Game: The Lighthouse
Available Platforms: PC, XBox One, PS4
Price: $24.99
Reviewed on: PC
Genre: Horror, Story rich
Players: 1
Developer: Shadow Knight Studio
Release date: October 31, 2019
Hello and welcome to Jay’s Game Reviews! Today I am reviewing Shadow Knight Studio‘s horror game The Lighthouse.
The Lighthouse is an early access horror game that places the player in shoes of Irvine, a detective who is searching for a missing girl. Set in 1960’s Maine, the game takes place in an abandoned (haunted) house. There is a psychological element as well due to Irvine dealing with the tragic loss of his own daughter who shares her name with the missing girl Lily. The game is scored by Mimi Page and her haunting music serves to draw the player into the world.
Pros
Story. The Lighthouse takes the players into a haunted house style experience while playing as a detective searching for a missing young girl. The detective has suffered his own loss and the player will witness his memories and tragic past.- Graphics. The game is simply gorgeous! Every detail feels like it was lovingly crafted.
- Score. The entire reason that I got this game! I went to a lecture on “The art of musical expression:Composing emotionally captivating music and sound design in video games” (what a mouthful!) presented by Mimi Page. Mimi scored this game and some of the examples that she showed in her presentation was from The Lighthouse. I enjoyed not just what I saw in the trailer, but what I heard. I think the music in this game really makes it great!
Cons
- Short. The game is in early access and currently incomplete. I was very disappointed when I saw the screen indicating that I had completed it as I had so many unanswered questions! I look forward to the next chapter, but the problem with that is there are so many other games out there to play that I tend to forget about games like this and never return to them.
The Lighthouse is a beautifully done horror game that uses an amazing score to pull the player into the game and hold them there until they complete the game. The game is in Early Access and so is still incomplete so at the time of this writing there are only two chapters. This is a bit disappointing, as the entire thing can be completed in less than an hour. Still, the game is very fun so far, and has a nice spooky element!
Does this weeks game sound interesting to you? You can pick up The Lighthouse for yourself over on the Steam store today!
I Rate this game 88 out of 100
Check out my first impressions video below:
Game: Hot 
Hot 
Game Mechanics. The game has some very interesting mechanics and a really fun play-style. Levels have helpful items like ropes and sticky walls to help the player move forward.
Hot 
Game: The Outer Worlds
The Outer Worlds is a “western style” role playing game from the same people who gave us Fallout: New Vegas. The game takes place in a world where big business has taken over in a major way and everything is for sale. Human life is cheap and the Board rules the galaxy. This is an alternate reality in which William McKinley is never assassinated and as a result Teddy Roosevelt never succeeded him as President of the US. As a result, the large business trusts took over and were allowed to flourish. Mega-corporations began colonizing space and becoming the ruling authority.
Story. The game has a remarkable story with an intriguing and interesting cast of characters. The playable character has a flexible personality that is built on the player’s decisions, and the companions that can be recruited each have quests that can be completed to help develop them and grow them as individuals.
The Outer Worlds is a really fun and engaging experience. The story is compelling and pulls the player in while the diverse and interesting cast of characters helps to immerse the player into the game world. This game is a nice change from the normality that has been established of triple A games being released to the public broken and buggy. The only exploit that I have found is an 
Game: Moons of Madness
Moons of Madness is a Lovecraftian space horror game that takes place on Mars. Players will move their character through a space craft and along the surface of the planet while trying to survive and solve the mystery of what is happening on this strange planet. Who is this crazy woman, the witch? What are the dreams about? What is the deal with all these tentacles? Will you make it to the end, or go mad in the attempt? Only time will tell!
Scary. It is rare that I can find something that actually genuinely frightens me, but this game hit the mark big time! The “Blow out the candles” sequence in the game’s opening literally made me jump out of my chair!
Moons of Madness blends Science Fiction with Horror very well, leaving the player feeling stranded and lost to the vastness of the harsh surface of Mars. I highly recommend the game for any fan of horror, and especially to fans of HP Lovecraft’s Call of Cthulhu! I personally cannot get enough of the game, and will be playing it all the way through (probably several times) and enjoying every scare that comes my way!
