To Light: Ex Umbra

**Update** I just beat the game, and I've updated my review. For a disclaimer, I didn't back this game and went into it fairly blind. Also, due to those asking about the game having Christian overtones to it as noted on its Kickstarter by the dev team (which I had no idea about until I saw the question about it on the Discussions forum)...I'm Pagan myself so let's delve into how this goes from a non-Christian point-of-view. Story The most important thing to me. I'll admit to being a bit torn on this one. The writing itself is excellent, the characterization phenomenal, and the actual storyline that you're involved in is very well-done. This is one of those rare games where the story had me hooked from the get-go. So, why am I torn? It's the heavy-handed writing in reference to Christian religious allegories toward end-game that kinda sucked the wind out of me a little. While I understand what the dev team is going for here, and having read and understood biblical verse back in the day myself, the writing in end-game reads as too...parallel to that, especially when looking at it from a secular sense. You can have a message, and the message in this game is a tremendous one, no doubt about it. Just that especially in end-game there's a sense of "holier-than-thou" (that there is only one "right" path so to speak) with some specific dialogue from certain characters here and there that honestly came across as just a bit overmuch, and might even turn off some players. I was enjoying the story so much throughout 98% of the game that I just made a mental note of it and continued on regardless, because the writing/story is absolutely beautiful. If the end-game had been written and played out like the rest of the game, then to be perfectly honest, this game's story would've been a 10/10 for me. Graphics Absolutely wonderful! The mapping is very, very well done (as are the graphics themselves well-implemented)! The character sprites are defined and you're able to know who's who and what's what. Really enjoyed the lighting and subtle ambiance cues/presentation for certain areas. Animations (especially for boss-types) are nicely implemented as well. What I was surprised with was the custom bust art for both playable characters and some important NPCs. While I do definitely enjoy the art style of the busts, there's a bit of 'sameness' I encountered, but that's my only critique (and art is subjective as well). I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the enemy art, as it's all custom and really great! Music/Sound Effects The soundtrack seems completely custom. Lots of piano, and definitely nice to listen to. In terms of music, if you've played I Am Setsuna then the soundtrack will be a bit familiar in that regard.The boss theme, big boss theme, and another theme that plays during the more darker scenes are my favorites. The regular battle theme is quite nice, and actually has a FF 4-type vibe to it in terms of it being less intense and more melodic. Sound effects are standard RPG Maker MV fare, and while most of them are used extremely well, there is one effect that just feels out of place in the whole game...the decision/confirm sound effect. It's too high-pitched, and a bit annoying especially in battles while I'm listening to a really cool battle theme. Gameplay/Battles Battle system is standard ATB (you can change the speed in Options). UI isn't bad to look at, and easy to maneuver around with. There is a "Surge" gauge that acts like a limit break of sorts, but thankfully, it carries over to the next battles if you don't use it then and there. Otherwise the game is pretty much what you'd expect from a turn-based RPG. One thing I noticed is that I think I used one potion the whole game. I don't know if it's because I'm a seasoned player when it comes to RPGs or what, but as long as you use exploits/weaknesses (especially on random enemies and even bosses) you'll be able to tough out the battles. I liked that status effects on enemies really means something, too. Side-Quests, mini-games, misc. Side-quests are a plenty in this game, and quite a few of them yield some great rewards. I'm not normally one for side-quests, but I found that I definitely completed my fair share of them. No mini-games, and honestly, I don't think this game needed any. One thing I wanted to give extra kudos to the devs for is one of those simple additional details that I really enjoy, and that's that when you encounter a boss. You see its name/title ominously fade in and out with some nice, clean graphical work. It reminded me of Trails of Cold Steel when you encounter a boss. I really loved that little detail in that game, and I was quite pleasantly surprised with seeing it in this one. Nice touch, devs! Overall, this is a game I'd recommend whether you're Pagan, Atheist, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, etc. It doesn't read nor does it play as a "religious" game for about 98% of it, and if you've ever played the Xeno franchise then you'll appreciate the more subtle philosophical cues and symbolic nuances that read as more secular than anything else. It's the more subtle details I really enjoyed in regards to the story, not when it's symbolism is far more obvious and in your face. Just do be prepared for when you get into end-game territory, as things do get just a bit heavy-handed with some of the dialogue, but it really doesn't detract from the wonderful and elegant story that this game possesses. Graphics and music are amazing. The gameplay is rock-solid. 9/10 all day long.

