Deadlight

 PC
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 588 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 317 out of 588
  2. Mixed: 209 out of 588
  3. Negative: 62 out of 588

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  1. 6EQUJ5
    Nov 2, 2012
    4
    While all can agree that the game has good background atmosphere there is a lot more to be desired by Deadlight. You would expect much more for a game that costs only about $15 but you will be in for disappointment so save your money and don't buy this game. This game is basically a very bad version of Contra mixed with The Walking Dead theme mixed in a combination with an even worseWhile all can agree that the game has good background atmosphere there is a lot more to be desired by Deadlight. You would expect much more for a game that costs only about $15 but you will be in for disappointment so save your money and don't buy this game. This game is basically a very bad version of Contra mixed with The Walking Dead theme mixed in a combination with an even worse version of Pitfall/Prince of Persia style with short puzzles. Controls are not the best because when you try to jump over certain areas you either (A.) Over-jump or (B.) Under-jump and fall to your doom. The weapons are very limited and in the end you only get a fire axe, a .38 Revolver, and a shotgun. Konami's 1987 release of Contra had more guns than that which makes you think where the developers had gone wrong. With limited weapon choices the replay-ability of the game is poor since Nightmare mode is unlocked after completing the game in normal. Nightmare mode is only available on the PC version. Upon the limited choices the worst part is that the zombies are extremely tough to take down using the fire axe. The fastest way to kill any zombie is using either the .38 revolver or the shotgun with limited ammo. This game was rushed as you can tell because there wasn't enough testing involved. In certain parts of the games if you didn't solve the puzzle fast enough you get swarmed by the infinite zombies and it would lag your PC out so bad because there were too many zombies on the screen. I would also have to agree that the voice acting is bad or not congruent with the theme they're trying to pull off. The main character sounds more like an old school Max Payne narrating the story which doesn't really fit into the theme of a Zombie Apocalypse. Voice acting overall was terrible and unbelievable.

    Don't feel bad to hit the uninstall button after you finish your first run through because that's exactly what I did.    … Expand
  2. RennocYackam94
    Oct 29, 2015
    5
    Deadlight is a visually striking and addictive side scrolling game that is let down by a nonsensical plot, poor controls and weak second half.

    Positives: - Excellent art style - Fun parkour gameplay - Exciting first hour Negatives: - Boring, cliche storyline - Poor cutscenes - Terrible, unnatural controls - Occasional Frustrating Level Design Overall, Deadlight is a somewhat    Deadlight is a visually striking and addictive side scrolling game that is let down by a nonsensical plot, poor controls and weak second half.

    Positives: - Excellent art style
    - Fun parkour gameplay
    - Exciting first hour

    Negatives: - Boring, cliche storyline
    - Poor cutscenes
    - Terrible, unnatural controls
    - Occasional Frustrating Level Design

    Overall, Deadlight is a somewhat enjoyable side-scrolling post apocalyptic zombie game that impresses with its visuals, but disappoints in storytelling and mechanics.    … Expand
  3. ColdRage
    Apr 4, 2013
    3
    This game has a nice atmosphere and looks great on paper. Even the first steps are fun. Until the really bad controlls kill all the fun. It is extremly annoying how often you die due to bad control. Best example is probably trying to climb over a fence...In it's current state I don't understand the score even remotely...
  4. bobviolence
    Sep 7, 2013
    5
    Pros: Atmosphere is set nicely and the art style looks really good. Musical score and sound effects in general are pretty good. Animation of the humans and zombies is really smooth. Game is about the right length (about 5 hours) for what I paid for it.

    Cons: Some of the cutscenes are lacking sound, while others have it. Probably a bug, however since it didn't directly affect the    Pros: Atmosphere is set nicely and the art style looks really good. Musical score and sound effects in general are pretty good. Animation of the humans and zombies is really smooth. Game is about the right length (about 5 hours) for what I paid for it.