Demons Never Lie is a point and click style Voxel horror game that follows the story of John as he tries to rewrite his life with the help of a demon. John is returned to his body when he is a youth having no memory of his life and death. He is given flashes of the choices that he made the last time around and is then tasked with trying to right the wrongs from his former miserable life. The game was developed by a single person over the course of two years. The work that she has done on the game is impressive for a single person in such a short period of time, perhaps she too has a demon helping her?
Story rich. This game places the player into the shoes of John and leads them through his terrible life that is full of regret and poor decisions. Combining elements of a visual novel with a dark and rich atmosphere really help to make the story come to life!
Finicky camera angles. I’m assuming that this is what I am experiencing anyways. There are times that I need to (or at least thing I need to) get somewhere, but the camera is angled such that I can’t click a proper location to make John move there.
Game: Gray Dawn
Gray Dawn places the player into the shoes of a priest who is being accused of the abduction and deaths of several young children. Players control the priest as they move through a bright and vibrant, yet dark and sinister world. Locate clues and relics to recover the memories of what happened. As you move through trying to prove the priest’s innocence, you will be tormented with terrible visions and flashes in this strange and captivating game.
Story rich. Gray Dawn has a strong story that will keep players immersed until the end. Finding out the truth is only half the story, there is so much more going on just beyond the fabric of reality.
Character models. The models of the characters that are in the game world look cheap and stock-like. The drastic difference between the beautiful landscape that surrounds you and these cheap models serves to ruin the immersion.
Game: The Backrooms Game FREE Edition
Goop? There is a black good that oozes from sections of the room and helps to make the player uneasy.
Lack of a clear objective. I wandered and wandered (further each time) but really unclear with what my purpose was. When I played the first time, I did not realize that I needed to press the memory recovery key while I had my watch up. I also missed the text at the opening (it went by to quickly) that instructed my to not look at the creature. Useful knowledge!
Game: Little Misfortune
Rich Story. The game features a great story much like the studio’s earlier title Fran Bow. The story is dark and enthralling, pulling the player into this world full of strange and interesting (though often creepy) characters.
Nothing. I played a fair bit of this game (I’ve not had the time to finish it yet) and I have yet to find anything that I could consider a con. I don’t even see the cost as a con since the game is good and very enjoyable, I am glad that the developer can make a profit from it. The game renders well looks good, is well thought out and builds a rich and deep lore that the player can immerse into and get lost.
Little Misfortune is a fun and entertaining game that lets the player explore a world of misery and gloom. Players are given many choices, and they rarely have the expected outcome, making each one a unique and enjoyable (if a little dark) surprise for the player to experience. Sometimes in order to move the game forward, the choices are taken away, or if one is given, the player can only continue after making the correct one. The game is a great ride, and I highly recommend it!
Game: Man of Medan
Movie like. The game gives players very movie like cinematic scenes making it feel more like a horror film than a game. An interactive film, but still a film.
Voice Acting. The voice acting is done in a way that makes me feel like the actors really didn’t care for the project and had nothing invested in it. Specifically Joe and Charlie who sound like someone faking a cheap knock off southern accent and not really caring how it sounds. The character of Alex also fell very flat and disinterested to me.
This game had a crap-ton of potential to be great, but the developer relied on cheap jump scares and deaths to move the story. It is overly predictable and the actors (mostly) seemed like they would rather be anywhere else. That being said, I really enjoyed the interactivity of the game as a whole. The story, while predictable, was pretty solid. The game overall was pretty average, it has so much potential, it just feels like the developer dropped the ball.
Game: Mushroom Cats
Cute. This game is stupidly cute! You are putting cartoon hats onto cartoon cats that are in fun little cat poses. Each time that you cap a cat with a hat, it purrs (except for the drunk one that hiccups)
Short. The game is way too short lasting about three minuets total, which is great for a quick casual experience, but I would have loved to play the game a bit more. With all of it’s charm, playing it some more would have been very enjoyable in my opinion. Being as that the game is free however, I’ll mostly overlook this issue.
Does this weeks game sound fun to you? You can pick up Mushroom Cats free for yourself over on the 
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