RECOMMENDED Ratings 7/10 (Excellent Story, Exquisite Game World, Excellent Game Mechanics) This is another highly successful Kickstarter Project that is successfully completed and now make its way to Steam. For 33 hours I was glued to my computer to play the game from beginning to end. This game has a lot of Pros, and the only Con that I can think of is that it does not have steam achievements. But again, this was a Kickstarter project that was initially not meant for Steam sales, and that is why achievements were not designed. Now comes all the good stuff. What makes this game special? Firstly - excellent story. Playing this game is like watching a thriller movie, where the producer expertly uses misdirections and let you form the wrong opinions, etc. It is only about 2/3 into the game that I realized that I have been looking at things the wrong way. There were 4 murders, and the game expertly mislead you into forming the wrong conclusion about who the villain is. This game primarily deals with the struggle between light and darkness.and successfully explored many of the darker emotions in life like grief, anger, hatred and revenge. It also shows me that your team members can be in different shades of grey. An innocent boy walking in the light can be so consumed by the loss of a loved one that he wallow in grief, burnt up by anger, consumed by hatred and fixated by revenge that he lost himself in the process. Similarly a murderer may have been misguided or tempted in the first place, and later regrets the mistakes. So, playing this game you can vicariously experience how your team members may struggle between right and wrong, good and evil, forgiveness and revenge. Well, I even unequipped all the weapons from a particular team member because I thought that he was going to flip. Wow, that is intense. The game mechanics is good, the fights are interesting, and the rewards are attractive enough for me to continue grinding my team from level 1 to level 99 (maxed). There are many sub-quests to do and many puzzles to solved. Each of the 6 team member use a different weapon type, and there are also sub-quest to get all 6 legendary weapons. These weapons do not come easy, as you need to go through hoops to get the crafting components for them. Money is tight and one of the quest require grinding for 500,000 gold pieces to buy an essential equipment part. There is also an arena with lots of monsters to fight and you need to become Arena Champion to get another component. The game world is large and it takes a long time for you to get from one place to another. You are usually kept in suspense about when the next monster will strike and usually stay at healing crystals. This goes on until late game, where you will learn (though the story) about the power to teleport between various crystal. At that point, it was a fantastic relieve to know that all your hours of careful mapping and searching for healing crystals are not in vain. Wonderful. Oh... another really good thing about this game is the existence of a very detail community guide written by Firefly. Without his excellent guide I would missed many of the treasures and will be stumbled by several puzzles too. Anyway, let me strongly recommend this game to my fellow old school rpg gamers. Please enjoy this successful Kickstarter project that is now release on Steam.

This was a tough game to purchase because there are very few user reviews & I thought "another generic RPG Maker game." And believe me when I say I will not hesitate to refund something. LOL This is a GOOD game. Story is good, simplistic mechanics that remind you of a PS1 / PS2 era game. GREAT at full price. Enjoy.

Hi, gamers! Here’s my quick rundown of To Light: Ex Umbra! (From ChristianGamesNOW.blogspot.com) Recommendation: Excellent Gameplay 5/5 Content 5/5 Graphics 4/5 Music 5/5 Sound 2/5 About To Light: Ex Umbra To Light was created using RPG Maker MV by a small team calling themselves Branch Games. They successfully raised funding for the project via a Kickstarter campaign. The set up for the story is that the queen of the land may not have the best interests of the people in mind, and your job is to protect and help the princess. But before you can get any real idea of what’s going on, you need to chase an overly fed chicken to feed your hungry belly. You track the chicken to a hut deep in the woods… and it’s then that the story gets really interesting. Pros When you start To Light, you get the option to play it on regular (Normal) or easy (Story) mode. If you don’t want to do a lot of battling, put it on Story mode because the random battles are quite frequent on Normal. The original artwork in the game gives it a lot of style. The mapping, which seems to be a mix of original artwork and RPG Maker assets, is also very well done. The original music is fantastic for setting the mood of the game, and the story is very well-written with natural dialog and ample characterization. From a technical standpoint, Branch Games makes good use of the RPG Maker program and third-party plugins to customize and streamline their game. And, being a Christian game, it’s a clean game, though it will take some time to get any definable Christian content. Cons It takes quite a while to actually start playing the game, as you watch a fairly long opening for the credits and an intro for the story. As I said, though, the intro is well-written, so I don’t want to complain about the opening sequence too much. It simply take a little patience to get through. As much as I appreciate the original artwork for the characters, they’re also static. They all seem to have one expression, no matter what they’re saying. And as good as the music is, the sound effects are a little piercing. They’re the default RPG Maker sounds, which can be somewhat annoying, in my opinion. Who Should Play To Light: Ex Umbra? Because Branch Games designed To Light with both a normal and casual mode, it should appeal to a wide audience of gamers. If you don’t mind the retro-type graphics of RPG Maker or taking a little time to get into the story, I encourage you to give it a try. At $10, it does seem a little pricey, though, so I’d recommend adding it to your wishlist and picking it up when it goes on sale.

Absolutely in love with your game. The story and characters are so interesting! OH and the graphics are stunning!!!!!!I haven't finished it yet. I have ONE complaint though, the font size is too small in the "conversation box". I'm playing on a 65' Samsung QLED (core i7 CPU, NIVIDA GeForce GTX 780 Ti).

This is a well made well crafted indie JRPG. I popped it open on a flight with my 6 year old daughter sitting beside me. We played it for 2.5hrs until we landed. Since we got home, she has asked repeatedly to play it more!

Backed this game on Kickstarter and I'm so glad I did! So far I'm really enjoying it! It's fun and the story is very well written, it's got me hooked already! I really like the battles! It's a definite recommend from me!

One of the best RPG Maker games. I really enjoyed it. The story is interesting. The game is big and it has many equipment and staff. Also, the battle system is nice and interesting. The only thing that I hated in this game is the encounters are random and not appear in the maps as a little monster. It was annoying and disturbing. I will give it 8/10 (Highly Recommended)

This is a nice game. I finished it in 28 hours and there is some amount of grinding but I thought it was very nicely put together with a compelling story.

Good game and great message. I cant wait for number two or a new adventure by this author. Blessings to you all at Branch Games!