The Light Remake
- June 4, 2020
- Носков Сергей
- 8h median play time
Get on Steam"The Light Remake" is a psychological horror puzzle game where players navigate through a mysterious world using light and shadow manipulation. The game features a unique art style and atmospheric environments that create a haunting and immersive experience. Players must solve intricate puzzles and uncover the truth behind the bizarre occurrences happening in the game's eerie setting.
Reviews
- The game features stunning graphics and a haunting atmosphere that effectively conveys a sense of desolation and loneliness.
- The sound design and music are exceptional, enhancing the overall experience and immersing players in the game's eerie world.
- The narrative, while simple, delivers a powerful anti-war message that resonates with players, making it a thought-provoking experience.
- The movement speed is frustratingly slow, which can detract from the overall enjoyment and pacing of the game.
- Some puzzles are unintuitive and can lead to confusion, requiring players to rely on walkthroughs to progress.
- The English translation is often poor, making it difficult to fully grasp the story and context, which diminishes the emotional impact.
- atmosphere75 mentions
- 72 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its eerie, immersive quality, enhanced by stunning visuals and haunting sound design. Many players appreciate the game's ability to evoke deep emotions and a sense of solitude, making it a memorable experience despite its short length. While some critiques mention gameplay issues, the overall consensus is that the atmospheric elements significantly elevate the game's appeal.
“The eerie atmosphere and solitude make this short game a true masterpiece, and I can easily recommend it for the price.”
“Really immersive and atmospheric game with nice details and a deep sense of our deeds and their consequences.”
“The visuals and audio are gorgeous and provide a very thick atmosphere, and I love it.”
“The dark places are unbearably dark and disturbing, where the eerie atmosphere is enough to make a sane person run screaming from the darkness.”
“But it still lacks any atmosphere, any real depth.”
“Too bad, the game and atmosphere looked interesting.”
- story75 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The game's story is a post-apocalyptic narrative that explores the devastating effects of war, conveyed through environmental storytelling and scattered notes, which some players found engaging while others deemed it sparse and confusing. The atmosphere is praised for its immersive quality, enhancing the emotional weight of the themes, though the storytelling method—primarily through text—may not appeal to everyone. Overall, while the story has its merits and a thought-provoking message, it can feel underdeveloped and requires active exploration to fully grasp.
“The light is a story about how a war wiped out a city and how its people suffered.”
“The story is amazing and scary and really makes you think about what we have done to this world.”
“The game does a good job at leading the player along its powerful story and narration with little hand-holding.”
“The story was okay and a bit bland and only told through writings on the walls and notes left.”
“You could miss most of the story and be left wondering what happened if you didn’t actively search out the notes.”
“The plot is promising, but the entire moral and story boils down to 'oh the hubris of men', which by now is about as revolutionary as using oversized t-shirts as pajamas.”
- graphics55 mentions
- 69 % positive mentions
- 27 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their haunting beauty and impressive detail, particularly for an indie production. Many players noted the atmospheric visuals and effective sound design, which together create an immersive experience, despite some minor issues like texture popping and limited variety in props. Overall, the game's graphics are considered a standout feature, enhancing the gameplay and emotional impact.
“The graphics and atmosphere were good, and I had no issues with the game's performance running on the Steam Deck.”
“The visuals and audio are gorgeous and provide a very thick atmosphere, and I love it.”
“The graphics are gorgeous, and the gameplay works just fine.”
“Bad story, bad puzzles, bad camera, bad English, and mediocre graphics.”
“Some graphics (sprites) like 'Maslow pyramid' render wrong in 4K resolution.”
“From the original release in 2012 to today, all of the language files should have been replaced along with all the dated graphics.”
- music30 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 37 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its ability to enhance the atmosphere, with many reviewers noting its haunting and immersive qualities that contribute to the overall experience. The soundtrack effectively complements the game's visuals and themes, creating a sense of tension and emotional depth, particularly in key moments like the underground bunker scenes. Overall, the sound design and music are considered standout features that elevate the gameplay, making it a memorable experience for players.
“The artwork is hauntingly beautiful and the soundtrack is disturbingly effective.”
“A short, mellow walking simulator with incredible music that has you explore a brutalist Soviet building, abandoned and overgrown, destroyed by nuclear war.”
“The sound track enhances the feeling of being alone and, in the bunker, the sounds increased my sense of stress and panic as I kept circling in the dark.”
“The soundtrack is okay, for the most part.”
“The music really sets and enhances the mood, and the game audio really fits - very spooky and creepy when it should have been.”
“While the graphics were nice, the game really impressed me with its sound design and music.”
- gameplay20 mentions
- 5 % positive mentions
- 85 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay is primarily focused on exploration and interaction, with players walking around and collecting items to progress, which some find enjoyable while others consider it simplistic and boring. The atmosphere is praised, but many reviews highlight issues with puzzle mechanics and a lack of engaging gameplay elements, leading to mixed feelings about the overall experience. While some appreciate the short length and aesthetic, others express frustration with the gameplay's limitations and complexity.
“The actual gameplay of walking around, interacting with stuff, and using a couple of permanent items you find was fun.”
“Not a lot to say besides that I really enjoyed it, and it felt like the perfect length considering the size of the map and the fairly basic puzzle mechanics.”
“The graphics are gorgeous and the gameplay works just fine.”
“For the gameplay, you just walk and collect things in order to progress the game.”
“Gameplay is plain boring; the atmosphere is okay.”
“Overly complicated and counter-intuitive puzzles, lots of backtracking, and mechanics that don't match the developer's ambitions.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game received mixed reviews; while some players reported smooth performance and good graphics on high settings, others experienced issues such as inconvenient mouse controls, save resets, and a general lack of optimization. Overall, there is a consensus that improvements could be made, particularly in terms of performance on various platforms.
“The graphics and atmosphere were good, and I had no issues with the game's performance running on the Steam Deck.”
“I did not encounter any performance issues or crashes like other people (I play on extra-ultra settings). Either way, the game is really good; I can't wait to see the next version in 2020 or 2021.”
“Inconvenient mouse control, unoptimized, expensive, resets saves after restart.”
“I believe Unity can deliver better performance.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, often requiring guides to locate overlooked items, which detracts from the overall experience. However, some appreciate the detailed world design, enjoying exploration despite the repetitive nature of collecting achievements.
“Super tedious though in terms of running around finding things; I ended up using a guide for some items that I overlooked.”
“The plot is not engaging; honestly, I tried to get to the end, but it felt very tedious. I passed on the guidebooks and wouldn't have made it without them.”
“I normally don't go out of my way to collect tedious achievements, but I just love walking through this world and looking at the detail!”
- emotional3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is hindered by a lack of personal stories and flashbacks that could deepen players' connections to the setting. Additionally, poor translations of the English text diminish the narrative's emotional impact, with some messages left untranslated, further detracting from the overall experience.
“The emotional story truly captivates the player.”
“They should have included more small personal stories or flashbacks from the people who lived there to help you emotionally connect with the building and its past.”
“A lot of the English text in the game is poorly translated, which tragically impairs the narrative's emotional weight.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, users report that the game exhibits good stability, with only minor issues noted and no major bugs or glitches encountered during initial playthroughs.
“There were a few minor issues, but no major bugs or glitches in my first playthrough.”
“The game crashed multiple times during my session, making it frustrating to progress.”
“I experienced frequent frame drops and stuttering, which really affected the overall experience.”
