Light Fall Review

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Light Fall is a budget platformer that visually borrows heavily from LIMBO, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The game is a wonder to look at, but it’s definitely not for the “casual gamer”. Tricky platform moments in this game are challenging and can definitely frustrate you. But once you collect all the side items there really isn’t much to return to, unless you like these particular platformers. Light Fall takes place in an eternally dark world named Numbra, where the sun never rises. In Numbra, a nomadic tribe called the Kamloops is under attack from a mysterious celestial force. One of the victims is a young boy named Nox, who awakens with amnesia. He is accompanied by Stryx (also the game’s narrator), who calls himself the Last Night Owl. You play as Nox as he attempts to find the perpetrators and stop them. The game tells the story in animated stills. The characters never move, but the camera angle changes to make it appear as if they’re moving, giving you a point-of-view on how they’re interacting. As you collect yellow crystals (which will be explained later), you’re rewarded with a text story on how a past figure has dealt with his or her situation before this one. Admittedly, it takes a lot of patience to read because the text tends to be quite long, and you really can’t scroll through them manually. This is a bit frustrating.
Again, the graphics are in the tradition of LIMBO – dark characters with a dark background. You don’t get to see what they really look like, which I suppose is the whole point of Light Fall. The character designs may not be “realistic” (they don’t have to be), but even with its simplicity, there is great beauty behind it. Everything is celestial and nocturnal, adding mystery and wonder to it. The gameplay is where the heart of the game is (as it should be). I must warn you, however, that this game, even though it’s for the PC, is not “meant” to be played on the mouse and keyboard, unless you’re an absolute pro when it comes to platforming. I strongly recommend that you play Light Fall with the Xbox One or Steam Controller. It is much more fluid and responsive. There are too many delayed responses, however, with touching the keys to move or jump your character.
Speaking of jumping, the game heavily relies on this. Unlike Mario, you won’t be able to step on your enemies to kill them. In fact, there are many ways to utilize your jumps, such as creating a landing platform or a climbing one to elevate to higher ground. You are only limited to four jumps at a time, so tread carefully. Even if you are careful, Light Fall requires tons of memorization and quick reflexes. You will die in this game a lot. In one part of the game, I had to avoid water waves as they pass by, but I also had to avoid pink crystals (which can kill you), create landing platforms to avoid falling, and jump off from disintegrating platforms before another wave swallows me. It took me one hour to pass that part. Again, you have to be willing to die in this game a lot, as well as memorize, because sometimes the checkpoints are a bit sparse. This adds to the challenge, but makes it hard to recommend for the terminally impatient.
Checkpoints in this game provide a way to give background of the story before the events of the game. As mentioned, you’ll have to collect yellow crystals throughout for the context. There are also blue crystals with individual Kamloops inside. If you want to build your Steam Achievements, this could be a great incentive for it, or it may even change the ending of the game, if you so desire. Be warned, some are very elusive, and some are even hard to reach when found. Even more challenging is that you have to carry the yellow crystal to a checkpoint without dying to permanently capture it. Not so with Kamloops; they will be retrieved regardless.
There is a good amount of replay value if you want to play the game all over again. There are four Acts consisting of three to four parts each. It’s useful if you want to play again for fun or if you want to retrieve the yellow crystals and captured Kamloops you missed the first time around. However, once you accomplish everything, there isn’t much to go back to.
The only voice acting you will hear is from Stryx himself. He sounds like the traditional old-time storyteller. Nothing special, really. The music in the game is soothing, yet suspenseful, as you’re traveling through the silent, yet perilous night in the woods. The tempo is never fast, so you feel like you’re constantly on your feet, yet carefully not quickly. If a full soundtrack for this game is released, you should definitely check it out.
Light Fall will definitely reignite the platform nostalgia for some veteran gamers and provide a frustrating one to some newcomers. The game is definitely pleasing to the eyes and ears, but once everything is accomplished, there is almost no reason to return.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][review_summary positives=”Beautiful Graphics and music.
Fluid controls (with a controller).
Challenging for the veteran platform players.
” negatives=”You’ll need an Xbox One or Steam Controller for much better controls.
Slow texts.
Can be frustrating at times.
“]Light Fall definitely provides a challenge for the veteran platformer, but you’ll need an Xbox One or Steam Controller to really make this work. [/review_summary][/vc_column][/vc_row]