Where do I start... Let's start with the, usual for negative reviews, "I wanted to give this game a positive review but..." or "I wish Steam allowed for neutral reviews".
[i]Before posting this review, I peeked at the others, and now I know where I want to start from: this game is not bad, this game is not a "nvidia tech demo" (did you mean "Ray Tracing tech demo, right?"), this game is a solo project by one folk named Richard Cowgill who did a great job creating a fun game play, even though he clearly needs help with certain aspect of game development (namely, the physics).
Given that the negative reviews are so shoddy and my final score is a positive, despite I wanted to give this game a negative review, I'd rather make this a recommendation, just to don't risk having mine just glanced over and put in the basket with all the others "tech demo bad".[/i]
The concept is nice: you're someone who knows about a certain treasure lost in a certain place, and you're going there to find it. The place you're going to explore is randomly generated so it offers great replayability. My issue with the game is the way the character feels. I understand that this is a solo project, but I just can't get past the clunkiness of the movements, the way things appear kind of distorted in the mirror, and how difficult it is to aim with the chalk. On top of this the protagonist cannot jump or climb even small objects (what a shame, for an Indiana Jones wannabee!), nor swim (found out the hard way, losing all my progress at the end of a level; I would have liked a one time alert telling me I would have died if I jumped in the water, rather than a message telling me that I can pick up an item or talk with the skeleton of an old adventurer every time I went near one. I digress, however, these would still be things I could bear, if only the movement wasn't so bad. Unfortunately, considered how sluggish the protagonist feels, the short breath it has, how big the levels are and how much I feel the need of backtrack to clear everything, after less than one hour and on my second death I decided I was done with it.
I would have liked to complete it, at least once, to see the story, but it feel too much like a chore.
For how I don't like being hard on games made by a single person, I'd rather be honest. If the movement and the interactions were polished, perhaps some extra content added, such as more puzzles, threats, options (Aehm, slider for mouse sensitivity? Have you ever heard of it? :p) I would happily spend a few bucks for it. The ideas and gameplay for a solid game are there, it's just the execution that it's a little below the minimum I can bare.
If you need ratings:
Graphics: 7/10
Sounds: 7/10
Longevity: 7/10
Gameplay: 4/10
Overall: 6/10
Stay in the Light surely feels wonky to play, but has a great concept that it's worth exploring. Considering that it's free to play, if you don't have anything else to play you may want to give this one a try, by now you should know what to expect!