    Cons: Some of the cutscenes are lacking sound, while others have it. Probably a bug, however since it didn't directly affect the gameplay I never looked into it. Voice acting varies between cheesy and downright bad. I got really tired of "The Rat" referring to himself in third person. Prior to playing Deadlight, I had just finished Tomb Raider 2013, and controlling Lara was flawless which really made the horrible controls in this game stand out. The controls are so bad that your character will die repeatedly, even though you know what to do to get past the screen you are on. Then you have go back and replay a good 5-10 minutes of game just to get back to where you died. Sometimes you will die 10 times just trying to get your character to do what you want. Game is also obviously a console port, as the graphic adjustments for PC are VERY limited. Not being able to turn on Anti-Aliasing made for lots of jaggies when playing at 2560x1440.    … Expand
  5. GolovA
    Nov 9, 2013
    6
    Extremely short (finished in 5.0 hours), pathetic Console Port. Thanks again, Consoles! Cannot change key-bindings. Just try pressing 'D' and 'E' at the same time (moving an object) or performing a grouped jump ('D'+SHIFT+CTRL+SPACE) and you will understand what i mean. Lame story. Weak gameplay, which is mostly jumping puzzles hence the 5 hour gameplay. And a ridiculous size forExtremely short (finished in 5.0 hours), pathetic Console Port. Thanks again, Consoles! Cannot change key-bindings. Just try pressing 'D' and 'E' at the same time (moving an object) or performing a grouped jump ('D'+SHIFT+CTRL+SPACE) and you will understand what i mean. Lame story. Weak gameplay, which is mostly jumping puzzles hence the 5 hour gameplay. And a ridiculous size for such a short lame Microsoft game. MAJOR FAIL.… Expand
  6. kotekzot
    May 23, 2014
    5
    There is little to recommend in this game. The graphics are quite nice for a 2D game. The difficulty is all over the place, going from laughably easy to ridiculously hard while somehow bypassing the golden mean of satisfying challenge. The combat system is rather poor and uninteresting. Aiming is obviously not optimized for mouse input. The story is eye-rollingly bad and hammy. The game isThere is little to recommend in this game. The graphics are quite nice for a 2D game. The difficulty is all over the place, going from laughably easy to ridiculously hard while somehow bypassing the golden mean of satisfying challenge. The combat system is rather poor and uninteresting. Aiming is obviously not optimized for mouse input. The story is eye-rollingly bad and hammy. The game is also very short. Overall it is a passable distraction, but barely so.… Expand
  7. greywolf00
    Aug 24, 2013
    4
    Good game, albeit short. All of the good is wiped out by the horrible controls though. There are a bunch of areas that can only be passed via rolling (Sprint Crouch). The problem is, the character rarely rolls when you press the buttons. Instead, the crouch button seems to override the command and he'll start crouching instead of rolling, forcing you to replay sections endless till youGood game, albeit short. All of the good is wiped out by the horrible controls though. There are a bunch of areas that can only be passed via rolling (Sprint Crouch). The problem is, the character rarely rolls when you press the buttons. Instead, the crouch button seems to override the command and he'll start crouching instead of rolling, forcing you to replay sections endless till you get lucky and the controls proc the correct move. Have had the issue with both a controller and keyboard controls. Very frustrating and not worth the price.… Expand
  8. philodox87
    Mar 24, 2013
    4
    I really wanted to like this game. I love the zombie/post-apocalyptic genre and have been looking for a game that isn't an FPS. I've been gaming for a long time and this thing just really let me down. The graphics and atmosphere/environment are top notch. But the control scheme and "puzzles" are just too frustrating. There are plenty of times where it just is not clear what you areI really wanted to like this game. I love the zombie/post-apocalyptic genre and have been looking for a game that isn't an FPS. I've been gaming for a long time and this thing just really let me down. The graphics and atmosphere/environment are top notch. But the control scheme and "puzzles" are just too frustrating. There are plenty of times where it just is not clear what you are supposed to be doing, so you end up doing a bunch of trial and error as your character falls into pits/spikes or gets swarmed by zombies. It's hard to tell when zombies come from the background onto your "plane" so you can attack them this is by far the most frustrating since you can't plan attacks. Just lots and lots of "WTF do I do here?" deaths and repeats of sections until you figure out what you are supposed to be doing. That and crappy controls for combat and fast movement really ruin it. Trying to run away from something but having to quickly get over a fence the control scheme doesn't allow for fluid continuation, you have to execute the proper unintuitive commands... Anyway, if the Prince of Persia style platform puzzles were better executive and the control interface were better, this game could easily be a 9/10.… Expand
  9. GoibonUdenLo
    Jul 18, 2013
    3
    The atmosphere is decent and the writing is great. But that's where the good parts end.

