Developer: CasualBebop
Steam Review
Platforms: Steam (Mac & PC)
*Disclaimer: I was sent the code for this game in return for a review, all opinions are mine and mine alone.
Are you a big fan of puzzle games with an artistic touch? Well for today's review we have just the game for you, I haven't played any games on Steam for a couple of months now due to my backlog of games for the PS4 creeping up on me so to be able to play a relaxing puzzle game on the Mac for was once was nice. Initially when I booted up There The Light on Steam my Mac had some kind of meltdown and wouldn't load it until I restarted it and once I did the game ran smoothly, the one thing I would say to watch out for is the flashing at the start of the game, that took me by surprise. s the player you explore an abandoned world alone (it's a single player game) and you make your way through a number of different levels each look different and the further you progress the harder the puzzles seem to get.
From what I learnt about There The Light it's clear that the message is much deeper than I actually realised it would be, the world which the player is exploring goes deeper into issues to do with climate change\ a lost civilization and it's a big reason why the planet is now abandoned and you experience this by unlocking murals by solving puzzles, there are 50 puzzles to solve and there was one I got stuck on for ages but then realised how obvious it was to solve. I really liked the fact that these puzzles were thought-provoking and once I got the hang of how they worked I looked forward to solving them all. The start of the game does flash so I want to pre-warn people that if you do have photosensitive epilepsy it may be wise to get someone else to move on from this part. *UPDATE* this has since been removed!
There The Light for me felt like it was there to teach me, each level gave me the feeling that man isn't always good and when we take things for granted and bow down to those who think they know best the worse can happen. The planet we live on now is facing an unknown and scary fate to what we as humans have done to it and There The Light brings light to issues such as these and envokes players to listen and learn from puzzles. I like that the story doesn't give to much away all at once instead it's spread out perfectly throughout the game pushing you to find out more.
One of the main elements I liked about There The Light was how smoothly I moved through each level thanks to the controls being clear and easy for me to use, I did try and connect my PS4 controller but I found it much easier to use a keyboard and mouse. The menu was easy to navigate and on top of that it was clear and precise, there is no need for subtitles in the game as there was no talking instead the game relies on some beautiful music throughout each level, the sound works perfectly in sync with the puzzles as well as unlocking levels and made me feel very relaxed playing it.
Puzzles are a huge part of There The Light and they're very simplistic yet made me doubt if I was doing them correctly at times, the ones I enjoyed solving most were the astronomy ones, I love star constellations and having them tie in with the storyline in the game to bring the story together was very clever. There was a point in the game where I got my notebook out to write down a number of symbols to help me solve a puzzle, I was clueless over what needed to be done when the answer was simple and I just wasn't thinking about it in the right way until I stepped away from the puzzle to look around, so bear that in mind when playing.
Each level stands out in their own way and look different from the previous level, I found the more I progressed the darker the game became but this helped give it more atmosphere and character, in my opinion, being able to see light in the distance when it had turned very dark made me curious about what was next and that curious feeling is something I like in games. I do want to stress that this is a short game and according to Steam the game took me 2 hours to complete, I was a bit shocked with that because I felt like I was stuck on some puzzles for a while.
There the Light was the first game from CasualBebop (Alexander Heath) I'm so impressed by how beautiful the game is a whole, the art, music, and puzzles flow perfectly together, as someone who is a fan of linear puzzle games I would highly recommend There The Light to my friends. It's a very aesthetically pleasing game which I will most likely play through a number of times to see if I can solve the puzzles any faster! I'm giving this game 5/5 it gives everything it promises and has an important message behind it, the overall game that has been produced is a beautiful and immersive experience, There The Light will be available to purchase on the 31st May.
Comments
Any hate will not be published.