Strayed Lights
- April 25, 2023
- Embers
- 6h median play time
Strayed Lights is a solid debut title from Embers that delivers atmosphere in droves.
Get on Steam
Get on Xbox Games Store"Strayed Lights is a single-player Fantasy Fighting game with compelling game mechanics and fabulous visuals. As a tiny, growing light seeking transcendence, explore an intricate world of otherworldly ruins and duel with rogue shadow creatures. Harness energy in combat, grow and ascend, and confront both inner and outer creatures in this atmospheric action-adventure, accompanied by outstanding music."
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Playstation 5
Windows
Xbox One
Xbox Series X|S
Epic Games
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- Visually stunning with beautiful environments and character designs.
- Unique and satisfying parry mechanics that add depth to combat, especially during boss fights.
- Short and straightforward experience that is enjoyable for those who appreciate artistic and atmospheric games.
- Combat can feel repetitive and lacks depth, with basic enemies being less engaging than boss encounters.
- The game is very short, often completed in 3-6 hours, which may not justify the price for some players.
- Several design choices, such as exaggerated attack animations and a lack of meaningful story, detract from the overall experience.
- gameplay36 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The gameplay in "Strayed Lights" features a unique color-matching mechanic that requires players to parry attacks based on color, adding a layer of complexity to the combat. While many players appreciate the satisfying parry system and engaging boss fights, some find the additional mechanics and pacing frustrating, particularly during slower segments between battles. Overall, the game is praised for its artistic design and innovative combat, though opinions vary on its execution and depth.
“The gameplay is really nice too; it's a cool introduction to the Souls-like genre.”
“Strayed Lights is a great little game with interesting combat mechanics based on color switching to match the attacker's color with one key while also timing parries with another. It's almost like a beginner's introduction to Sekiro, minus the color switching.”
“The color-swapping is an interesting addition to the usual dodge/parry mechanics, and while it was a bit of a struggle for me to get used to juggling both, once it clicked, it came very naturally.”
“The gameplay is okay, but the design decisions are incredibly frustrating.”
“Gameplay was blah when it worked.”
“QTEs disguised as real gameplay.”
- graphics30 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 27 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their stunning art style and beautiful visuals, which many players describe as a highlight of the experience. While some noted that the environments can start off bland, the overall aesthetic and design are considered captivating and enjoyable, contributing to a relaxing and immersive gameplay experience. The combination of impressive visuals and a fitting soundtrack enhances the game's appeal, making it a standout choice for fans of artistic and visually-driven games.
“The art style looks amazing and the work for the effects is just wonderful.”
“Short and sweet, aesthetically beautiful and an overall joy to play.”
“Fantastic art style and a pleasant experience.”
“The graphics are not satisfying, and the game ends too soon; the story could be more charming.”
“The game starts you out in some pretty bland, one-color environments.”
“Seems more focused on visuals than the combat system, which is okay.”
- story24 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The story in "Strayed Lights" is often described as minimal and vague, focusing on abstract themes and symbolism rather than a detailed narrative. While some players appreciate the poetic visuals and simple storytelling style, many feel that the lack of depth and direction detracts from the overall experience, making it more suited for those who prioritize gameplay over plot. Overall, the game offers a visually stunning but narratively shallow journey that may not resonate with all players.
“The story leaves a lot to interpretation, but you play as a little creature looking to retrieve something stolen from them, meeting and helping other little guys on the way.”
“Great game; really nice visuals, and the story mode is nothing short of beautiful... but in the most poetic way I can mean this: the game stole my heart, and it's not giving it back.”
“Coupled with a simple yet effective storytelling, it really gets to you, and you can easily get lost in the game (in a good way, of course).”
“I didn't really care for the lack of story, and I'm not sure it gives quite enough for the asking price.”
“Whether it be the boss finishers relegated to QTE-riddled cutscenes, the unimaginative, linear level design, or the story that provides little to no direction or context for my actions, I never felt drawn in or engaged by the world, instead mindlessly trudging through skin-deep environments, not entirely understanding why.”
“As far as the story goes, Strayed Lights gives absolutely nothing: I couldn't give you a synopsis even if I wanted to.”
- music19 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 32 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The music in "Strayed Lights" has been praised for its atmospheric quality and ability to enhance the exploration experience, with Austin Wintory's soundtrack receiving particular acclaim. While many players found the soundtrack to be beautiful and fitting, some noted that it lacked the intensity needed for boss battles and experienced occasional audio issues. Overall, the music complements the game's stunning visuals and unique gameplay mechanics, contributing to a serene and immersive atmosphere.