    The game is killed by a horrible control scheme that is inconsistent at best and downright unresponsive, no matter if using keyboard/mouse, gamepad, or even an Xbox 360 controller (that the game was originally designed for). For example, if you want to jump vertically (which is very necessary in    The atmosphere is decent and the writing is great. But that's where the good parts end.

    The game is killed by a horrible control scheme that is inconsistent at best and downright unresponsive, no matter if using keyboard/mouse, gamepad, or even an Xbox 360 controller (that the game was originally designed for). For example, if you want to jump vertically (which is very necessary in parts), it is not enough to simply let go of the control stick/stop pressing movement keys. No, you have to do that AND wait for your character run/walk animation to completely halt before pressing the jump key, else you'll make a forward leap that would make a track and field star proud. Trying to climb a ledge immediately after making a sprinting leap? Better let go of the control stick completely, because if it's even a single degree toward the ground, you'll just climb down from the ledge you just jumped onto instead. It's pretty clear the development team of this game didn't do much/any testing prior to the release of their PC port, and not just due to the controls.

    This game is so terribly optimized for PC that even the pause menu has issues. I'm running a gaming PC that I built with mid-to-top-end hardware (as of a year ago, anyway) that has no problems running current-gen games of any kind, I've got an ASUS gaming notebook that's only 3 months old, and my girlfriend has a run-of-the-mill Toshiba laptop. After spending a combined total of 4 hours playing the game across all 3 machines, I feel like I need to call Terminix. The game crashes to desktop upon the first time running it (except, ironically, on my girlfriend's Toshiba). It'll freeze randomly after loading into a new zone. If you alt+tab or ctrl+alt+delete, the game will steal focus back unless you're quick enough to end the process before it does. You can't even pause the game without it freezing for about 30-45 seconds before the pause menu even comes up. I'm also not entirely sure if the cutscenes are supposed to have audio, as there was none, but that's also the only place where subtitles appeared, despite there being plenty of spoken dialogue during actual gameplay that wasn't subtitled.

    Final verdict? Tequila Works, S.L. must've been trying to live up to their name a bit too much, as it's pretty clear that they were way past the Ballmer peak when putting this game together. It's not even worth the $3.74 I paid for it during the Steam Summer Sale, and especially not the $14.99 that is normally charged. Avoid this game altogether.    … Expand
  10. ave
    Oct 23, 2015
    7
    Mixing puzzle/platform genre with zombie shooting wasn't an easy task, but Deadlight does a fair job in blending them. The atmosphere and pacing of the first hours is captivating, nicely oscillating between tension an relief.

    Unfortunately for me, the "platform" part of the game became too hard during the underground survival tutorial, where I couldn't manage to execute properly an    Mixing puzzle/platform genre with zombie shooting wasn't an easy task, but Deadlight does a fair job in blending them. The atmosphere and pacing of the first hours is captivating, nicely oscillating between tension an relief.

    Unfortunately for me, the "platform" part of the game became too hard during the underground survival tutorial, where I couldn't manage to execute properly an (apparently) simple roll action to avoid blade traps on walls. It's a little sad because previously the game was really challenging and forced me to retry many times until the rewarding "eureka" moment.

    So, if you're really into platformers, give it a try.    … Expand
  11. Knotsie
    Aug 5, 2013
    6
    This is an incredible looking 2d game, with a nice theme of a zombie apocalypse. I enjoyed most of my time with it, although sometimes the controls were a bit clunky if you were facing multiple enemies. The bad thing however, is that the game only lasted 4 hours. That is just too few for its normal price (so get it in a discount if you really want it), especially since the experience wasThis is an incredible looking 2d game, with a nice theme of a zombie apocalypse. I enjoyed most of my time with it, although sometimes the controls were a bit clunky if you were facing multiple enemies. The bad thing however, is that the game only lasted 4 hours. That is just too few for its normal price (so get it in a discount if you really want it), especially since the experience was kind of fun to me, but not exceptionally fun. My last point of critique is that the story ending was a little disappointing to me, it felt like there should be more after it.… Expand
  12. dumle
    Dec 29, 2012
    5
    Deadlight have an interesting story, cool graphical-novel like cutscenes and absolutely beautiful visual design. The gameplay however isn't all that good. The platforming works alright and the game shines when you are running away from horde of monster in an open street. The visual design however can make it hard to tell the difference between stuff you can grab and stuff you cant whichDeadlight have an interesting story, cool graphical-novel like cutscenes and absolutely beautiful visual design. The gameplay however isn't all that good. The platforming works alright and the game shines when you are running away from horde of monster in an open street. The visual design however can make it hard to tell the difference between stuff you can grab and stuff you cant which can be a bit annoying in a tight spot to say the least. The combat in the game is quite bad. The melee weapons in the game feels clunky and the firearms are annoying to control. Throw in some endlessly respawning enemies and some annoying checkpoints and you are in for a nasty treat. Some levels works better than others but the gameplay is average as best when everything works. I should also mention that the games campaign is rather short (around 3 hours). The games story and atmosphere manages to pull the score up to an average five but know that the gameplay could be improved to say the least.… Expand
  13. dOOmShrOOm
    May 13, 2014
    6
    The game starts off well with the difficulty ramping up progressively. The visuals are excellent, however, the cutscenes become a bit of a nuisance when you want to simply keep playing as they are very much an eyesore.

