Night Lights Review

Night Lights is a game where you assume the role of a cute pixelated robot as you traverse the land under the cloak of night, using lights and electrical connections to guide your way. Developed by indie developers Meridian4 and Grave Danger Games, Night Lights is a fun and clever platformer which makes use of environmental puzzles for the player to solve before they can progress. This game is a relaxing and stimulation platformer for those who need a meditative break from the doom and gloom of everyday life.

Night Lights is a platformer and puzzle game where you traverse the landscape by solving puzzles scattered throughout the environment. The game is set on a nightscape, and the various lights (electrical mostly, some lamps) serve to change the environment: some lights erase platforms when shining on them, others create new ones, others still activate objects you need to use in clever ways to move forward. You can change the positioning of the lights in order to gain access to platforms and areas, and some levels need quite a bit of clever manipulation in order to progress.

Night Lights proves to be a fun and relaxing experience, and is a product where many exceptional parts create a great whole. While the first levels may be a bit touch and go due to a few growing pains- some of the controls and mechanics take a bit to figure out, the game as a whole doesn’t suffer for it and once you figure out the pieces, the game truly meets its potential. The puzzles are the main part of the game, and they prove to be stimulating without the frustration of a problem with a hard to reach solution. Yet, at the same time, many of the levels prove to be challenging enough so that once the problem is solved, the player can feel a real sense of accomplishment.

It would be remiss to neglect to speak of the sheer art of Night Lights. This is where the adage of simpler is better comes into play. The art style is simple, neat and tight, and creates a beautiful minimalist landscape that is allowed to play with light and shadow as it pleases. The settings of the game range from forests to cityscapes, all set at night. The music also merits special mention, and is largely responsible for the peaceful and soothing atmosphere of the game, a balm when the solution to a puzzle proves to be just a little out of reach.

Night Lights is a game that is a great match for older children, teenagers, or adults who need an hour to wind down after a long day at work. It’s a game that is long enough to play in small pieces over a week, or even in one sitting, but is perhaps best played over time while practicing self-isolation. If you enjoy platformers, we recommend you give this game a go. Its cute, fun, challenging in parts and different enough to stand out from the platformer and indie crowd.

While the game is successful in many areas, once the puzzles are solved, they’re solved, and the game doesn’t lend itself to replayability in terms of being able to discover new things, or a change in story. This is a game that most people are going to be playing once. However, if you enjoy games that are relaxing and calming, you will probably find yourself coming back to it just for the sheer experience of playing something that doesn’t demand much of your time and attention. In this way, it’s comparable to ThatGameCompany’s Journey (2012).

REVIEW CODE: A complimentary PC code was provided to Bonus Stage for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to press@4gn.co.uk.