Deadlight

 Xbox 360
Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 79 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 79
  2. Mixed: 49 out of 79
  3. Negative: 5 out of 79
  1. XboxAddict
    Aug 1, 2012
    90
    The quality of content is amazing, and when you combine the psychotic storyline with the fluid gameplay and top it off with amazing use of the Unreal engine for graphics and a soundtrack that will drive suspense deep into your soul, Deadlight is easily one of the best Xbox Live Arcade games to come out this summer or arguably this year.
  2. Eurogamer Sweden
    Jul 30, 2012
    90
    Deadlight is probably the best downloadable title on the market right now, but that comparison does the game a disservice. Tequila Works have taken a step further to reduce the gap between retail games and downloadable titles and Deadlight will likely be the shining star of this year's Summer of Arcade.
  3. Meristation
    Jul 30, 2012
    90
    Tequila Works delivers a breathtaking adventure that mixtures the best elements that we've seen so far on Prince of Persia or Flashback on a 2D survival horror base. Although the main campaign lasts only five or six hours, there are plenty of reasons to enjoy the story of Rusell Wayne twice and explore this world to discover all of its secrets and enjoy its great atmosphere.
  5. GamingXP
    Aug 6, 2012
    88
    Deadlight, not as innovative as Limbo, is a nice potpourri of known elements, mixed with a unique style and definitely a must-download of this gaming summer.
  6. Cheat Code Central
    Aug 2, 2012
    86
    Deadlight is a blast that reminds me of a game I loved in my youth (Flashback) without soiling that nostalgia or feeling like a blatant ripoff. It's a bit short, but it's perfectly suited for spending a lazy summer evening with.
  7. 4P.de
    Aug 1, 2012
    85
    Tequila Works show how to inject fresh ideas into a theme as worn-out as the zombie apocalypse. The mixture of puzzles and challenging fights works extraordinarily well to make Deadlight one of the most atmospheric XBLA games of the year.
  8. IGN
    Jul 30, 2012
    85
    Deadlight lacks neither style nor substance, and it lasts just about the perfect amount of time. The story is minimal but engaging, and the ending is unexpected -- in a good way. A couple of sections stumble a bit, but not enough to detract from what is an engaging, memorable experience.
  9. Multiplayer.it
    Jul 30, 2012
    85
    Deadlight is a good game, a bit too short and with good mechanics which should have been put to a more intense use by Tequila Works' level designers. If you can stand the taste of a somehow rushed storyline, you are up for an intense and entartaining experience.
  10. Official Xbox Magazine
    Jul 30, 2012
    85
    As simple as it all may be, it makes for a frantic, dizzying, four- to five-hour rush. And that's Deadlight's strongest suit: you feel a constant, adrenaline-fueled urge to just. Keep. Moving.
  11. 3DJuegos
    Jul 30, 2012
    84
    Deadlight is a fantastic game with wonderful platforming segments and magnificent art direction. It is a bit short, but is probably one of the best downloadable titles on XBLA right now.
  12. COGconnected
    Jul 30, 2012
    82
    Some of the technical issues hold the game back; however, I for one will keep coming back to Deadlight as it is an experience I will want to enjoy for weeks if not months on end.
  13. Gamereactor Denmark
    Aug 31, 2012
    80
    Ignoring the price, Deadlight is a solid and entertaining game that brings crude oil-thick atmosphere to Xbox Live in the same way Limbo did two years ago.
  14. Hardcore Gamer
    Aug 24, 2012
    80
    Deadlight is a mix between storytelling, side-scrolling, puzzle solving, and good old fashion survival horror. It reinvents nothing, but it successfully integrates components from each genre.
  15. Everyeye.it
    Aug 20, 2012
    80
    Deadlight, long-awaited highlight of this Summer of Arcade, does not disappoint the fans. Mixing platforming, action and survival in a wise manner, the title conquer all the favors of the public.
  16. XGN
    Aug 3, 2012
    80
    Deadlight will bring you a short but thrilling ride trough the apocalyptic world of Seattle. The gameplay is really good and despite some minor shortcomings, the game works really well. The surroundings in the game look magnificent and you'll be sitting on the edge of your seat the entire game, because zombies always stay unreliable.
  17. Game Informer
    Jul 30, 2012
    80
    Creating a compelling zombie game in a generation with too many of them is a hard task. Tequila Works manages to do this while successfully merging it with the unlikely action-platforming genre. The lame narrative and lack of consistent challenge can't overshadow the fun I had with Deadlight. I'm crossing my fingers for a sequel.
  18. Digital Spy
    Jul 30, 2012
    80
    With Deadlight, Tequila Works has clearly taken inspiration from the critical and commercial recent success of Limbo on Xbox Live Arcade. The gameplay in this original survivalist horror title nods to PlayDead's masterpiece, but that is not a bad thing.
  19. InsideGamer.nl
    Jul 30, 2012
    80
    Deadlight is an original zombie platformer in which the emphasis lies on surviving and puzzling. The graphical style reminds us of other XBLA games, but Deadlight gives it its own twist. The few downsides to the game make it a living hell every now and again, but you'll quickly forget them when you chop your hatchet into a zombie skull.
  20. IncGamers
    Jul 30, 2012
    80
    It's inevitably going to be lumped together with other "zombie games" in the minds of some, but it actually does something fresh and unique both with the theme and with the inspirations it pulls together from games as disparate as Another World and Mirror's Edge, and it puts them together with enough aplomb that – for my money – it's certainly worth the asking price.
  21. GamesBeat
    Jul 30, 2012
    80
    The satisfaction of solving well-designed puzzles set in a visually interesting post-apocalyptic version of an alternate-history Seattle is worth it. The tone and excellent aesthetic design of the title only increases its value as a gaming piece of art.
    All this publication's reviews
  22. MondoXbox
    Jul 31, 2012
    78
    Great visuals and animations are partially countered by unexciting game design and a banal story. It's still a decent buy for zombie lovers, but it could have been much more.
  23. Games Master UK
    Aug 23, 2012
    77
    Beautifully styled puzzle platformer held back by movement frustrations and cheap kills. [Oct 2012, p.84]
    All this publication's reviews
  24. NZGamer
    Aug 8, 2012
    75
    Once you've beaten the two and a quarter hour experience you'll find little to go back for.
  25. SpazioGames
    Aug 3, 2012
    75
    A brilliant platform in many ways, that is unfortunately ruined by the lacking storyline and extremely short campaign. Still a great buy for fans of the genre though.
  26. Gaming Age
    Jul 30, 2012
    75
    Deadlight looks absolutely gorgeous in motion, and I adore every bit of it that involves me ducking through open windows into abandoned motel rooms, houses, warehouses, and just seeing the absolutely wrecked world surrounding it all. It feels and looks like you'd expect a post-apocalyptic world to be, but all within a 2D space, which is unique enough to make Deadlight worth your time.

