Sunlight

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"Sunlight" is a 30-minute exploration game featuring a vibrant, hand-painted 3D world inspired by expressionist art. Players journey through a forest with trees speaking in harmonized whispers, using different voices, genders, and dialects. The game boasts a powerful 3D audio experience, with hauntingly beautiful music recorded in Norway and sung by the award-winning choir Kammerkoret Aurum, along with a wide range of voice actors.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

84%

Audience ScoreBased on 125 reviews

story12 positive mentions

optimization3 negative mentions

Sunlight is a beautiful and calming experience, combining stunning visuals with a thought-provoking narrative delivered through diverse voices.
The game serves as a meditative journey, allowing players to reflect on existential themes while enjoying a serene walk through a beautifully rendered forest.
With a runtime of about 30 minutes, it offers a unique artistic experience that feels more like a living poem than a traditional game.

The gameplay is extremely limited, consisting mainly of slow walking and flower picking, which some players found tedious and unengaging.
Many players reported issues with audio clarity, as the overlapping voices made it difficult to follow the narrative, leading to frustration.
The environments can feel repetitive and empty, detracting from the overall immersion and engagement with the experience.

story
52 mentions
23 % positive mentions
67 % neutral mentions
10 % negative mentions
The story is a meditative and philosophical exploration of humanity and emotional connection, delivered through various voices in a visually stunning environment. While some players found it intriguing and beautifully narrated, others criticized it for being slow-paced, overly abstract, and lacking substantial progression. Overall, enjoyment of the game heavily depends on one's appreciation for its narrative style and thematic depth.
- “A charming stroll through an endless forest with fantastic voice acting, beautiful music, and a beguiling story.”
- “Artful and mindful experience of escaping from reality for thirty minutes to walk through the forest, where beautifully painted trees tell you a philosophical story with many different voices, accompanied by Tchaikovsky's glorious music.”
- “Listen to a story where you are the subject.”
- “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.”
- “Unfortunately, the story text consists almost entirely of 'philosophical rambling', the kind of monologuing where, after all is said and done, you remember they said a lot of things, but you can't think of anything they actually said.”
- “I'm normally a fan of walking sims, but there's literally nothing except walking forward and occasionally picking up a flower while a bunch of voices chant a story at you.”
music
21 mentions
43 % positive mentions
43 % neutral mentions
14 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its beauty and emotional depth, enhancing the overall experience with its blend of soothing melodies and evocative voice acting. Many reviewers highlight the powerful impact of the soundtrack, describing it as a key element that elevates the narrative and creates a magical atmosphere, despite some criticism regarding its lack of depth in gameplay. Overall, the music is seen as a standout feature that complements the game's art style and storytelling, making it a memorable auditory experience.
- “Make sure that you wear a headset, because the powerful music and the effect of the voices that tell the story are a huge part of what makes this such a magical experience.”
- “A charming stroll through an endless forest with fantastic voice acting, beautiful music, and a beguiling story.”
- “Artful and mindful experience of escaping from reality for thirty minutes to walk through the forest, where beautifully painted trees tell you a philosophical story with many different voices, accompanied by Tchaikovsky's glorious music.”
- “It is like walking outside with music, but without the fresh air or movement, which are two of the most important things of taking a walk.”
- “In settings - you can turn down the voices, the music, and or turn down the nature sounds to silent.”
- “Try just nature, no voices, no music.”
graphics
15 mentions
60 % positive mentions
20 % neutral mentions
20 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are widely praised for their stunning and unique art style, often described as reminiscent of watercolor or oil paintings, which enhances the overall aesthetic experience. Players appreciate the beautiful visuals and evocative sound design, although some note minor performance issues. Overall, the graphics contribute significantly to the game's immersive and artistic atmosphere, making it a visually captivating experience.
- “I love this game's art style; more games should aim for something like this.”
- “This game's art style is absolutely amazing; the forest feels interesting and never-ending.”
