When I think of 3D puzzle platformers, my mind immediately jumps to the critically acclaimed Portal and it’s sequel Portal 2. Those games featured a fun sense of humor, a straightforward goal that featured some mystery and intrigue underneath, and of course some pretty amazing puzzles to solve. Providing players with all the tools necessary to solve each puzzle presented and making them feel like a genius when finding out the solution, the Portal games are a shining example of the genre. So when a new game enters the genre, it’s hard not to immediately make a comparison, especially when it also happens to feature a major corporation messing around with physics and the only way out is to manipulate those physics. Is Lightmatter taking a shot in the dark, or is it a shining light? I won’t leave you in the shadows any longer as I review Lightmatter.
Meet Virgil, and take a look at those Speedrun stats!
Lightmatter starts out cryptic, the best you can tell you at the outset is that you are alone and in a building. Lights are flickering and it seems as though there was some sort of disaster. Once you’ve made your way through a little bit, you are introduced to Virgil. Virgil is the CEO of Lightmatter and he’s somewhat distressed at your presence. Not so much because you are in danger, but because if something happens to you it might impact the perception of the company. He instructs you to make your way to an elevator. The elevator fails and falls, and your journey begins. Throughout your time in Lightmatter, Virgil regularly talks to you, defending his company and making snide remarks about your abilities and the crazy ideas that come out of an “Aperture Science”. Their is even some hinting at some corporate espionage happening between the two companies.
The basic premise of Lightmatter is light is good and shadows are bad. Shadows are so bad in fact that touching them will consume you. In order to progress, you must manipulate lights, platforms, and timing of jumps to progress to each new chapter. Think the floor is lava, but instead of glowing orange liquid rock, its shadows. It should be noted that passing through a shadow is fine, it’s touching one where it makes contact with the ground when things are bad. Hopping from one area of light to another is completely safe. Overall, the puzzles are really well established and a few of them had me scratching my head for quite a while. There is immense satisfaction once it clicks though.
Distinct ares of light and dark make safe areas clearly visible
Visually, Lightmatter relies heavily on some basic texturing and color to create hard contrasts between lit and shadowed areas. It creates a distinct look, but more importantly informs the player crucial information on where it’s safe to trod and where it’s not. One thing in particular that I grew to appreciate was there are these beacons that create trails of light in a straight line from a source. If you are getting close to an edge that would lose that straight line the light dims a bit and changes color. Along with strong light and shadow directing you to where you can go and where you can’t, green signs are a typical indicator in what direction the exit is. Scattered around are empty clothes, signs on the wall, vending machines, and various “science spaces”. A few times in level transitions I did have some framerate drops, but aside from that the game ran smoothly and without issues or crashes.
The voice acting of Virgil by David Bateson, the voice of Agent 47 in the Hitman series, is top-notch, oozing with smarmy arrogance and elitism. The other voices in the game are also well performed and recorded. The soundtrack is full of ambiance with synth soundscapes invoking a mysterious science-fiction feel. You feel alone among all of the equipment, empty clothes, and abandoned spaces scattered around, and the audio definitely reinforces this concept.
Those scientists over at Aperture have no idea what they are doing!
Lightmatter is full of sarcastic, self-aware humor. The puzzles are incredibly well put together and satisfying to solve. Visually distinct with high contrast between light and dark areas, Lightmatter makes objectives clear. There’s even a speedrunning display toggle in the extras section of the menu and I look forward to seeing how fast this game can get! My primary complaints lie in that the game could benefit to a bit more detail in the textures to add more variety to the spaces. That and the game is either very short, or I am very bright. I’m gonna go with the latter. Guess I don’t have to worry about the shadows then.
A digital copy of the game was provided for purposes of review. More information can be gleamed from the Steam Store page.
For more reviews, check out my thoughts on the latest Shovel Knight expansions, King of Cards and Showdown.
