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Sunlight

Sunlight is an aesthetically beautiful game which does not take full advantage of its beautiful environment. The stunning visuals and audio make the short playtime and lack of true exploration elements somewhat disappointing.
Sunlight Game Cover
75%Game Brain Score
story, graphics
stability, optimization
75% User Score Based on 359 reviews
Critic Score 77%Based on 3 reviews

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Sunlight Game Cover

About

Sunlight is a single player open world simulation game. It was developed by KrillbiteStudio and was released on January 14, 2021. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

Traverse a harmonious hand painted forest in this first person hike. The trees guide you with gentle whispers, as you explore a philosophical story.

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Sunlight screenshot
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Sunlight screenshot
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75%
Audience ScoreBased on 359 reviews
story30 positive mentions
stability4 negative mentions
  • Beautiful hand-painted art style and forest environment that creates a calming and immersive atmosphere.
  • Unique and impressive multi-voice narration combined with a stunning classical choir soundtrack enhancing the meditative and philosophical experience.
  • Short, contemplative walking simulator that delivers a thoughtful and emotional story with a touching and impactful ending, suitable for a relaxed and introspective mood.
  • Gameplay is extremely minimal and very slow-paced, often described as little more than walking with occasional flower picking, which some find tedious and boring.
  • Overlapping voices and narration can be confusing or anxiety-inducing, making it difficult to understand the story without subtitles; the narrative is sometimes seen as pretentious or vague.
  • Environment and visuals lack variety and feel repetitive, with some graphical glitches, clipping flowers, and technical issues affecting immersion.
  • story
    167 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story is a philosophical, poetic, and abstract narrative delivered through multiple overlapping voices as players stroll through a beautifully rendered forest, exploring themes like transcendence, interconnectedness, and death. While some found it emotionally moving and thought-provoking, others felt it was overly vague, pretentious, or difficult to follow due to pacing and the dense narration style. Overall, enjoyment of the story largely depends on one's appreciation for contemplative, metaphorical storytelling rather than traditional game narratives.

    • “This is a beautiful short (philosophical) story about transcendence of the self, and the interconnectedness of all living things, wrapped in the form of a walking simulator.”
    • “You walk through a gorgeous hand-painted forest - dappled with glorious patches of sunlight - picking up flowers, as the many voices of the narrator tell their story.”
    • “A charming stroll through an endless forest with fantastic voice acting, beautiful music, and a beguiling story.”
    • “The story showcases the literary prowess of a high school English student, and like a high school English student, it stretches its writing, somehow making a short story with very little progression last 30 minutes.”
    • “Not a game, you walk around in a forest at a snail's pace, collecting flowers to listen to a boring story.”
    • “The story you're listening to is poorly written, with many stock phrases, contrived metaphors, and pointless digressions.”
  • graphics
    60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's graphics are widely praised for their unique, painterly, and oil painting–like art style that creates a beautiful, calming, and immersive forest environment. However, some users note graphical glitches, repetitive scenery, and a lackluster 3D rendering that occasionally detracts from the experience. Overall, the visuals strongly complement the narrative and atmosphere, though they may not fully offset the game's short length and minimal gameplay.

    • “I definitely enjoyed my time in the meadows and clearings of the forest, with that paintbrush art style that pulls you into another world as you collect flowers.”
    • “The graphics are gorgeous to look at and are reminiscent of an oil painting.”
    • “This game's art style is absolutely amazing, the forest feels interesting and never-ending.”
    • “Even had graphical glitches with the character controller.”
    • “Art quality didn't live up to the art style.”
    • “This wouldn't be as bad if the visuals didn't blend in and become repetitive as you walk through the forest.”
  • music
    58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in this game, featuring Tchaikovsky's choral compositions performed by an award-winning choir, is widely praised for its beauty, atmospheric quality, and strong emotional impact. It effectively complements the meditative and introspective tone of the short, 30-minute walking experience, though some users note volume balance issues between music and narration. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a highlight that enriches the serene, immersive environment despite the game's minimal gameplay.

    • “The music is beautiful, a choral piece by Tchaikovsky, which perfectly complements the main theme of kinship and universality, making you feel part of 'one big soul.'”
    • “With the voice actors mixed in with the music gave me goosebumps.”
    • “The art was hand-painted (literally in VR), and the music is a composition of Tchaikovsky sung by the award-winning choir Kammerkoret Aurum.”
    • “However, it's quite difficult to hear what's being said in the monologue due to the on-repeat music, which has a very loud and dominating default volume.”
    • “The Steam page says something about professional musicians being involved and I was expecting some nice music to listen to but honestly barely noticed anything, except at one point when there was a choir that chimed in for like five seconds.”
    • “I wondered how a studio like this could have afforded an award-winning choir for a game that likely didn't sell very well due to its niche, and it turns out that they didn't really record much music at all.”
  • gameplay
    33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay is minimal and largely revolves around slow-paced exploration and simple flower-picking, with little interactivity or challenge, making it feel more like an audio-visual experience or interactive art piece than a traditional game. Its brevity and repetitive mechanics may disappoint players seeking engaging gameplay, though some appreciate its meditative, narrative-driven design. Overall, gameplay is sparse and may only appeal to those prioritizing story and atmosphere over action or complexity.

