Stay in the Light

About

Stay in the Light is a single player action adventure game. It was developed by Richard Cowgill and was released on February 23, 2021. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Stay in the Light is an immersive first person horror game with a combination of unique features: Real-time Ray Tracing and Random Dungeon generator. You are being hunted by Him, a creature lurking in a mysterious dungeon. With only a few items, a mirror, a torch and some chalk, you must survive this hellish place. There are treasures to be found, puzzles to solve and clues to uncover. Stay i…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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68%

Audience ScoreBased on 38 reviews

graphics8 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

Impressive ray tracing and lighting effects that enhance atmosphere and immersion.
Unique gameplay mechanic focused on using light as a survival tool.
Free to play with decent graphics and sound, making it accessible for players wanting to test RTX features.

Gameplay is repetitive and gets boring quickly due to similar procedurally generated levels and lack of progression.
Technical issues including crashes, poor optimization, resolution lock at 1080p, and control problems.
Movement and character control feel clunky, with limited interaction options and some awkward puzzle design.

graphics
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
22%
21%
The graphics are generally praised for their quality and RTX capabilities, with some users noting they look better than expected for a free game. However, a few mention repetitive visuals and asset reuse, though overall the visuals contribute positively to the gameplay experience.
- “The graphics are awesome and very fun game play.”
- “Pretty good RTX graphics for a free game.”
- “The graphics are nice, and the game can also be disturbing sometimes.”
- “The game graphics look better than you might expect, but that's just because it looks like some or all of them are borrowed from asset stores or elsewhere.”
- “Despite the visuals, and the fact it's a free RTX demo, I cannot recommend this game.”
- “Graphics don't matter in this game.”
gameplay
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The gameplay is generally criticized for being overly simple, repetitive, and underdeveloped, with some viewing the experience more as a tech demo than a fully realized game. Although the atmosphere and ray tracing effects are noted, they do little to enhance or meaningfully impact the gameplay itself. Overall, the execution falls short of providing engaging or substantial gameplay.
- “The gameplay is very simple, but the atmosphere makes up for it.”
- “The ideas and gameplay for a solid game are there, it's just the execution that is a little below the minimum I can bear.”
- “From what I understood, this was supposed to be a showcase for how ray tracing can become gameplay.”
- “No gameplay, just a tech demo essentially.”
- “As a game, this is way too monotonous and repetitive in scenery and gameplay.”
- “The ideas and gameplay for a solid game are there, but the execution is a little below the minimum I can bear.”
story
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
43%
43%
The story aspect receives mixed feedback, with some users finding it lacking or non-existent, comparing it to simple endless runner games, while others appreciate an epic narrative. Overall, the story is seen as either minimal or superficial, making it feel like a chore rather than a compelling reason to play.
- “Epic story”
- “I would have liked to complete it, at least once, to see the story, but it felt too much like a chore.”
- “Story: less comprehensive, concise (it would take a better reason).”
- “This game has no story.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The game offers excellent replayability due to its randomly generated exploration areas, making each playthrough unique and infinitely replayable.
- “The place you're going to explore is randomly generated, offering great replayability.”
- “Infinitely replayable.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is described as tedious and repetitive, with players encountering similar levels repeatedly, leading to a lack of progression and boredom. Some puzzles feel obscure, causing frustration, and the gameplay can become monotonous despite decent graphics and occasional jump scares.
- “After playing 3 levels, it simply got boring, tedious, and buggy (either that, or the puzzles are too obscure, but after an hour of searching I gave up).”
- “Rooms 5-13 were all super similar and it gets so grindy that it's not fun running into the same room over and over again without any feeling of progression. The graphics are nice, the puzzles are pretty decent, and the game has some jump scare moments, but I feel one sacred treasure should be shown early on so the player knows what they're looking for.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's optimization is poor, as even users with minimum recommended specs like an RTX 2060 and i5 9400 struggle to achieve stable performance or quality visuals, especially with ray tracing enabled.
- “Firstly, I have an RTX 2060 with an i5 9400, which is the minimum spec you can expect to play a game with ray tracing or any modern game and get quality visuals and performance.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users highlight that while the gameplay is simple, the game's atmosphere is engaging and effectively enhances the overall experience.
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game exhibits stability issues, including bugs that disrupt gameplay and contribute to a frustrating experience. Additionally, some puzzles may be overly obscure, leading to player frustration and abandonment.
music
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
There are no user comments or information provided regarding the music aspect to summarize.