Chasing Light

So... what is "light" to you? Closest comparison: nothing I´ve played before, a lot of meta elements and humor reminded me of ICEY but the gameplay is am mix between a walking sim and a... movie-budget-administrator...thingy Duration: around 2 hs Short description: Philosophical game about the hardships a game director faces when trying to realize his "vision", while at the same time tackling topics like the purpose of life and all that. Best features: The abstract images, specially in the "cutscenes", they are amazing and leave a lasting impression, the game is fully voice acted (by 1 person I think) but it does manage to translate a good amount of feeling in each word. Feedback : The "directing" part of the game (deciding which "assets" to use in each game scene) leaves a lot to be desired, it does create the possibility for some hilarious combinations but as a whole it feels like a free flash game. Besides that it´s just a walking simulator so if you don´t like those I would approach with caution Rating: Recommended at a discount

My Experience I played through perhaps three of the game's scenes. In the first, I was struck by how much hate the developer seems to feel for game critics. This disdain is not just hinted at - the player is bludgeoned over the head with it. At the end of the first scene, the player is seemingly given control of the director. However, the game soon grabs control of him again and pulls you into a separate scene. I found myself a bit irritated about the illusion of choice the game had given me. In the third, I found myself trying to "create" the intro scene to the game. The player is given a certain amount of money, and can add various objects, sound effects, and music into the scene. I tried five separate times to incrementally increase the amount of money I was spending on the scene, but every time failed the task due to scoring low on some sort of expected player engagement meter. It seemed that perhaps I could only succeed if I were to completely exhaust the budget that had been provided to me. At this point, I sort of checked out. I didn't feel like my actions were having any impact. On the one hand, I want to forgive the game for this lack of agency. Perhaps creating a modern game really is a process of arguing with pretentious critics, and perhaps I'm one? Perhaps a developer's vision is often compromised by trying to appeal to the masses - trying to hit a number on an intentionally-vague player engagement meter? If this is case, perhaps the game is hitting the nail on the head. However, I just wasn't finding the experience enjoyable.

The game's english translation is poor, which is an issue for a narrative experience. However, i thought the story was interesting and not as cliché as i could have been. I can definitely see this game being called pretentious, so if you're allergic to that kind of stuff stay away. The credits especially were unique and very touching.