura: Lost Light Review (PC)
Oscura: Lost Light is a very satisfying puzzle platformer, unfortunately brought down a notch by some troublesome controls and by the fact that it doesn't offer anything particularly new. Everything that it offers has been done before, but if you're fine with that and enjoy some interesting and challenging levels and a pleasant visual experience, then it's a pretty safe bet. While the story isn't all that great, being as cliché as you can get, it still provides a certain feeling of direction. In any case, the game isn't about narrative, but about platforming, and it does that decently enough. It doesn't have enough personality and creativity to make it truly memorable, but it's definitely an enjoyable and challenging game if you're into platformers. Also, the fact that you can remap the keys and use a control scheme you're more comfortable with, if you're not using a gamepad, is a definite plus.
Softpedia.com
70%

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4h Median play time

4h Average play time

3-4h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 3 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Oscura: Lost Light is a platformer game.

Oscura: Lost Light is available on PC, Mac OS, Windows and Linux.

On average players spend around 4 hours playing Oscura: Lost Light.

Oscura: Lost Light was released on February 24, 2015.

Oscura: Lost Light was developed by Chocolate Liberation Front.

Oscura: Lost Light has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its replayability.

Oscura: Lost Light is a single player game.

Similar games include Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams, Oozi: Earth Adventure, Outland, LIMBO, Super Magbot and others.

Oscura: Lost Light

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