Deadlight Xbox Live

Released on TBD

• Deadlight - Review

  
  

  

  Let There Be Light?

  We've had zombies in the wild west thanks to Red Dead Redemption's Undead Nightmare, zombies in the west wing thanks to Black Ops, and even zombies in the backyard thanks to Plants vs. Zombies. You'd be forgiven for feeling a little bit of undead fatigue, but at least Deadlight, an all-new Xbox Live Arcade game, does something a bit different. This time, it's zombies in a pseudo-2D platformer.

  Except, well, they're not called zombies here. The silhouetted enemies in Deadlight are called, fittingly, 'Shadows', the result of a mysterious apocalypse that's struck down large parts of the globe and, for the game's story, the city of Seattle. Their stumbling gait and their lethal nature when attacking in hordes lends them an air of familiarity though, and this is the same undead that you've been battling for time immemorial.

  The Fresh Undead

  There's much else that's familiar about Deadlight, too. Its near-monochrome visuals bring to mind XBLA predecessor Limbo, just as its backgrounds which conjure up a sense of a believable, 3D space bring to mind the excellent Shadow Complex.

  

  Like both those games, this is a 2D platformer at heart, though it doesn't run quite as deep as either of those classics. Prince of Persia, Another World and Flashback are the big inspirations here, although Deadlight's reluctance to add much to the formula laid out by those games beyond adding some flashier graphics does hold it back a little.

  But that's not to say it's a game to skip out on. Spanish developer Tequilla Works - formed of some of the team that made the excellent Jericho and Castelvania: Lord of Shadow - has provided a sense of atmosphere that's quite intoxicating.

  The Seattle that houses the game's short adventure is, for a game that's ostensibly 2D in its play, surprisingly authentic. There's a gloomy grit in the run-down suburbs that extends to derelict freeways and creaking subway systems, all of which make Deadlight's world a stark, minimalist joy to explore.

  Mechanically it's all a bit minimalist too, but as in other areas of the game the developer knows how to extract the most out of what's on offer. Essentially you'll spend much of your time running and leaping through the environment, and while the controls can be a little wayward, they're by and large reliable, allowing platforming with a sense of momentum that makes the traversal hugely satisfying.

  

  Shotgun Wedding

  Combat is equally meaty. You start off with nothing but your running boots, and Deadlight takes great pleasure in placing you in situations where you'll escape with gnarled undead fingers tugging at your coat-tails. When the weaponry does arrive it comes as something of a relief . First there's an axe that can be swung around violently as it swiftly saps away at your stamina meter, and then, a little later, the real kit begins to appear. Suffice to say that, yes, there is a boomstick - and yes, it is an awful lot of fun to point in the direction of eager-to-explode rotting heads.

  All of which makes for an entertaining and unique experience that's only a little hamstrung by a couple of less than stellar attributes. Deadlight's plot, and specifically its delivery, is jarringly atrocious - though it's hard to complain too much when you consider that this is a genre birthed by Resident Evil and its famously weak cast and voice acting.

  More of a problem is how slight the whole thing is - if you don't get caught up in the numerous trial-and-error moments in the game, it's perfectly possible to see it off in around two hours. Worse still, there's nothing substantial enough in Deadlight to make you want to come back and sample more.

  Regardless of that, Deadlight presents an extremely entertaining few hours. It's a vision of the apocalypse that's unique, as well as one that's brilliantly atmospheric - and it's quite possibly the best of the bunch in this year's Summer of Arcade line-up.

  Our Verdict: 8.0

  What's Good?

  • Brilliantly atmospheric
  • Looks beautiful
  • Unique spin on the apocalypse

  What's Bad?

  • A little short
  • Too much trial-and-error
• Editor's Choice - Xbox LIVE Summer Of Arcade

  
  

  

  Xbox Live Summer of Arcade

  Acting as a yearly showcase for the best in downloadable titles, Microsoft's latest collection of top games shows us yet again that going digital can be a gamer's delight.

  

  Wreckateer

  One for Kinect owners only, go all Angry Birds but with a 3D twist; smash and destroy 60 castles packed with council-tax-dodging goblin squatters by using a massive medieval crossbow! Line up the shot with your body before releasing your projectile, steering it towards the target using your arms alone.

  

  Deadlight

  Think Limbo meets Another World in this beautifully-rendered 2D platformer featuring hero, Randall Wayne, as he hunts for his missing wife and daughter. Set in the aftermath of a zombie outbreak during the 80s (fret not, Spandau Ballet doesn't make an appearance), the action is firmly focused on outwitting your undead opponents through climbing, running and jumping - rather than emptying their brain pans with a 12-bore.

  

  Hybrid

  A generic cover-based third-person sci-fi shooter from the normally imaginative developer of classics like Scribblenauts. On paper at least, you could be left scratching your head but in practise, it all makes glorious sense. Choose to be either the Paladins or the Variant and take part in a global war in a unique online-only frag fest. The usual run and gun of the genre has been replaced with 'simply' jet-packing between cover points, raining down airborne armageddon on your enemy in an innovative take on a well-worn genre.

  

  Dust: an Elysian Tale

  Gorgeous. Exquisite. Spangly. These are just some of the words that can be used to describe the 2D hand-drawn eye candy of this combat-based platformer. Expect more outbreaks of glowing superlatives as you fight your way across the game's many rich and varied locales. Mix in some RPG-lite mechanics, combo-powered battles and plenty of quests, and you have a game that can stand proudly next to Metroid, Castlevania and that darling of Xbox Live, Shadow Complex. The achievement is made all the more astonishing when you realise that the game was developed by just one (very talented) individual. Respect.

  Alternative Summer of Arcade

  Got money to burn? Then we'd recommend downloading these recently-released gems too - enjoy the sublime challenge of Spelunky, the Nintendo-matching imagination of Fez, the twitch-gaming addiction of Trials Evolution and the pixel-powered architecture of Minecraft.
  

  Published: 17/08/2012

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