- “A beautiful one both in the sense of the story itself and the music combined with the graphic style.”
- “Raw, evocative artistic expression set to lavish visuals, a divine choir, and an existentially ambiguous poem that's held back slightly by performance glitches and an off-putting ASMR introduction.”
- “🔲 Graphics don't matter in this game.”
- “The art style feels like an oil painting.”
gameplay
7 mentions
43 % positive mentions
14 % neutral mentions
43 % negative mentions
The gameplay is primarily a walking simulator where players wander through a forest, collecting flowers to create a bouquet, with minimal interaction and no puzzles involved. While the voice acting and story are praised, many find the repetitive nature of the gameplay tedious, leading to a mixed reception overall. The game is short, lasting about 30 minutes, and is designed more for relaxation and narrative immersion than for traditional gameplay challenges.
- “It's gameplay allows you to sit back and relax while allowing the story to flow around you.”
- “Genius game with a killer mechanic.”
- “It has an actual ending, with what I think to be a geniusly simplistic use of an input mechanic.”
- “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.”
- “Gameplay is pretty much non-existent—you walk to the next flower, pick it up, and repeat.”
- “There are no puzzles or actual gameplay, and the game itself takes about 30 minutes to complete.”
atmosphere
4 mentions
75 % positive mentions
-50 % neutral mentions
75 % negative mentions
The atmosphere is generally appreciated for its immersive qualities, particularly in forest settings, though some players feel that certain gameplay mechanics, like floating around, can detract from the overall experience and emotional impact.
- “The atmosphere is very immersive.”
- “Love the forest atmosphere here.”
- “Not much to it, so just enjoy the atmosphere for a bit.”
- “The atmosphere is very lacking.”
- “Floating around like a ghost detracts from the immersion and the impact of the atmosphere and story.”
- “The forest atmosphere here is enjoyable.”
emotional
4 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Reviews highlight a strong emotional impact in the game's finale, with a visually appealing story that, despite being somewhat pretentious, resonates with players through its music and voice acting. However, some users feel disconnected due to minimal gameplay elements, leading to mixed feelings about the overall emotional depth and value of the experience.
- “The finale was too emotional for me.”
- “If you don't expect any game elements other than occasional flower picking, I'd say yes, given that it is pretty to look at. The story, while somewhat pretentious, carries emotional weight, and the music and voices blend together to make a nice experience.”
- “Considering the price, length, and the, in my opinion, lack of emotional story, I cannot recommend it, but you honestly should just try for yourself because the price/playtime is low and Steam refund is a thing.”
optimization
2 mentions
50 % positive mentions
-100 % neutral mentions
150 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is generally praised for its impressive performance and stunning visuals, but it is marred by occasional performance glitches and an unsettling ASMR introduction that detracts from the overall experience.
- “Really a great performance.”
- “Raw, evocative artistic expression set to lavish visuals, a divine choir, and an existentially ambiguous poem that's held back slightly by performance glitches.”
- “The game is visually stunning, but frequent frame drops and stuttering severely detract from the overall experience.”
- “While the concept is intriguing, the optimization issues lead to frustrating gameplay, making it hard to fully engage with the story.”
replayability
2 mentions
150 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
150 % negative mentions
Users highlight that the game offers infinite replayability, suggesting that players can enjoy it repeatedly without losing interest.
- “Infinitely replayable.”
- “The game offers endless opportunities for new experiences.”
- “Each playthrough feels fresh and engaging.”
- “The game lacks meaningful choices, making replayability feel pointless.”
- “Once you've completed the story, there's little incentive to play again.”
- “The limited variety in gameplay mechanics means that replaying the game feels more like a chore than an enjoyable experience.”
stability
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
While the game features stunning visuals and a compelling artistic expression, it is marred by performance glitches that detract from the overall experience. Additionally, the ASMR introduction has been noted as off-putting, further impacting stability.
- “Raw, evocative artistic expression set to lavish visuals, a divine choir, and an existentially ambiguous poem that's held back slightly by performance glitches.”
- “The game frequently crashes, making it nearly unplayable at times.”
- “I experienced constant frame drops and stuttering, which ruined the immersion.”