User Review : Deadlight

We're not using the Z-word

During a recent power cut at the office, my colleagues indulged in some ‘what-if’ scenarios, debating the pros and cons to surviving an apocalypse of a post digital age. Survival orientation has changed somewhat over the years, with Doomsday Preppers now relying more and more on hi-tech gadgetry than they would have in the days before the internet.

This is why Deadlight holds such an intriguing premise. The game opens on Independence Day 1986 with our protagonist, Randall Wayne, making his way across a decimated Seattle with the sole intention of finding his family. He has no mod cons; no access to any technology that could aid him in his search. Mobile phones are still the size of briefcases and reserved for the uber rich; the World Wide Web is an idea simmering in the brain of Sir Tim Berners Lee; civilian GPS is the preserve of science fiction.

Fortunately, Randall Wayne is a mountain ranger and he knows his onions. He is in his element hefting a fire axe and speed-loading a revolver. In his unflinchingly narrow path are swathes of mindless, red-eyed ‘Shadows’ and a heavily armed militia force as faceless and blood thirsty as their reanimated counterparts.

Deadlight is certainly one of the most beautiful games to be released on XBLA in recent years. Gameplay wise, it’s a clear nod to the success of recent 2.5D platformers like Limbo and Shadow Complex, although it can be somewhat frustrating that Randall would rather jump over a car than run around it when escaping a Shadow horde. As well as health, there’s also a stamina bar which you need to keep an eye on when swinging your axe or shimmying up a drain pipe.

Visually, the various locales, though ultimately as contrived and formulaic as the story, are striking in their depth and attention to detail. The harsh colour palette and wonderful tilt shift perspective lend themselves perfectly to the overall mood of a broken world. The only downside is that you don’t get much opportunity to admire the view as you’re usually running for your life from one threat or another, however the set pieces are certainly memorable.

The haunting score also works well to amplify the tension, but sadly the voice acting is as flat as the 2D space that our hero inhabits. The dialog sounds almost tacked on as an afterthought - much more exposition can be gained from collecting the pages of Randal’s diary which are scattered throughout the levels, or even browsing the various websites set up by the game’s developers.

It also feels as though not enough was made of the 1980’s setting. This is a decade soaked in nostalgia for many of today’s gamers, yet the only significant references are the playable LCD handhelds you come across, a few C90 audio cassettes and the Achievements named in honour of the pop music of the time.

The puzzles, though varied enough, are never overly challenging. The solution is always subtly highlighted on screen and more often than not it will be the game’s mechanics that trip you up. Playthrough time was listed as two hours in the end credits, but my Raptr profile clocked in at over five, which means you should expect to die a fair bit. Checkpoint spacing is comfortable enough to keep you engaged, but be prepared for some frustration from a couple of randomly placed scenarios requiring pixel perfect manoeuvres.

There is no doubt that developer Tequila Works has produced a beautiful game. They may have a hard time squeezing their IP into the oversubscribed zombie genre, where it will be held up to scrutiny in the light of some very heavy hitters. But when viewed in isolation, Deadlight contains a visual aesthetic and high production values that definitely warrant a playthrough. Whether it will be enough to draw gamers away from the more established franchises remains to be seen.