When the Light Dies
- October 28, 2024
- Electric Monkeys
Get on Steam"When the Light Dies" is a survival game with roguelite elements, where players must fend off monstrous hordes in a desolate, frozen wilderness with a limited oil lantern light source. As light levels drop, so does sanity, resulting in faster and deadlier enemies. Utilize an array of weapons to hold back the approaching darkness and maintain survival.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Charming sprite art and satisfying moment-to-moment gameplay, including shooting and explosions.
- Innovative resource management mechanics involving health, light, sanity, and heat that add depth to the gameplay.
- Great potential for future updates, with a solid foundation and engaging themes that could evolve into a classic in the genre.
- Gameplay can become repetitive after a few hours, with a lack of variety in enemies and bosses leading to frustration.
- The difficulty curve is steep, with resource scarcity and slow stamina recovery making progression feel punishing.
- Current upgrade systems and mechanics feel unbalanced and lack depth, leading to a less enjoyable experience overall.
- gameplay51 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally enjoyable, featuring engaging mechanics like light, heat, and sanity management, but it can become repetitive after a few hours. While the shooting and moment-to-moment action are satisfying, issues such as poor aim mechanics, slow stamina recovery, and a lack of variety in items and enemies detract from the overall experience. Players appreciate the thematic elements and potential for deeper mechanics, particularly regarding sanity, but feel that certain systems need refinement to enhance gameplay depth and enjoyment.
“The gameplay combines brutal survival mechanics with a relentless twin-stick shooter, offering a unique experience.”
“The temperature, sanity, and light mechanics are refreshing and add depth to the gameplay, especially for players familiar with similar games.”
“The theme of a lone survivor battling eldritch horrors, while managing warmth, sanity, and light, creates a strong atmosphere that enhances the overall gameplay experience.”
“The stamina cost for firing is a dumb mechanic; it forces me to hold down the right mouse button for ten minutes during combat just to regain stamina, which takes forever to start regenerating.”
“Make sanity drain and recover slower; right now it's basically a pointless mechanic that just acts as a gate on using the painfully slow and largely useless occult abilities.”
“The regain sanity on last bullet mechanic is similarly useless since half the weapons rely on extra shots, and by taking extra shots, you're gimping your sanity recovery.”
- atmosphere7 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is consistently praised for its eerie and cohesive quality, enhancing the gameplay experience by allowing for a diverse range of dark arts and abilities. Players appreciate the impactful mechanics and well-paced progression, although some note that the difficulty curve can be quite steep. Overall, the atmosphere contributes significantly to the game's engaging premise and controls.
“Great atmosphere, fun premise, well-paced early game unlocks.”
“Game feels great, very impactful shots, overall good controls, nice cohesive atmosphere.”
“Use the eerie atmosphere to allow for a more varied tool set, like dark arts and abilities.”
- graphics4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics are consistently praised for their top-notch quality, with particular appreciation for the art style and overall visual theme.
“The theme and visuals are top-notch!”
“I also love the art style.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and uninspired, particularly criticizing the minimal and repetitive upgrade percentages across multiple stats, which detracts from the overall enjoyment.
“Having 5 stats and just 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, and 10% upgrades feels tedious, lacking imagination, and is not fun at all.”
“Having 5 stats and just 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, and 10% upgrades feels tedious, lacking imagination, and is not fun at all.”
- music2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally regarded as solid, though it lacks standout qualities that would make it particularly memorable or noteworthy.
“The music is solid, but nothing to write home about.”
