Candlelight was developed and published by a one man team, and considering how much time and effort it took to create such a wonderful vibrant game, he deserves a lot of respect and success for it. It certainly can’t have been easy to make such an incredible game alone, I dread to think how long it took to complete!
Candlelight is a very cute and well polished 2D puzzle platformer. You play as a lone candle who witnesses a dark thunderous cloud snuff out the flames of his other candle friends all around the game world. As the only Candle left in the world to survive such a catastrophe, he set’s out on a rescue mission to re-light all the flames and bring back light into the world. Now does that not sound awesome already? Let’s dig deeper into the game.
Candlelight has no voice or text narrative, and the story is simply told by what you see, and it is clearly obvious what is happening, but i suppose each player can interpret the meaning of the game in his/her own way. This is mine based on what I played.
Candlelight is very easy to pick up and play. There are various signposts throughout Candlelight to teach players how to play the game, and when a new mechanic is introduced there will be a sign post explaining how the new mechanic works. It is brilliantly done.
Candlelight has 15 levels and in each level you have to relight all the blown candles in the level, as well as find ten collectible idols to light up – lighting five opens up a secret path with more candles to light up. Also each level has a set number of wax pieces to collect, collecting them will keep your wax meter burning. If your wax meter depletes, your flame will blow out and you will respawn at your previous checkpoint. All levels are timed in the same fashion, but the meter burns very slowly, so there is ample time to complete each level. If you do find yourself running a bit low, the wax pieces are plentiful throughout the levels. Also there are beehives in some levels that drop unlimited amount of wax pieces, so there is no fear of frustration.
Thre is a small difficulty spike as you go (it is handled properly and at a good pace), but, overall, this is a very fun and frustration-free platformer, which will be a joy to many to play. It is such an easy game to kick back and relax with. Can’t go wrong with that, can you? We all need a relaxing game from time to time right? Candlelight is one such game.
In order to progress to the next level you need to find and activate the three candles in elemental caves, and as expected, said caves contain an elemental puzzle to overcome. The three elements are wind, fire, and water, and if you ,manage to complete the puzzle you will unlock the bolt to the level exit. Complete all three elemental caves and the exit will open and you can light the final candle and progress to the next level.
The game may appear to be simple, but there are hazards to make the game slightly more challenging such as moving platforms, bottomless cravasses and rain – which is dangerous to a lit candle, so be sure to avoid it! The good part is the checkpointing system is very generous, so should your wax meter run out or worse if you die in a deathtrap, you can respawn at the nearest activated camp. Quite often you are not far from where you died, which is good!
The trophy list is awesome because none of them are missable and are related to lighting candles. This is a relaxed, easy and impossible to miss 100%, and we love those kinds of trophy lists! Candlelight is an absolute masterpiece on PlayStation 4, – a brilliant and fun game that you should be downloading right now.
Disclaimer
This review is based on a copy of Candlelight provided by Pixel Maverick Games