    However, as the difficulty increases so does frustration. Gimmicky placement of objects and enemies keeps you on your toes as well as slamming your fist into your desk    The game starts off well with the difficulty ramping up progressively. The visuals are excellent, however, the cutscenes become a bit of a nuisance when you want to simply keep playing as they are very much an eyesore.

    However, as the difficulty increases so does frustration. Gimmicky placement of objects and enemies keeps you on your toes as well as slamming your fist into your desk attempt after attempt after attempt. Sometimes you'll be right on the verge of a new checkpoint during a chase moment only to get to the end and have seconds to figure out how to progress.

    If you can get it on sale it's great but I've found myself playing less and less of it each time I pick it up simply because it went from a fun challenge to a very frustrating cluster of cheap challenges.    … Expand
  14. Nataraja
    Feb 4, 2013
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is a beautiful slider that has some really interesting puzzles and decent voice acting. I am giving this a 6 however for the level of unfairness involved in some of the platforming and the control scheme for mouse and keyboard. Not having the ability to toggle crouching and sprinting make certain sections, such as crossing the roofs while being chased by the helicopter not only completely unrealistic (like I would stop sprinting in real life having to hold down shift is moronic) and the lack of response in the controls for climbing fences which means you continually get killed by that damn helicopter only to rerun it again and again and die again and again with no effective cover and A LONG DISTANCE between checkpoints where just earlier they were only a couple of feet apart makes finishing this game not a joy but an exercise in futility and frustration. When and if Tequila Works makes another game I truly hope they will rethink some of this. The art and the sound are wonderful the game play mechanics are not.… Expand
  15. Klewer
    Aug 17, 2013
    6
    A solid game with an enjoyable setting and challenging game play at times. Gets quite repetitive and is not helped by some poor voice acting. I wouldn't call the game hard as the puzzles aren't challenging, only thing making them difficult is the limited time for a lot.

    Worth a look if you can get it cheap.
  16. Inhanzt
    Dec 28, 2012
    5
    The game's use of the third dimension is neat, as is the fact that the game is a zombie platformer. Other than that, though, Deadlight exudes failure. Game mechanics frequently work together to unfairly kill you. As an example, early on in the game i was walking through waist high water and there was a zombie behind me. The zombie started sprinting, which is a random chanceThe game's use of the third dimension is neat, as is the fact that the game is a zombie platformer. Other than that, though, Deadlight exudes failure. Game mechanics frequently work together to unfairly kill you. As an example, early on in the game i was walking through waist high water and there was a zombie behind me. The zombie started sprinting, which is a random chance occurrence, but I quickly found out that the main character can't sprint in waist high water and died. There was nothing I could have done to live there, and I just had to reload, repeat some of the game, and hope the zombie didn't sprint this time.

    The games controls and mechanics are frequently hit or miss. What's the difference between a door that has to be knocked down by kicking, with a fire axe, or by sprinting through and tackling it? Visually there's often nothing to go on, but eventually some kind of helper contextual action will let you know. Even then, it doesn't tell you what to press, just provides some abstract image of the action; I'm like 3 hours into the game and how no idea how to kick down a door; i just spam buttons until it works (they told me once, so it's partly the fault of alcohol, but w/e). In the same vein, you'll find a number of occasions where obvious scripting kicks in so you can make a jump of a distance that you'll find impossible later, where your character will frequently refuse to reach the extra .008 inches to make the grab onto a ledge, forcing you to solve some puzzle that seems unnecessary.

