In what is developing in to a zombie based theme (in my gaming or in gaming in general?), I've recently played Xbox Arcade title, Deadlight.
The game is a 2D side-scrolling puzzle, adventure, platformer in a similar vein to previous Xbox Arcade game Shadow Complex or Limbo. It casts you as the near instantly forgettable, gravel voiced protagonist Randall Wayne in a far less forgettable 1980s Seattle. The world has been ravaged by some undefined virus and (for a change) people have been turned in to 'shadows' (read zombies of the lumbering George Romero style). As an aside this game suffers that peculiar zombie game, film and book issue, in so much as they call them shadows not zombies. We've all known about the idea of zombies for a long time now, why do characters in zombie fiction seem to have so much trouble identifying a name for these humans that rise from the dead and eat flesh? Anyway, quite enough of that. If the recent spate of zombie based games hasn't put you off yet then you'll be fine with this. I still prefer zombies since the Twilight series managed to ruin vampires AND werewolves for all but mid-teenage girls.
As you would expect from a team that includes former employees of Weta Digital (Peter Jackson's studio), the graphics in Deadlight are fantastic and the game looks consistently beautiful. Looking a little like Limbo with its dark silhouette at the front and drab, well realised vistas behind. Also, whilst it is a 2D side scroller for the player, the levels do have depth with Shadows approaching from the background and on rare occasion flitting across the foreground to spark a little jump. The graphics manage to convey a strong atmosphere and the game is mildly nervy and well designed throughout.
Deadlight's story is standard horror film stuff and even the 'shocking' finale doesn't shock quite as much as it thinks it does. I found it hard to particularly care about the generic protagonist or barely fleshed cast of characters. There is nothing here that you will remember beyond the end of the game (and you might not particularly remember it whilst you're playing).
The gameplay itself is a mix of platforming and puzzling and both fall a little short of being great. The gameplay is marred by clunky controls that require slow animations to be completed before carrying out more moves. This led to often swinging my axe a number of times as the game slowly responded. It also often led to my death, in particularly when requiring a precise wall jump and Randall didn't respond to my presses in time.
The puzzles are often fairly simplistic with a clear direction to your jumping and moving of boxes etc... Any gamer who is even mildly accomplished with this sort of gaming will find nothing too taxing in the move the box/flick the switch based puzzles.
Most deaths in the game are due to a distinctly trial and improvement method. Perhaps Tequilla Works had taken their 80s setting too seriously and decided that we needed a 20 year throw back in game design to control pad smashing frustration and cheap tricks. Perhaps games these days are too easy but they generally feel like they're playing fair. Playing Deadlight did remind me of the frustration of cheap deaths that couldn't be predicted and it wasn't a memory of gaming I particularly wanted to recall. I guess this replay of sections following an array of cheap deaths does add some length and it's worth noting that this game is short, and I mean VERY short. My playthrough clocked in at under 2 hours with an 85% completion and secrets found. At a cost of 1200 MS Points (a little over £10) it's not cheap for such a brief experience. But even though it was short, I wasn't left craving more.
Sadly it's hard to recommend Deadlight without reservations. From a combination of shaky controls, a mostly seen it all before story and short campaign Deadlight is a game with a number of problems that fails to live up to some of the previous Summer of Arcade greats like Braid, Trials HD and the earlier mentioned Limbo or Shadow Complex. There is an experience worth having here though and if you're not put off by the price, length and some likely control irritations then it's probably worth a go in these game starved summer months. After all, it won't take long.
The Good
- Beautiful graphics throughout.
- An enjoyable and underused 1980s, North West American setting.
- Zombies again. Yay!
- Very short for it's 1200 MS Points price tag.
- Unresponsive controls can lead to a number of frustrating deaths.
- Trial and improvement gameplay.
- Zombies again. Boo.
