Deadlight

Gameplay

Deadlight is a 2.5D side-scrolling cinematic platformer/survival horror in which the player character, Randall Wayne, can move from left-to-right and right-to-left, but is unable to enter any environments off the aligned path. The character can walk, sprint, crouch, roll, jump, long jump, wall jump in narrow areas, climb fences and ladders, hang from wires, push and pull certain objects, and perform contextual actions such as using switches and examining bodies.

Gameplay primarily consists of platforming and solving puzzles so that Wayne can avoid the many "Shadows" (zombies) populating the streets of Seattle. The levels are designed in such a way that the player is encouraged to avoid Shadows as much as possible, rather than engaging them in combat. When combat is unavoidable, the player can use a fire axe to execute short-range melee attacks, which consumes stamina, or later, a revolver, and subsequently a shotgun, although ammunition for both weapons is extremely limited. The player also gains access to a slingshot. However, this cannot be used in combat, and is instead used for solving puzzles. There are only a few occasions when combat is unavoidable, and generally, the emphasis remains on avoiding and outwitting Shadows. One method of doing so is the "taunt" feature, which allows Wayne to lure Shadows to their death by calling to them, leading them into environmental hazards such as chasms or exposed electricity. Even if the player is armed, being attacked by multiple Shadows at any time means almost certain death.

Wayne begins with three health points which can be replenished using first aid kits. The number of health points will increase by a single point if the player discovers health power-ups. Sprinting, melee combat, and hanging from objects deplete the player's stamina meter, which causes the screen to blur, and Wayne to pause in order to get his breath back. As with the health meter, the amount of available stamina can be increased by power-ups. Unlike health, however, the stamina meter refills over time.

The game contains hidden collectable items. Some are entries from the player's diary, revealing more about his backstory. Others are personal memorabilia lost by people during the outbreak. The player can also find three playable 80s-style handheld video games. A recurring collectible comes in the form of identification cards, all of which feature the name of serial killers (like John Wayne Gacy, Aileen Wuornos and Jeffrey Dahmer), although the photo ID on the cards depict members of Tequila Works' staff.

Plot

The game takes place in Seattle, beginning on July 4, 1986, one-hundred-and-forty-five days since "Patient Zero". Society has been nearly decimated by the outbreak of a virus that reanimates the dead, turning them into what the survivors refer to as "Shadows". Randall Wayne, a park ranger from Hope, British Columbia in Canada, has been separated from his wife Shannon and daughter Lydia for some time, and traveled to Seattle because of reports of the last remaining "Safe Point" in the Pacific Northwest. Convinced that his family is at the Safe Point, he is accompanied by fellow park ranger, Ben Parker. After arriving in the city, they joined with a group of four other people; a police officer named Sam Powell, and twin sisters, Stella and Karla Patterson, and an unnamed university professor who is killed by the shadows prior to the game's events.

As the game begins, Wayne has just shot Karla in the head, since she had been bitten and was about to turn into a Shadow. As Ben, Sam and Stella return to the warehouse in which they are sheltering, the building is attacked by Shadows, drawn by the gunfire. The trio flee through a skylight, but the ladder breaks before Wayne can follow, and he tells them to head to the Safe Point, where he will meet them.

Wayne leaves the warehouse and sets out across the city. He soon learns of a violent militia group known as the "New Law", that kills anyone unwilling to join them. After finding Sam's van crashed, Wayne locates him in a nearby shop, seriously wounded, and bleeding to death. The van was ambushed by the New Law, who took Ben and Stella with them, leaving Sam for dead. He tells Wayne the Safe Point is actually a trap set up by the New Law, hoping to lure in survivors, so they can kill them and take any supplies they may have. After Sam dies, Wayne sets out, determined to rescue his family and friends from the New Law.

As he heads towards the Safe Point, he is cornered by a herd of Shadows. However, before they can attack him, a hand reaches up from a manhole and drags him down into the sewers. Wayne is knocked unconscious, and experiences flashbacks of his life before the outbreak, mingled with vague memories of returning to his home upon the onset of the Shadows. Waking up in the sewers, he meets the "Rat", a Vietnam veteran who has turned the sewer system into an elaborate series of booby traps to protect himself from both Shadows and the New Law. The Rat tells Wayne if he can make it through the traps, he will help him find his friends. When Wayne does so, the Rat tells him that his teenage son is missing, and asks Wayne to find him. The Rat promises to search for information on Wayne's family and friends if his teenage son is brought back.

