Dark Light

Awesome so far - feels like Hollow Knight mixed with Shadow Complex.

Started off fun, art style drew me to it. Got halfway (I think , or 60%), got bored, no real souls-like depth you just whack with melee weapon and shoot gun. Skills are underwhelming, controls are confusing, I get lost in the buttons switching skills, tutorials disappear and you never see them again (there's no tutorial archive), ui is terrible, unintuitive.

Игра раскрывается во второй части, когда появляется возможность дополнительных умений. Многие до этой части, как я понял, не добираются. А зря. Процесс становится гораздо более динамичным, сложным и красивым. Основной сок на Nightmare. местами сделано сыровато, на игру мало обзоров, так что приходится понимать что к чему самостоятельно. Это бывает не просто и не сразу. В целом игра атмосферная динамичная и увлекательная. Не пожалел о покупке.

Dark Light, developed and published by Mirari & Co., is a side-scrolling action RPG that blends cyberpunk science fiction, post-apocalyptic horror, and souls-like combat into a dark and oppressive experience filled with tension and atmosphere. Set in a ruined world consumed by supernatural corruption and violent creatures, the game places players in the role of a Dark Hunter navigating the remains of civilization while searching for answers hidden within endless decay. While heavily inspired by the punishing structure of souls-like games and the exploration-focused design of metroidvanias, Dark Light succeeds because of its striking visual identity and its commitment to creating a world that feels genuinely hostile and mysterious. The setting immediately establishes the game’s strongest quality: atmosphere. The world is filled with ruined cities, abandoned laboratories, corrupted industrial zones, and monstrous creatures that appear to be fused with machinery and flesh. Neon lights flicker through darkness while ruined technology and grotesque biological horrors dominate the landscape. Every location feels infected by something unnatural, creating a constant sense of danger even during quieter moments without combat. The cyberpunk aesthetic mixed with horror elements gives the game a unique identity that separates it from more traditional fantasy-inspired action RPGs. Combat is deliberate, punishing, and heavily focused on timing. Enemies attack aggressively, and careless mistakes are often punished severely. Dodging, blocking, stamina management, and positioning all become essential to survival, especially during later sections where enemy encounters grow far more dangerous. The game clearly expects patience and precision from players rather than reckless aggression. Every successful battle feels earned because the combat systems reward learning enemy patterns and reacting carefully under pressure. One of the more enjoyable aspects of Dark Light is the variety of combat tools available. Players are not limited to simple melee weapons, as the game also incorporates firearms, drones, aerial attacks, and special abilities into its combat system. Guns help soften enemies from a distance or interrupt dangerous attacks, while melee combat handles close-range encounters with satisfying impact. Drone abilities and advanced skills add extra layers of strategy that prevent combat from becoming repetitive. This combination of ranged and close-quarters combat creates a more flexible experience than many other side-scrolling souls-like titles. The exploration system follows a metroidvania structure where new abilities gradually unlock access to previously unreachable areas. Hidden pathways, shortcuts, powerful equipment, and optional encounters reward players willing to thoroughly explore the interconnected world. The game does an excellent job making discovery feel meaningful because nearly every hidden area contains something valuable, whether it is a new upgrade, lore detail, or dangerous enemy encounter. Exploration constantly reinforces the feeling that the world is larger and more interconnected than it first appears. Boss encounters are another major highlight. The creatures players face throughout the game are grotesque and intimidating, often combining cybernetic enhancements with disturbing mutations. Bosses require careful observation and repeated attempts to master, turning victories into genuinely rewarding moments. The game’s difficulty can be brutal at times, but defeating a particularly challenging enemy creates a strong sense of accomplishment that fits perfectly with the oppressive atmosphere. Visually, Dark Light stands out because of its detailed environmental design and effective use of lighting. The game uses darkness not only as an aesthetic choice but as part of its gameplay identity. Areas often feel claustrophobic and dangerous because visibility is intentionally limited, forcing players to remain cautious while exploring unfamiliar territory. The contrast between glowing neon technology and corrupted flesh-covered environments creates some genuinely memorable imagery throughout the adventure. Sound design contributes heavily to the immersion as well. Ambient industrial noises, distant mechanical sounds, distorted effects, and atmospheric music constantly reinforce the feeling of wandering through a dying world consumed by corruption. The soundtrack rarely overwhelms the experience, instead quietly building tension in the background while combat sounds deliver satisfying impact during battles. Together, the audio and visual design create a world that feels oppressive and immersive from beginning to end. Another strength of Dark Light is how well it maintains vulnerability throughout the experience. Even after unlocking stronger weapons and abilities, players rarely feel completely safe or overpowered. Resources remain valuable, enemies stay threatening, and exploration constantly carries risk. This careful balance helps preserve tension across the entire game rather than allowing progression to eliminate the survival-focused atmosphere. However, the game’s punishing nature may also become one of its biggest barriers for some players. Certain enemy encounters and boss fights can feel excessively harsh, especially during sections where checkpoints are spaced farther apart. The difficulty occasionally crosses the line from rewarding challenge into frustration, particularly for players unfamiliar with souls-like combat systems. The progression structure can also become confusing at times. Objectives are not always communicated clearly, and the interconnected world occasionally makes navigation difficult without extensive backtracking. While this ambiguity contributes to the feeling of isolation, it can slow pacing and create moments where players wander aimlessly searching for the correct path forward. As an indie project, Dark Light also shows occasional technical roughness. Some animations lack fluidity, enemy behavior can occasionally feel inconsistent, and certain movement interactions appear slightly stiff compared to larger-budget action RPGs. Nevertheless, the game’s atmosphere and combat systems remain strong enough to overcome many of these imperfections. Dark Light ultimately succeeds because it combines multiple genres into a cohesive and highly atmospheric experience. Its mixture of cyberpunk horror, difficult combat, and exploration-focused progression creates a world that feels oppressive, dangerous, and rewarding to survive. Rather than simply copying its inspirations, the game uses them as a foundation for building a distinctive science-fiction nightmare filled with tension and mystery. For fans of challenging action RPGs and dark science-fiction settings, Dark Light offers a memorable and visually striking adventure. Its brutal combat, haunting atmosphere, and rewarding exploration systems make it one of the more unique indie souls-like experiences currently available, especially for players willing to embrace its difficulty and immerse themselves in its bleak futuristic world. Rating: 8/10

A fun little metroidvania/action platformer. There is a ton of jank, but at the same time it is part of its charm. It isn't the kind of jank that fundamentally breaks a game but it is noticeable enough to maybe not be for everyone.

one of the lowkey coolest developers on steam. this game, and the other one they're working on, has a really established vibe throughout that's very well done. cool art style. its like a whole weird mythology. the game is really cool. dark neon scifi. i feel like some kind of cable dude surviving the apocalypse. totally worth it if you like that kind of thing. compared to other side scrolls, this one feels a bit more like.. maybe splinter cell or half life or something. spooky and eerie and kind of tactical and techy. eldritch horror mixed with tactical combat.

This game could use a better User Interface but the gameplay makes up for it.

Короче, я мало наиграл, но игра очень зацепила, очень жду русский язык, чтобы погрузиться в лор игры, а не только в механики, я бы с радостью поиграл с русификатором, но как я понял никто его не сделал( Если вы читали Blame! или знакомы с Гигахрущом - игра однозначно зайдёт!