    • “From a practical gameplay standpoint, you really just wander the forest listening to the exposition while gathering flowers for a bouquet which you will eventually carry to the edge of what has already been experienced by previous players to drop your bouquet along with a closing thought.”
    • “It's gameplay allows you to sit back and relax while allowing the story to flow around you.”
    • “It has an actual ending, with what I think to be a geniusly simplistic use of an input mechanic.”
    • “The gameplay is very linear, there is virtually nothing to do and it's basically just an interactive art project.”
    • “Gameplay is pretty much non-existent—you walk to the next flower, pick it up, and repeat.”
    • “A dreadfully slow walking sim with barely comprehensible voice acting and little to no gameplay—even for walking sim standards.”
  • emotional
    17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional experience of the game is highly subjective, with many players finding it heartfelt, calming, and even tear-inducing, while others feel the story is convoluted or lacking impact. Its gentle pace and sensory elements evoke strong feelings for some, though the minimal gameplay and narrative style may hinder emotional connection for others. Overall, the game offers meaningful, reflective moments but may not resonate equally with everyone.

    • “Some I saw were really heartfelt, others were silly jokes, and some were just nice little thoughts that someone left behind for someone like me to stumble across... and I think that is really, really neat!”
    • “An incredible emotional, social and sensory experience.”
    • “This is a thoughtful and heart-wrenching game; it’s aesthetically pleasing, which complements the plotline throughout.”
    • “Not a game, you walk around in a forest at a snail's pace, collecting flowers to hear more of the boring story.”
  • atmosphere
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere is generally praised for its beautiful hand-drawn graphics, fitting music, and immersive forest setting, creating a captivating experience. However, some feel that elements like floating movement can detract from immersion and lessen the overall impact.

    • “From the narration, to the beautiful hand-drawn graphics, and the perfect choice of atmospheric music, I find it difficult to find fault with this experience in a walking sim.”
    • “Love the forest atmosphere here.”
    • “Not much to it, so just enjoy the atmosphere for a bit.”
    • “Floating around like a ghost detracts from the immersion and the impact of the atmosphere and story.”
  • stability
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability is marred by frequent graphical and gameplay glitches, including issues with the character controller and environmental interactions. These performance problems detract from the otherwise artistic and atmospheric experience.

    • “Unfortunately, the voices were jarring and yet unengaging, along with the gameplay and graphical glitches.”
    • “Even had graphical glitches with the character controller.”
    • “The flowers you pluck just glitch terribly.”
  • optimization
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The optimization aspect receives mixed feedback: while the choral singing and overall performance are praised for their quality, the game suffers from high GPU demand leading to significant battery drain and occasional performance glitches.

    • “Really a great performance.”
    • “The only thing that is flawless and truly well done is the choral singing, both in terms of performance and recording, exactly how it should be.”
    • “Needs optimization due to the battery drain from high GPU demand.”
    • “Held back slightly by performance glitches.”
    • “Performance issues impact the overall experience despite strong artistic elements.”
  • replayability
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers a relaxing and pleasant aesthetic but lacks replayability, feeling more like a one-time experience due to its short playtime and unengaging mechanics.

    • “Infinitely replayable”
    • “It has a lovely aesthetic and it's rather relaxing, but I think it's a one-time only thing for me. It doesn't have any replayability factor.”
    • “Extremely short play time, minimal to no replay value, flower-picking mechanic is lacking due to dull flower designs.”
  • grinding
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Grinding in the game is characterized by slow, tedious walking through visually appealing but monotonous landscapes, making the experience feel drawn-out and repetitive.

    • “The walking portion was super tedious, akin to your YouTube video buffering.”
    • “It was pretty much a longer and more tedious version of a 'continue playing audio' button.”
    • “The pace of walking is tediously slow, and the landscape is pretty but lacks variety.”
  • humor
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor is sporadic and tends to emerge mostly toward the end, but overall the slow pacing and vague script may detract from the comedic experience. Play only if you appreciate intentionally slow storytelling.

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77%Critics’ scoreBased on 3 critic reviews
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Frequently Asked Questions

Sunlight is a open world simulation game.

Sunlight is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox and others.

Sunlight was released on January 14, 2021.

Sunlight was developed by KrillbiteStudio.

Sunlight has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its stability.

Sunlight is a single player game.

Similar games include Dear Esther, Proteus, The Beginner's Guide, The Old City: Leviathan, ABZÛ and others.