    To top it off, zombies aren't really threatening at all. If I had to guess I'd say that 90% of my deaths were to the environment, and maybe 10% to zombies. This is exacerbated by an extremely boring sequence in a trap ridden labyrinth where there are no zombies, just environmental hazards and trial and error gameplay. Enjoy re-spawning 20 or 30 times until you can get back outside to the actual fun part of the game.    … Expand
  17. MrDeeds
    Jan 22, 2014
    2
    !!!Spoiler Alert!!! I believe we can all agree this game has quite a stunning setting, but the flaws of this game far outweigh it's positive features. While i was impressed with the game's graphics and ominous backdrops, I was not impressed with the sluggish and extremely imprecise control the player has over Randal, the protagonist. This fact is all too evident at times where you (the!!!Spoiler Alert!!! I believe we can all agree this game has quite a stunning setting, but the flaws of this game far outweigh it's positive features. While i was impressed with the game's graphics and ominous backdrops, I was not impressed with the sluggish and extremely imprecise control the player has over Randal, the protagonist. This fact is all too evident at times where you (the player) are forced to make fast, "Parkour-like" actions to escape certain death. The harshest of these examples being the collapsing building that you barely (and i really do mean barely) have time to escape from before being crushed to death. To proceed beyond that point you are forced to retry countless times until you have "perfected" your technique. Much frustration and disappointment could have been easily avoided if grand oversights, such as the ridiculous obstacle course constructed by a hobo (not joking), the needless rooftop escape from the helicopter, or of course the collapsing building. With such a strong start to the game, I was quite disappointed when I finally made to the end and I won't be the only one. Because of decent graphics, setting, and occasional combat (although combat is NOT the focus of the game), I am forced to give this game a 2. Sorry Tequila Works, better luck next time I suppose...… Expand
  18. ForestGoblin
    Aug 25, 2013
    2
    Controls suck, story sucks, puzzles suck. Cut scenes were broken for me.
    The game doesn't flow well. Voice acting was really annoying to listen to.
    Visual style wasn't executed well. The art style often caused confusion with game play. eg. distinguishing between foreground and background.
  19. kovenary
    Aug 30, 2013
    3
    Pros
    - Good atmosphere
    Cons - Cheesy dialog and voice acting - Horrible controls/response - Who the hell is the Rat? Why can't I kill this bastard? What is wrong with the god damn soldiers? Am I playing a zombie apocalypse game, or am I going to fight aliens as well? The story is way out there. I cannot put myself in the character's shoes, instead I felt like I was watching a zombie    Pros
    - Good atmosphere

    Cons
    - Cheesy dialog and voice acting
    - Horrible controls/response
    - Who the hell is the Rat? Why can't I kill this bastard? What is wrong with the god damn soldiers? Am I playing a zombie apocalypse game, or am I going to fight aliens as well? The story is way out there. I cannot put myself in the character's shoes, instead I felt like I was watching a zombie movie designed by a 12 year old.    … Expand
  20. proteinfolder
    Sep 4, 2013
    1
    The beginning of the game is very fun, but as soon as you get to the sewers it's all downhill. Insta-death situations that you cannot hope pass on the first tries. The game just feels like a very unforgiving quick time event that does not show the button you should press.
  21. Lustikurre
    Dec 13, 2013
    5
    If you ever played the old Flashback game or maybe prince of persia you know how this game plays. It's like that but with smoother movement and with zombies. The world looks gorgeous and the gameplay is fun, but it's lacking in several other departments. The gameplay at first seems fine, but the longer u get the more trial and error puzzle it becomes.

    Some parts of the game feels more    If you ever played the old Flashback game or maybe prince of persia you know how this game plays. It's like that but with smoother movement and with zombies. The world looks gorgeous and the gameplay is fun, but it's lacking in several other departments. The gameplay at first seems fine, but the longer u get the more trial and error puzzle it becomes.

    Some parts of the game feels more like a QTE than an action platformer and will have you die again and again just to repeat a section that begins with an unskippable cutscene, just to progress a bit further each time.

