Deadlight Review

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Deadlight offers gamers one more chance at their love affair with the zombie genre, in the form of a cinematic platformer. with The Walking Deads final episode out soon, it seems that all the game genres have some form of zombie in them, and Deadlight is here to fill in that Cinematic Platformer slot. Boasting some amazing visuals and some challengeing and rewarding platforming sections and puzzles,. Deadlight offers gamers what they need in a small package.
Developed by Tequila Studios, Deadlight has players taking the role of Randall Wayne, a survivor of the “Shadow Outbreak” who has hooked up with some of his old friends and is trying to escape Seattle whilst on the hunt for his missing wife and daughter (Shannon and Lydia respecitvely). Throughout, Randall finds himself mixed up with a crazy sewer man named The Rat, and also gets involved with a rogue military organisation known as “The New Law”.

When you first load up Deadlight and get into the game, players will be immediately reminded of Limbo with the darkened foreground and silhouetted character shape of Randall against the background of a destroyed Seattle. With that feeling of familiarity shaken, you soon realise that Deadlight is a visual feast. Being a 2.5 Dimensional platformer, impressive visuals aren’t something you really come to expect, but Deadlight takes this and produces a truly beautiful game that sports great lighting and HD visuals to make the game a joy to look at. These visuals fit in smoothly with the art direction of the game as a whole, with Seattle now being a no-mans land due to the “Shadow Outbreak”, the atmosphere of the game comes across effectively.

Deadlight serves up comic-esque styled cutscenes used to bridge the gap between particularly tense pieces of gameplay. These scenes give the player the next part of the story, serve to give the player an insight into the mind of Randall, and also to break up the sometimes frantic pacing of the game, that can leave players anxious and wanting more. Deadlight offers players specific pacing which enhances the Deadlight experience. Platforming is mixed with chase sequences, and also blended into the puzzle sections masterfully, creating some rewarding gameplay moments that have you feeling anxious as you roll through the fence and just escape the grasp of the Shadows, or as you find refuge in a building after leaping over several rooftops trying to escape that helicopter.

When you’re not being chased by rogue militia organisation or outrunning hordes of Shadows, the game offers itself some pretty interesting platforming puzzles, and this actually plays its biggest part in a section of the game where you retreat to the sewer after a man named “The Rat” saves you from being zombie chow. The Rat tests Randalls ability to survive via a gauntlet of traps and platforming sequences. These tests The Rat puts forth present the most interesting and arguably enjoyable parts of the game, as they have the most variety and although The Rats section provides the most enjoyable puzzles,it is also the start of frustrating moments that seem to keep cropping up troughout the rest of Deadlight.

Deadlight serves up comic-esque styled cutscenes used to bridge the gap between particularly tense pieces of gameplay. These scenes give the player the next part of the story, serve to give the player an insight into the mind of Randall, and also to break up the sometimes frantic pacing of the game, that can leave players anxious and wanting more. Deadlight offers players specific pacing which enhances the Deadlight experience. Platforming is mixed with chase sequences, and also blended into the puzzle sections masterfully, creating some rewarding gameplay moments that have you feeling anxious as you roll through the fence and just escape the grasp of the Shadows, or as you find refuge in a building after leaping over several rooftops trying to escape that helicopter.

When you’re not being chased by rogue militia organisation or outrunning hordes of Shadows, the game offers itself some pretty interesting platforming puzzles, and this actually plays its biggest part in a section of the game where you retreat to the sewer after a man named “The Rat” saves you from being zombie chow. The Rat tests Randalls ability to survive via a gauntlet of traps and platforming sequences. These tests The Rat puts forth present the most interesting and arguably enjoyable parts of the game, as they have the most variety and although The Rats section provides the most enjoyable puzzles,it is also the start of frustrating moments that seem to keep cropping up troughout the rest of Deadlight.

Unfortunately the replayability of Deadlight is also quite low, with the story being clichéd and easily remembered there is no real reason to go back through it again unless you really want every last ID, Diary page and collectible the game has to offer. (I got over 75% of the achievements on the first run through) If you’re a fan of speed-running through levels of a game, Deadlight may have some limited replayability for you as it offers leaderboards and Time Trials for each section of the game, and you may find some interest in the games Nightmare Mode which doesn’t save the game for you at all, meaning you have to make it in one fell swoop.

Unfortunately Deadlight also has a stiff asking price, being 1200 MS Points or $14.99 (£9.99,€11.99) which for a game as short as this and with as little replay value is a hard price to go with, but the title is very enjoyable, and if you’re in the market for a cinematic platformer in the same vein as Limbo, Deadlight may be exactly what you’re looking for.

You can pick Deadlight up on XBLA or if you’re a PC guy, get it on Steam here.