Awards & Rankings

54
#54 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2012

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 219 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 145 out of 219
  2. Mixed: 45 out of 219
  3. Negative: 29 out of 219
  1. HercuIes
    Aug 7, 2012
    4
    I will keep this short.
    Amazing graphics.
    Amazing atmosphere. Shocking length of gameplay. Shocking length of story (It ends abruptly. I    I will keep this short.
    Amazing graphics.
    Amazing atmosphere.
    Shocking length of gameplay.
    Shocking length of story (It ends abruptly. I thought I still had hours up my sleeve.)
    Voice acting is terrible sucks the believability out of the situation.
    The dialogue is shocking beyond belief.
    The control scheme is clunky. (It just doesn't quite work the way you want it to...intuitively)
    A large portion of the level design at one particular point is jarring by comparison to the rest of the game and, as a result, becomes a struggle to enjoy.
    Shocking story in general. This game probably boasts the worst closing moments of a video game. Badly written. Nonsensical. And whole bunch of other bad words are all that can describe it.
    The achievements are not achievements...they are gifts.
    No replayability, you will collect everything on the first try because the game is that linear. There might be a couple of items you miss, (if you aren't a curious gamer) but a quick scene select at the end of the game sees you find 'said item' in a matter of minutes.
    1200 MP is over-priced for something that is under-delivered - This game needed to be twice as long at least.
    Puzzles are lame and easily solved...I'm not actually sure if, by definition, they can be called puzzles.

    Overall, this game is disappointing. I had such a big smile on my face when I started the opening levels. I even boasted it to my friends and showed them some of what I had already done.
    Within 20 minutes of actually playing the game properly I realised my mistake and the fact that arcade games on xbox live a non-refundable. Don't make the same mistake I did. Wait for this game to drop in price, or, better yet, wait for shadow complex 2...if it ever comes out.    … Full Review »
  2. capthavic
    Aug 2, 2012
    5
    Honestly....wait for a price drop. Things start out good with a very L4D feeling to the world and characters. Voice acting is decent althoughHonestly....wait for a price drop. Things start out good with a very L4D feeling to the world and characters. Voice acting is decent although the main character, Randall Wayne, reactions randomly alternates between realistic and just plain bored. Gameplay is mostly solid with some light platforming and puzzle solving despite the sometimes wonky controls.