    One part was so bad that I went to check how to get through it. Turns out I did everything exactly as I should had, but I had vsync turned off, making it impossible for me to progress, so I had to go back to the main menu just to turn it off, thereby resetting all of my progress on that level. Yes if you stop playing the game you lose ALL progress you've made since the last loading screen.

    All in all it's an ok game with gorgeus graphics and design that suffers from gamebreaking bugs and trial and error events that are way harder than needed.    … Expand
  22. Southernhammer
    Aug 22, 2014
    3
    Is this game terrible? No. Is this game worth buying? Definitely not.

    Unfortunately this game is one of the most frustrating titles I own and for all the wrong reasons. At heart, this game is a very aesthetically pleasing 2D Puzzle Platformer. It could have been one of the best on the market if it wasn't for one thing. The jumping. Why have a platformer with jumping as bad as this? It    Is this game terrible? No. Is this game worth buying? Definitely not.

    Unfortunately this game is one of the most frustrating titles I own and for all the wrong reasons. At heart, this game is a very aesthetically pleasing 2D Puzzle Platformer. It could have been one of the best on the market if it wasn't for one thing. The jumping. Why have a platformer with jumping as bad as this? It defies all belief. It is a massive shame. He will launch himself forwards when you press jump even if you're standing perfectly still and not touching any directional button. I will give them credit for trying to implement a nice wall jump mechanic but unfortunately it only works when and if it wants to.

    I have also had numerous problems with the game not working properly. Pausing the game will take about 60 seconds to load and has even crashed the game before. Objectives sometimes will not show up until I've died and tried it again. I'm not entirely sure why these things happen but it is truly remarkable.

    These things disappoint me most because it is actually a promising game. The graphics are incredible and it is something that we've not seen much of in the past. The story is a bit lacking but that's not usually that important in a game like this. The melee combat is dreadful but I actually found myself enjoying the shooting mechanic. It fit the style the game was going for perfectly and I wish there was more of it.

    The puzzles in the game are very very basic puzzles and shouldn't tax your brain too hard if you're used to this type of game. However the game does utilise the use of beginners traps which is kind of a shame. They are to platforming and jump scares are to horror games. They just feel cheap and unnecessary.

    Overall this game isn't the most horrible thing ever but it's such a shame that it let itself down so badly. Jumping is vital in a platformer and they failed to even get remotely close, especially in tandem with the dodgy running mechanic. This game could be worth picking up cheaply in a sale but it definitely doesn't deserve to be high on your wishlist. If ever they decide to make another game like this though, honestly look out for it. If they get it right then it will be a masterpiece.    … Expand
  23. azeitona
    Dec 6, 2014
    5
    I was willing to like so much more of this game... Let me get to the pros, cons, and then I'll sum up some ideas.

    PROS: +Great visuals +Atmospheric scenery +Stylish cutscenes +Platform sections are kinda nice +Nice collectibles +And a nice soundtrack CONS: -Repetitive -Controls suck, with controller or keyboard, take your pick -The combat sucks -The story and the voice    I was willing to like so much more of this game... Let me get to the pros, cons, and then I'll sum up some ideas.

    PROS:
    +Great visuals
    +Atmospheric scenery
    +Stylish cutscenes
    +Platform sections are kinda nice
    +Nice collectibles
    +And a nice soundtrack

    CONS:
    -Repetitive
    -Controls suck, with controller or keyboard, take your pick
    -The combat sucks
    -The story and the voice acting... ugh...
    -Too short
    -Almost zero replay value
    -Nightmare mode is a joke

    Deadlight it's a game that is better to look and than play. The visuals are really engaging, and the cutscenes have that Saturday morning cartoon feel to it, and that's a nice touch.

    Some platform sections feel pretty solid, but some of the jumps must be super accurate -but the controls don't help at all. Both the keyboard and the controller suck at this game. And the combat sections... yeah, I get it, the focus is to escape, not to fight back, but the combat (especially the melee combat) should not be so clunky.

    Also, people praising the story and the characters... Is this a joke? The story is clichéd in a bad way, and the characters feel so... bland. And the protagonist, Randall Wayne, is just a typical, stereotyped hero, that tries so hard to be deep and have cool dialogue lines, but it all just falls flat. The game tries to have some kind of commentary on human behavior, but it's more laughable than anything.