“Decent action-adventure game with great visuals, unique color-swapping parry system, and a relaxing soundtrack.”
“I just got lost wandering around in this world, entranced by serene vistas and a mesmerizing soundtrack.”
“Strayed Lights enjoys a wild color palette, strong soundtrack (shoutout Austin Wintory), tight combat mechanics, and a surprisingly zen atmosphere.”
“If I had to critique one thing about the game, it would be the music.”
“I'm not sure whether it was just my audio balance or the choice of music being used, but it did not get me immersed the way the rest of the game did.”
“Other than a few bugs (music cutting out randomly being the most notable one), this is a fantastic time.”
- atmosphere7 mentions
- 71 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 29 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of Strayed Lights is widely praised for its impressive and peaceful qualities, enhanced by a vibrant color palette and a strong soundtrack by Austin Wintory. Players find the game to be both relaxing and immersive, effectively balancing challenging combat with a zen-like ambiance. Overall, the atmospheric design significantly contributes to the game's emotional depth and engagement.
“Strayed Lights is a wordless, atmospheric action game about growing up and confronting your inner demons.”
“The atmosphere is peaceful (despite the boss fights) and relaxing.”
“Strayed Lights enjoys a wild color palette, strong soundtrack (shoutout Austin Wintory), tight combat mechanics, and a surprisingly zen atmosphere.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received mixed feedback, with some players experiencing frame drops in foliage-heavy areas and inconsistent performance on standard definition systems, leading to potential crashes. Additionally, the button press indicators during quicktime events have been noted as unintuitive, suggesting room for improvement in user interface design.
“Some small critiques include frame drops in certain foliage-heavy environments, suggesting it could use more optimization.”
“The quicktime events didn't bother me as setups for fun and flashy finishers, but the icons indicating button presses could be more intuitive.”
“If you're playing exclusively on the SD, the performance is inconsistent and can lead to hard crashes.”
“Some small critiques include frame drops in certain foliage-heavy environments, suggesting it could use more optimization. While the quicktime events didn't bother me as setups for fun and flashy finishers, the icons indicating button presses having the black space as the button to push was strange and not very intuitive.”
“If you're playing exclusively on the SD, the performance is all over the place and will hard crash the system.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Users report that the game maintains strong stability during combat, with no noticeable freezes or lags experienced.
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its wholesome vibe, evoking positive emotions and creating a heartwarming experience for players.
“It just gives off a super wholesome vibe.”
- humor1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find humor in the game's unexpected moments, such as enemies dodging into cliffs, which adds a lighthearted touch to the otherwise serious tone typical of souls-like games. This blend of unintentional comedy is seen as a hallmark of the genre, enhancing the overall experience.
“The only unintended thing that happened was an enemy dodging into a cliff once or twice, which was hilarious and a true hallmark of a proper souls game.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -300 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players feel that the game lacks sufficient replayability due to the absence of modifiers and difficulty options, such as adjustable parry windows and health/damage settings. They believe that even simple adjustments could significantly enhance the game's replay value.
“This game would greatly benefit from some modifiers and difficulty options, such as parry window adjustments and health/damage adjustments. New attacks would be amazing, but even just those simple options would enhance replayability.”
“This game would severely benefit from some modifiers and difficulty options (parry window adjustment, health/damage adjustments at a minimum). New attacks would be amazing, but even just those simple options would create replayability.”
“Once you complete the game, there’s little incentive to go back. The lack of new content or challenges makes replaying feel pointless.”
“The game feels very linear, and after finishing it once, there’s not much left to explore or experience again.”
Critic Reviews
Strayed Lights review --- A journey of self reflection
Strayed Lights is a short and sweet game exploring a unique, defensive combat experience. It can feel shallow and falls short in aspects like the music, but it remains engaging throughout its runtime.
70%Strayed Lights Review – An Underwhelming Experience
Strayed Lights has some interesting tricks up its sleeve. It puts a good first impression with its ominous atmosphere and unique brand of parry based combat, but those concepts falter in the face of mediocre game design in almost every aspect of the experience.
60%Strayed Lights Review - Not All Good Ideas Mix Together Well
There's a great deal of cool traits to Strayed Lights, including thoughtful enemy design, strong premise, and charming visuals. However, pacing suffers greatly, and combat forces its way into the forefront with memorization and inconsistent parry windows. It's short and can be sweet, but there's an overarching bitterness that's hard to ignore.
65%
