As quickly as we booted up Strayed Lights, we have been rooting for it. The sights and sounds have been stunning and haunting, making this freshman providing from developer Embers one of the vital enchanting video games we’ve performed all yr. Sadly, a string of visible bugs and lengthy loading occasions marred what was in any other case a wonderful expertise.
The primary moments of Strayed Lights mark the primary moments in your character’s life. They begin out as a flickering ember of vitality and slowly bloom right into a mature and highly effective model of themselves. The sport makes use of the preliminary shadowy model of the protagonist to introduce the distinctive fight mechanics that you just’ll have to get a deal with on if you happen to’re going to outlive on this unusual alien world.
Whereas the sport has some assault mechanics, you’ll spend way more of your time enjoying defence moderately than offence. Enemies will glow one in every of two colors and also you’ll want to modify your personal color utilizing the ‘R’ button to match it earlier than parrying their incoming assault with the ‘L’ button. Get the timing proper and also you’ll drain their vitality and heal your self till you possibly can unleash a robust explosion of sunshine that tears the enemy aside.
The controls aren’t all the time as exact as we might have preferred, however when you get used to the often sluggish timing of the fight, it’s difficult and rewarding to play by means of. There’s a third kind of assault that may’t be parried which should as an alternative be prevented by utilizing the sprint mechanic, however we discovered that to be too imprecise to be relied upon. When the controls lastly do click on, Strayed Lights turns into one of the vital distinctive fight experiences you’ll discover on any console.
Sadly, many of the fight performs out the very same approach. Outdoors of some bosses, enemies solely are available a handful of sorts with largely predictable assault patterns. Sometimes you’ll face a pair of various varieties, which poses a barely tougher encounter, however even by the top of the sport, we have been extra more likely to die by by chance strolling off a ledge through the recreation’s platforming sections than being killed by monsters.
The truth that you received’t die fairly often is a blessing because the load occasions in Strayed Lights are the true enemy right here. There are additionally technical glitches all through the sport, comparable to body fee points, display screen tearing, and stuttering minimize scenes. These issues have been far more frequent when enjoying in handheld mode, however even when docked the sport needed to pause to load the following part whereas we have been in the midst of a bounce, leading to no less than 30 seconds of us simply floating within the air, unsure if the sport had crashed or not. The sport by no means really crashed on us however the bugs have been irritating sufficient to noticeably impression our enjoyment.
Platforming is just not this recreation’s sturdy go well with, sadly. The character will solely climb onto ledges in the event that they hit the precise proper spot, making some jumps awkward to try. The participant floats towards ledges and can flail in opposition to them for a second earlier than they lastly resolve to climb as much as the highest, however it may be troublesome to inform which buildings will be climbed and which needs to be left alone.
Whereas the environments are stunning to take a look at, they’re usually extremely barren, which, when mixed with the visible hiccups, makes the sport really feel just a little unfinished and messy. It’s so irritating as a result of Strayed Lights is solely beautiful if you end up simply strolling world wide, taking within the sights, or getting a screenshot utilizing the sport’s picture mode. The usage of colors to color an image is superb and we cherished the way in which the story unfolded with out using a single phrase of dialogue. The animation and design on show listed here are top-notch.
The music additionally deserves reward. Austin Wintory, who composed the music for Journey and The Banner Saga collection, has crafted a soundtrack that brings the visuals to life. It’s haunting and uplifting on the proper moments, feeling completely at residence among the many motes of color and light-weight that populate the world. Within the absence of dialogue, the music of Strayed Lights helps give the characters their emotional weight.
As you discover the world, you gather shards of energy that can be utilized to unlock or improve your character’s skills. There are only some of those, comparable to having the ability to parry any color for a brief interval or unleashing a robust melee assault in opposition to enemies. You may solely use these skills a couple of occasions per battle, however they will flip the tide, significantly if you happen to’re struggling to get the timing proper in your parries.
Strayed Lights is not enormous. With out unlocking each improve or getting each collectible, we completed the principle story in round eight hours. The shorter playtime is a blessing in some ways; any longer and the repetitiveness of the fight would have grow to be grating. Nonetheless, it additionally means that you’re unlocking new skills proper as much as the very finish, which prevents you from ever discovering an actual groove with the fight.
A number of ambition clearly went into this recreation. From the storytelling to the fight to its music, it’s an expertise in contrast to some other and that’s value celebrating. Even with the quite a few visible points and the repetitive enemies, it’s value choosing up Strayed Lights to expertise for your self simply how completely different it’s. Flawed and inconsistent however someway nonetheless compelling and enchanting. Should you can overlook its shortcomings, there’s an absolute gem right here.
Conclusion
Strayed Lights is one thing uncommon within the gaming trade; a recreation that genuinely surprises us. The fight is exclusive and accessible. The story is instructed in a refined, heartfelt approach. The music and visuals are beautiful. Nonetheless, a string of technical bugs, repetitive fight, and inconsistent platforming sections mar what would in any other case be a stellar providing from a brand new studio. If it ran higher on the Swap, we might be giving it a significantly better rating.