    And the game could have some replay value if the nightmare mode wasn't such a joke. For those who don't know, nightmare mode is the regular game without saves. If you die, you respawn from the beginning. I can see this work in a much better game, but with flawed platforming and bad controls, it will just piss you off. Oh, yeah, and it unlocks an alternative ending that makes no sense. Go figure.

    The collectibles are a nice touch, but they're not something that will keep you interested at the game for more than 5 minutes.

    Sure, it's a really cheap game, but it could have been so much more. If the platforming was a little bit more solid, and there were some more levels, this review would be really different. Even with its story being all over the place, the game would have scored much higher. But, to me, it's just a really mediocre title, barely passable, and you should only play it if it's on sale, or if you like zombies and platformers.    … Expand
  24. Gibbon
    Feb 14, 2015
    6
    I love cinematic side-scrollers and this promised to scratch that itch... but it didn't. Overall though the game didn't deliver despite a wonderful art style that captures the visuals of a city dissolving.

    It lacks in a few areas: controls, writing, and loading. The controls feel loose and there are strange inconsistencies. For example when you hold down SHIFT to sprint, the    I love cinematic side-scrollers and this promised to scratch that itch... but it didn't. Overall though the game didn't deliver despite a wonderful art style that captures the visuals of a city dissolving.

    It lacks in a few areas: controls, writing, and loading.

    The controls feel loose and there are strange inconsistencies. For example when you hold down SHIFT to sprint, the character takes off at a slow lope and gets to full speed after a few steps. A problem starting out is that when you need to sprint and jump off a ledge, it looks like you don't have the speed you need. You actually do, it's just that the animation is out of sync with the physics. Fighting has dramatic pauses and a pulsing visual when the character is low on stamina. These sound great but the tricks get really old really fast.

    The writing is quite bad. The lines are cliche and the character has no depth to speak of. It wouldn't have taken much to create a good script for the game and I suspect it was done by game developers who fancied themselves writers. On the plus side, moving it from English to any other language would be quite easy: melodrama is a universal language.

    Loading: When your character falls of a ledge, or gets eaten, or suffers another grisly fate the game prompts you to hit a button. Once you do that you have to wait anywhere from a few seconds to several for the game to pull up the last auto-save. Why this design choice? If auto-saves are so common and the character is not in the middle of a scripted scene why not just place them back on the ledge? Perhaps it's an attempt to make the player feel something over the character's doom. Problem is this game suffers from same challenge to a lot of video games - how do you make players feel the death of a character when all you have to do is hit a button to revive them?