Development and release

Deadlight was announced on January 18, 2012 as an Xbox Live Arcade exclusive, set for release during the annual Summer of Arcade. Microsoft Studios revealed they would publish the game, which was being developed by Tequila Works. Although Deadlight was Tequila Works' debut, the development team included people who had worked on the Commandos and MotorStorm series, as well as games such as Overlord II, Heavy Rain, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and Diablo III. The following day, a teaser trailer was released, with a demo made available on March 5. Speaking of the demo, Eurogamer's Martin Robinson noted the similarity between the movement and animations of Randall Wayne and the protagonists of classic cinematic platformers such as Another World and Flashback.

This similarity was very much by design, as director, co-writer and designer Raúl Rubio Munárriz explains,

Munárriz further explains, "If you remember Prince of Persia or Another World, the animation technique used was rotoscoping; people are filmed first and then their movements are copied. Initially we did the same, recording ourselves on video. For this type of retro game, it was important that the animation was smooth. Characters needed to be dynamic, so we used key frame. If we had used motion capture, the game would have lost that 80s feel."

Of the game's graphical style in general, the developers state:

In relation to the artistic style, video game artist Abel Oroz Vincente states "The artistic aspect of Deadlight is the foundation upon which the game is largely built. The game is its atmosphere, and the atmosphere is achieved largely thanks to the visuals. The key is in the hyperrealism and the overexposed lighting, which is not hyperrealistic, but we use it as a stylizing tool." 3D artist Pablo Fernández Gómez further explains "It's a pictorial approach to the reality that awakens a certain sensation, and helps the player understand and play the game."

When the game was shown at the 2012 E3 event in June, Munárriz stated "the idea was recreating the old gameplay with striking visuals. So the visual style was inspired by movies from the 80s such as First Blood." He also cites as influences on the story Richard Matheson's 1954 novel I Am Legend, Stephen King's 2006 novel Cell, Cormac McCarthy's 2006 novel The Road, and Robert Kirkman's comic book series The Walking Dead.

Reception

Deadlight received mixed reviews, with the much less widely reviewed PC version generally seen as superior to the Xbox 360 version. On Metacritic, the Xbox version has an aggregate score of 68 out of 100 based on 79 reviews, while the PC version has a score of 78 out of 100 based on 7 reviews.

IGN's Ryan McCaffrey scored it 8.5 out of 10, calling it "one of the finest XBLA titles of the year." He was particularly impressed with the graphics; "its aesthetic is gorgeous [...] Several of Deadlight's set-pieces are so stunning that I had to actually stop to admire them before pressing onward." However, he was critical of the puzzle-based levels in the sewers, the ease with which the player can die, and the final section of the game, writing "These flaws are the difference between Limbo's transcendent excellence and Deadlight's mere greatness."

Official Xbox Magazine's Francesca Reyes also scored it 8.5 out of 10, commending the gameplay, difficulty level, and the pacing; "it makes for a frantic, dizzying, four- to five-hour rush. And that's Deadlight's strongest suit: you feel a constant, adrenaline-fueled urge to just. Keep. Moving."

1Up.com's Marty Sliva graded it an A−, praising the gameplay; "Whether you're barreling through a zombie infested intersection Canabalt-style, slowly deciphering the traps of a sewer-dwelling madman, or methodically picking off a pack of enemies, the game is constantly switching up its own internal play style." He concluded by calling the game "a fantastic title that stands out far more than many big budget, AAA titles."

Game Informer's Tim Turi scored it 8 out of 10, writing "Deadlight mixes Shadow Complex's impressive 2.5D visuals, Limbo's rewarding platforming puzzles, and The Walking Dead's grim atmosphere. The resulting cocktail is potent." He was critical of the plot, calling it the "biggest flaw", but concluded "Creating a compelling zombie game in a generation with too many of them is a hard task. Tequila Works manages to do this while successfully merging it with the unlikely action-platforming genre."

Eurogamer's Martin Robinson scored it 7 out of 10, praising the graphics and atmosphere; "sense of place is what elevates Deadlight, and it's intelligently explored by Tequila Works. Abandoned traffic jams on grey-lit freeways give way to rain-specked neon motel signs and then murky edgelands. In the city, Randall leaps across fire escapes and evades chasing helicopters in Canabalt-esque rooftop chases, and in the suburbs he bounds from house to house while racing past destroyed domestic scenes. Never has a 2D world felt so believable." However, he was critical of the game's brevity, calling it "an incredibly slight experience", and arguing "there's not enough meat to come back to, making this a one-shot affair with a bloated price tag that doesn't quite fit."

Sales

The game has sold over 53,000 copies.