Gleamlight

 Switch
User Score
2.5

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 11 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 11
  3. Negative: 9 out of 11

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  1. Meeleepit
    Sep 2, 2020
    0
    Gleamlight looks stunning via the videos but the game play lacks heavily .

    Character is slow and unresponsive,slashing of sword is heavy.
    Game is missing that oomph, the need to go on and finish it.

    Game play is boring and story is null.

    Would not recommend to buy.

    Wish i was able to get a refund.
  2. annawest
    Aug 31, 2020
    3
    The game play is so short that makes all other good points worthless. To sum up, I think I totally waste my money buying this game.
  3. boothegoose
    Aug 22, 2020
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Firstly, both visually and mechanically the game is a pretty blatant rip-off of Hollow Knight. This would be ok if the developers had tried to make something out of it.

    However, Gleamlight is one of the laziest efforts I have ever seen by a dev team. The game is over in literally an hour. Well, at least that is where the level and game design stops. After defeating the last of three bosses, there are no new levels, nothing left to unlock... nothing.

    The remainder of the game consists of running back and forth through the same level with increasingly difficult enemies. There are some slight variations on where the buttons that open the doors are located, but that's it.

    As if that wasn't enough, the 1 hour of fresh gameplay that Gleamlight delivers is nothing else but mediocre. The movement is decent, with a dash and double-jump that can be combined in interesting ways. However, it becomes apparent very quickly that the most effective way to down enemies and bosses is simply to button mash.

    All in all, it is an extremely disappointing title. It definitely had potential, thanks to the thievery of the Hollow Knight model. But after running through the same thing 3 times, I gave up and started googling how to get a refund from the Nintendo Store.

    Do not waste your money on this. Just wait for Hollowknight Silksong    … Expand
  4. Helios7777
    Aug 25, 2020
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I really love this game. Indiee games have come so far. I enjoy it more than some AAA games out there , but that's my personal opinion! Great game.… Expand
  5. Magmagan
    Nov 1, 2021
    2
    I was rewatching old directs, and remembered Gleamlight. I remembered its controversy and decided to give it a go.

    It's not... THAT bad. It's not good, I'd say it's mediocre, but it's not utter trash. The camera never keeps up and is mediocre, you learn new skills but without any indication, the level design is mediocre and the art is too busy. You forget the whole glass stain angle    I was rewatching old directs, and remembered Gleamlight. I remembered its controversy and decided to give it a go.

    It's not... THAT bad. It's not good, I'd say it's mediocre, but it's not utter trash. The camera never keeps up and is mediocre, you learn new skills but without any indication, the level design is mediocre and the art is too busy. You forget the whole glass stain angle pretty quickly when everywhere is dark, everything has the same colors, and there isn't any personality or set pieces. There is different music between "themes" but they all sound the same to the point that you even question if the music changed at all.

    The combat, again, mediocre. You don't get that pogo-stick effect from hollow knight. Instead, you get up-light and down-light attacks that have the character look in the direction first. Every single time. Bosses aren't fun to react to and the life-draining mechanic means that you can no-skill kill most bosses by mashing in their face. The game has a few bosses, but none are super memorable or interesting, and their designs are copy-pasted throughout.

    Seeing the credits (multiple times in one playthrough), you have to question, how come are so many people involved in this project? Did noone stop and think about what they were developing? This isn't an average Joe making their first game, there are more people involved than fingers on your hand. That's a crime in timewasting at least.

    Overall, it's mediocre. It's not bad, but it's not good. It does enough to call itself a finished game and just that.    … Expand
  6. Brutusbuns
    Aug 26, 2020
    1
    Don't waste your money. I honestly bought this game because of all the "hollow knight ripoff" stuff and figured it would be fun. While the graphics are beautiful, gleamlight is SUPER boring.
  7. Namajamaa
    Sep 11, 2020
    2
    Gleamlight isn't great. And at $20, it's a highway robbery. Better action platformers and indie games are the same price or cheaper. I can't even recommend it as a holdover for Silksong because it plays nothing like Hollow Knight. But this isn't just an inditement of its price. Even at $5 it would still be bad. It has cute ideas such as its health system and stained-glass art style, butGleamlight isn't great. And at $20, it's a highway robbery. Better action platformers and indie games are the same price or cheaper. I can't even recommend it as a holdover for Silksong because it plays nothing like Hollow Knight. But this isn't just an inditement of its price. Even at $5 it would still be bad. It has cute ideas such as its health system and stained-glass art style, but based on how they were implemented into this game, you'd think they were evolutionary dead-ends.… Expand
  8. SunnyLessie
    Sep 13, 2020
    1
    I found this game when I was looking for a metroidvania that could help me bridge the time until the release of Hollow Knight Silk Song. Unfortunately Gleamlight is only looks lacking any kind of decent gameplay. The graphic style is really gorgeous, but the gameplay is worse than bad. There is no information whatsoever, regarding controls or when acquiring new abilities. The character isI found this game when I was looking for a metroidvania that could help me bridge the time until the release of Hollow Knight Silk Song. Unfortunately Gleamlight is only looks lacking any kind of decent gameplay. The graphic style is really gorgeous, but the gameplay is worse than bad. There is no information whatsoever, regarding controls or when acquiring new abilities. The character is extremely slow, ponderous and very unresponsive, so that fighting and platforming are extremely frustrating. I am not sure if there is any story in the game, since I quit after absolutely fun-free 1,5 hours. I am sorry, Gleamlight, I really wanted to like you, but you turned out to be a waste of money!… Expand
  9. fruitbat1015
    Oct 3, 2020
    0
    This game is horrible!!!! Terrible! Disgraceful! Putrid! Pathetic! An absolute waste of life to play! A ripoff! A shameless cash grab! Game lasts less than an hour. Rushed out the door! Laggy! Enemies are dumb as a rock! Fall into spikes you cant see cause the game is so dark, etc etc blah blah blah, I would rather play a video game of stick figures drawn on toilet paper than play this game again.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
42

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 7
  3. Negative: 4 out of 7
  1. Hey Poor Player
    Oct 29, 2020
    40
    Gleamlight doesn’t feel finished. Had there been even the smallest amount of text or UI, I honestly feel like this would have been a more enjoyable experience despite the other issues; if anything, those issues were heightened simply due to the lack of critical components. I love what the developer had in terms of concept, but as far as execution goes, Gleamlight unfortunately fell flat. You can find far better 2D sidescrollers for less money; unless the developer makes some sorely-needed improvements, it’s probably best to let Gleamlight fall into darkness.
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  2. NintendoWorldReport
    Oct 6, 2020
    50
    Gleamlight is a mixed bag. There are enjoyable aspects here. Unfortunately, there are larger and more numerous negatives. At the end of my playtime I was left wishing the positive aspects were in a better game. Taking everything into account, I would skip Gleamlight.
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  3. Switch Player
    Sep 23, 2020
    20
    Hollow Knight this is not. With a flawed control system, dreadful music, and painfully unfair platforming, this is a game you will want to end as quickly as possible. Thankfully it is over in about an hour.
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