    I digress. Overall, if you're into side scrollers this may be picking up some day when it's on a deep discount but for $15 it just isn't worth it.    … Expand
  25. Jackermy
    Jul 27, 2020
    7
    The game is quite ambiguous. On one side we got a quite dynamic and filled by some fresh ideas platformer but on the other side we got quite monotonous project.
    The storyline is cool and we got some real good twists in it. Gameplay is fun but only for first chapter.
    It is very hard to say something good or bad about this game, so if you want to play some platformer that will not take a    The game is quite ambiguous. On one side we got a quite dynamic and filled by some fresh ideas platformer but on the other side we got quite monotonous project.
    The storyline is cool and we got some real good twists in it. Gameplay is fun but only for first chapter.
    It is very hard to say something good or bad about this game, so if you want to play some platformer that will not take a lot of time - Deadlight is your choice.    … Expand
  26. punkandglamour
    Nov 4, 2012
    6
    I think I was expecting something else entirely. The good first: For a side scrolling platform game the DIMENSION to the world is phenomenal. Just amazing how the zombies come from the depths of darkness or one moment when they move from the distance into the foreground. There's a great almost puzzle-like section underground I liked a lot. The bad: The pretty much quicktime events. YesI think I was expecting something else entirely. The good first: For a side scrolling platform game the DIMENSION to the world is phenomenal. Just amazing how the zombies come from the depths of darkness or one moment when they move from the distance into the foreground. There's a great almost puzzle-like section underground I liked a lot. The bad: The pretty much quicktime events. Yes there's a sense of urgency when there's a plane shooting at you but I just got tired of dying over and over again for not button mashing fast enough to climb a fence or run ahead of a problem. I couldn't stand the voice over narration from the main character. However I appreciated a fresh approach to my favorite genre. It's a genre now right? "Zombie killing"… Expand
  27. x2495iiii
    Mar 22, 2013
    3
    Deadlight is an almost good game. However, several huge, glaring flaws stop it from being anything but a chore to play. The dialogue is stilted, awkward and doesn't match up with the subtitles. The controls are floaty and often unresponsive. The collision detection is similarly spotty, with zombies regularly phasing right through your fire axe and barrels seemingly reaching out to trip youDeadlight is an almost good game. However, several huge, glaring flaws stop it from being anything but a chore to play. The dialogue is stilted, awkward and doesn't match up with the subtitles. The controls are floaty and often unresponsive. The collision detection is similarly spotty, with zombies regularly phasing right through your fire axe and barrels seemingly reaching out to trip you as you try to jump over them. The plot is weak and nonsensical to the point of irritation, with characters doing inexplicably stupid things for no real reason. For example, one character takes your weapons because he's not sure if he trusts you. He soon becomes an ally, but your weapons are never seen or mentioned again. Another example is a radio that the hero decides must be stopped. His solution? Hit the off switch. He has a fire axe and two guns, but rather than destroy it, he simply turns it off and walks away. I don't consider it much of a spoiler to say that, lo and behold, bad guys come along and turn it back on almost immediately. All in all, this game is an excellent example of both wasted potential and the dangers of writing a script without actual writers present.… Expand
  28. Funksatron
    Nov 10, 2012
    5
    Very well developed atmosphere, good visual style, derivative/predictable plot and sluggish controls that obstinately sit between you and your enjoyment of the game. Deadlight is one of those games that you find irritating not because it is a complete failure, but because some of its elements were executed so well while others fall flat on their face. The 2.5D scrolling environment worksVery well developed atmosphere, good visual style, derivative/predictable plot and sluggish controls that obstinately sit between you and your enjoyment of the game. Deadlight is one of those games that you find irritating not because it is a complete failure, but because some of its elements were executed so well while others fall flat on their face. The 2.5D scrolling environment works well most of the time, although it's irritating that enemies approach from outside your plane and you can't attack them until they enter into it. The jump mechanic is irritating (straight up, 8 ft leap and maybe 16 foot leap with nothing in-between). Weapon switching is sloppy and slow. Many 'puzzles' will kill you the first time you approach them, rather than presenting intriguing situations that can be solved with skills that have been encouraged to develop. Many sections involve infinitely spawning enemies, but extremely limited ammunition. Checkpoints often precede narration, meaning that if you find a section difficult, you'll be hearing the same monologue several times. No replay value.… Expand
  29. Lacuentadejoako
    Dec 26, 2012
    4
    The game has a good atmosphere and graphics but thats all. The controls are not responsive,you cant do what you want when you want.The story is boring and uninteresting,besides unoriginal. The game is unfair in many things,when you die you dont feel like you lost because the game is hard, but because its badly designed. The game is basically very easy to, the only hard parts are the onesThe game has a good atmosphere and graphics but thats all. The controls are not responsive,you cant do what you want when you want.The story is boring and uninteresting,besides unoriginal. The game is unfair in many things,when you die you dont feel like you lost because the game is hard, but because its badly designed. The game is basically very easy to, the only hard parts are the ones that are not well designed,basically the whole game is jumping from one place to the other with a bad story and voice acting in between with poor level designed, I got it just for 7,50. But is still a waste of money.… Expand
  30. Zetoc
    Oct 27, 2012
    8
    Very nice and different game. Great atmosphere, good gameplay and in generel good graphics. especially the backgrounds. Only i wished the game to have been a bit longer and i felt i ended kinda suddenly but decent twist to the story
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Awards & Rankings

69
#69 Best PC Game of 2012
47
#47 Most Discussed PC Game of 2012
51
#51 Most Shared PC Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. PC Master (Greece)
    Feb 6, 2013
    84
    I could not tear myself away from the screen, during the five hours it took me to complete Deadlight. There are some design issues, mainly regarding the controls, but overall it was a worthy experience. [December 2012]
  2. Everyeye.it
    Jan 7, 2013
    75
    The PC porting of Deadlight does not disappoint the fans. Mixing platforming, action and survival in a wise manner, the title conquer all the favors of the public.
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  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Dec 21, 2012
    70
    Survival platformer suffers from some minor bugs but its atmosphere and gameplay elements are catchy and satisfying enough to give it a try. [Christmas 2012]
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