    Sadly, and perhaps fittingly, everything goes downhill as soon as you enter the sewers. Now as any fan of Spoony knows, sewer levels always suck...but apparently nobody told the folks at Tequila Works that info. Whoever at that studio thought it would be fun to send players through a gauntlet of trial-and-error death traps deserves a swift kick to the junk. There is simply no way to get through them your first time because they give zero margin for error, and you will have no way of knowing whats coming before it happens. Even if you happen to have the clairvoyance to know that the dual wall blades will come together instead of going in the same direction (like the previous visually identical pair you encountered!) you will still die constantly because Wayne only does what you want half the time. You have to be be perfect with timing your jumps or he will fall just short of a ledge he needed to grab. Oh and did I mention that Wayne can't swim....at all...instantly drowning in any body of water deeper than chest high. Even after you manage to drag yourself back to the surface these problems will hound you the entire remainder of the game. And that is what kills any enjoyment to be had here. What was a simple but fun zombie platformer action game just becomes a slog. You will die so often because of something you had no way of knowing would happen and given no time to react. It's not the good kind of challenge that comes from skill and mastery, it's just cheap deaths over and over until eventually figure out the one vague solution to move on. It really just starts to feel like artificial difficulty to pad the game out.

    As for the story the fact that its set in the mid 80's is barely touched on and hardly noticeable. The hidden collectibles offer some vague hints as to what caused the outbreak but its never really explained nor matters. And finally the ending was as predictable and stupid as the final segment leading up to it was frustrating.

    The ideas and beginning are pretty dang good, but is it worth paying $15? No. Wait for it to drop to $10 or (preferably) less. Or just play the free demo and leave it at that...    … Full Review »
  3. blognorg
    Aug 5, 2012
    5
    I'll start off by saying that it's not a terrible game, and a 5 by my standards is only moderately below average. I often enjoy games that II'll start off by saying that it's not a terrible game, and a 5 by my standards is only moderately below average. I often enjoy games that I would call a 7, or even a 6. There is some enjoyment to be had in this game, but not much in my opinion. First off, the I didn't find the story compelling in the slightest. This is for several reasons. The whole zombie apocalypse has been done to death, and the "spin" they put on it just didn't do it for me (i.e. calling zombies "shadows" doesn't add much). While the art itself was solid, I didn't care for the cutscenes. The comic book-esque, still-frame visual style clashed with the straightforward dialogue and it came off as a little cheesy. Also, I just didn't care for the main character; it couldn't sympathize with his plight, and his constant whining about his family annoyed me more than it instilled sympathy. The secondary villains weren't explained; they just seemed to be there for no real reason other than to give some variety to the enemy types and set pieces. A lot of the story felt like filler; it didn't really feel like a logical string of a events (save a few). Much of the game just seemed like a series of placeholders that the developers filled in hopes to change up the gameplay. And the story element suffered for it. Finally, I thought that the twist ending was laughable, but I'll spare the spoilers. I could live with that, though. I've enjoyed plenty of games where I didn't care about the story; my biggest qualm is the gameplay and design. For starters, I didn't care for the controls. They weren't necessarily broken; they were just unintuitive. For instance dropping down from a ledge in pretty much every game that I've ever played has been down and jump... not this game. That, by itself, doesn't seem like a huge issue, I know, but many things like that began to compound. Another thing is that ledge-grabbing was treated more like a prompt, rather than actually jumping and grabbing a ledge. In some instances, I would end up jumping underneath a ledge because I pressing a direction instead of standing right below it and just pressing jump. When you are hanging on a wall, you press jump to climb up, unless you are just switching to the other side, then you press right (or left). Again, this may seem benign, however there are parts in the game where that distinction is not always clear, and your life literally depends on knowing that. There are countless instances where I didn't feel my deaths were my fault, but rather because of an unintuitive, and slightly sluggish control scheme. I would like to preface this next section by saying there are a few clever puzzles and design choices, but it seems like for every one thing they did right, they did two things wrong. Something that annoyed me until the end of the game was the prompts and indicators. Everything from ledges, to doors, to almost everything you could interact with was highlighted in some way, even in some areas where they didn… Full Review »
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