Light Fall from Bishop Games is an interesting, challenging and tight 2D platformer that you should checj out on Nintendo Switch. Find out why in our Light Fall review!
In Light Fall you explore the land of Numbra by making the most of your Shadow Core, a very handy block that has many uses to help you on your quest to make light prevail over darkness. You’ll be joined in this adventure by Stryx, an old owl that will act as your sidekick on this journey, as well as the game’s narrator.
At first you can only move around with the left analog stick, run by holding down the ZR button and jump with the B button, but you soon earn some new skills. You’ll get a magical cube of sorts, and this will allow you to summon the cube below you to work as a floating platform to stand on. You can trigger this platform up to four times, and if you want to use it again you will need to stand on solid ground before jumping again. You can also press the Y button to project the cube forward as an attack, or press the X button to have the cube materialize above you to move it around with the left analog stick to, say, block a deadly laser from killing you, or to activate some mechanisms you can interact with by pressing the Y and A buttons. You’ll learn other ways to use your abilities as you go, eventually having enough to do some crazy fast speedrunning.
As you play you will sometimes spot yellow crystals which can be destroyed and condensed by holding down the Y button to unlock a memory you need to bring to a checkpoint. Some of them will be along the main path, but others will be a bit more out of reach and will require you to complete some tricky platforming sections in which you’ll use every skill at your disposal. You will also find others trapped within blue crystals, so be sure to use your attack with the Y button to set them free. The first couple of them will be on the main path, but you’ll need to search high and low for the others. You’ll know how many yellow crystals you need to find and how many people you need to set free from the blue crystals by viewing the checkpoints for a level since each slot in the two halves of the checkpoint represent one of these collectibles.
You will learn more about this world’s story as you progress through each area thanks to the owl narrator who will slowly unveil the overall reasons why you’re traversing this bleak 2D world while trying to stay alive. There are a couple of big twists along the way, which I won’t spoil here, and the voice actor for the narrator does a great job, moving the story along at checkpoints in a level or during the cutscenes that break the chapters of every act.
Light Fall is a fun and challenging 2D platformer with more than enough content to offer for its asking price. The difficulty curve feels just right, bumping up the challenge as you go at a steady pace without ever feeling overwhelming or unfair. It’s a solid platformer on Nintendo Switch, and the secret rooms where you will find most of the yellow crystals to collect will test your skills even further as you try to use your cubed to defend from the hazards you find.
Disclaimer
This Light Fall review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Bishop Games.
