A 3D platformer featuring unique low-light gameplay. Players control the candle and can move, jump and light up. As the candle burns, it reveals safe passage and drips wax but also reduces its height and lifespan. Players must navigate the dark and treacherous landscape and solve puzzles in order to reach the blue light at the end of each level.
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⏰ In a rush? Don't worry, I gotchu'! ⏰
What Works:
✅ Enchanting Story: Explores existential themes wrapped in a charming narrative about a candle's quest for meaning.
✅ Unique Time Mechanic: Leverages the protagonist's burning nature to create a ticking clock mechanic without excessive pressure.
✅ Visually Diverse Levels: Explores a variety of environments from forests to ships, keeping things visually interesting.
✅ Perfect for Short Bursts: Short levels make it ideal for portable gaming on the Nintendo Switch.
What Doesn't:
❌ Limited Gameplay Depth: Simple mechanics and puzzles might not appeal to players seeking a deeper challenge.
❌ "What You See is What You Get" Experience: Offers a charming but potentially shallow experience for those who crave complexity.
🌌 Embracing the Light
When all seems consumed by vast darkness, with no sign of improvement, a radiant light will always appear at the end of the tunnel. This is the heart of Candleman, an action-adventure game with small puzzles, rooted in the simple structures of each level, developed by Spotlightor Interactive and published by indienova on the Nintendo Switch.
🎇 A Luminous Quest
Candleman’s brilliance, starring a small candle with legs of an unknown name, lies in its plot and the philosophy it carries. At the beginning of the adventure, the player takes control of the aforementioned object, heading towards an epic quest: the answer to his own existential question "why do I exist only to illuminate and then fade?". This question is narrated by a female voice, instead of our wax piece, while it takes note of its reflection in a mirror. After wandering through the prologue, the main character faces an intense glow, coming from a lighthouse, which encourages him to be someone he is not. With this purpose engraved in his conscience, the unlikely hero moves forward, not only towards the lighthouse he so idolizes, but also towards the answer that awaits him at the end of the journey. Therefore, a great part of Candleman's charm lies in its story, transmitted to the player through various cinematic expositions, both at the beginning and at the end of each section, narrating the feelings and thoughts of the adorable protagonist. It is also important to outline another aspect, intelligently written, about the plot: each level is assigned a verse, paired with another upon completion of the secondary objective: lighting candles exposed in each level.
🕰️ A Race Against Time
Allied to this inherent charm is the title’s main mechanic. Since the protagonist is a candle, it’s natural to assume it burns. However, this concept works against the clock, as it is only possible to spread light for ten consecutive seconds. A candle, after all, burns according to the amount of wax available. However, this limit imposed on the player is of little consequence. Each level’s structure is designed so that the dance between light and darkness never negatively impacts progress, resulting in a much more relaxed gameplay session than expected in the genre. Thus, the challenge is to use the flame as needed, together with the puzzles of each level.
🎨 A Palette of Worlds
Variety is also a quality not lacking in Candleman's progress. Each of the twelve stages has its own theme: forests and lakes full of magic, wooden and metal interiors of a ship, granite and stone buildings, etc. This wide range greatly compliments the visual experience, making the candle's quest a much less boring matter. In addition, each stage has four, five or even six journeys, of very short duration, which enhances the inherent portability aspect of the Nintendo Switch. A perfect title to start and make significant progress in just five or ten minutes of gameplay.
🕯️ A Flicker in the Dark
There exist video games that capture the player's attention for being so simple, and Candleman is no exception. With a charming presentation and a varied range of levels, the charm of a story about a candle that seeks its purpose is undeniable and even irresistible. However, for all that has been said positively, it’s a video game true to the saying “what you see is what you get”.
🌟 M I S C 🌟
◻️ 🌳 Visit my Linktree for more content.
◻️ ⚠️ Review originally written for FNintendo (defunct website) and published on October 16th, 2019.
◻️ 🙋♂️ Explore more reviews written by me.
◻️ 🎮 Discover Nintendo Switch video games I've played.
◻️ ✍️ Reviewed in European Portuguese.
◻️ 📜 Review Number 002
✨ F I N ✨
What Works:
✅ Enchanting Story: Explores existential themes wrapped in a charming narrative about a candle's quest for meaning.
✅ Unique Time Mechanic: Leverages the protagonist's burning nature to create a ticking clock mechanic without excessive pressure.
✅ Visually Diverse Levels: Explores a variety of environments from forests to ships, keeping things visually interesting.
✅ Perfect for Short Bursts: Short levels make it ideal for portable gaming on the Nintendo Switch.
What Doesn't:
❌ Limited Gameplay Depth: Simple mechanics and puzzles might not appeal to players seeking a deeper challenge.
❌ "What You See is What You Get" Experience: Offers a charming but potentially shallow experience for those who crave complexity.
🌌 Embracing the Light
When all seems consumed by vast darkness, with no sign of improvement, a radiant light will always appear at the end of the tunnel. This is the heart of Candleman, an action-adventure game with small puzzles, rooted in the simple structures of each level, developed by Spotlightor Interactive and published by indienova on the Nintendo Switch.
🎇 A Luminous Quest
Candleman’s brilliance, starring a small candle with legs of an unknown name, lies in its plot and the philosophy it carries. At the beginning of the adventure, the player takes control of the aforementioned object, heading towards an epic quest: the answer to his own existential question "why do I exist only to illuminate and then fade?". This question is narrated by a female voice, instead of our wax piece, while it takes note of its reflection in a mirror. After wandering through the prologue, the main character faces an intense glow, coming from a lighthouse, which encourages him to be someone he is not. With this purpose engraved in his conscience, the unlikely hero moves forward, not only towards the lighthouse he so idolizes, but also towards the answer that awaits him at the end of the journey. Therefore, a great part of Candleman's charm lies in its story, transmitted to the player through various cinematic expositions, both at the beginning and at the end of each section, narrating the feelings and thoughts of the adorable protagonist. It is also important to outline another aspect, intelligently written, about the plot: each level is assigned a verse, paired with another upon completion of the secondary objective: lighting candles exposed in each level.
🕰️ A Race Against Time
Allied to this inherent charm is the title’s main mechanic. Since the protagonist is a candle, it’s natural to assume it burns. However, this concept works against the clock, as it is only possible to spread light for ten consecutive seconds. A candle, after all, burns according to the amount of wax available. However, this limit imposed on the player is of little consequence. Each level’s structure is designed so that the dance between light and darkness never negatively impacts progress, resulting in a much more relaxed gameplay session than expected in the genre. Thus, the challenge is to use the flame as needed, together with the puzzles of each level.
🎨 A Palette of Worlds
Variety is also a quality not lacking in Candleman's progress. Each of the twelve stages has its own theme: forests and lakes full of magic, wooden and metal interiors of a ship, granite and stone buildings, etc. This wide range greatly compliments the visual experience, making the candle's quest a much less boring matter. In addition, each stage has four, five or even six journeys, of very short duration, which enhances the inherent portability aspect of the Nintendo Switch. A perfect title to start and make significant progress in just five or ten minutes of gameplay.
🕯️ A Flicker in the Dark
There exist video games that capture the player's attention for being so simple, and Candleman is no exception. With a charming presentation and a varied range of levels, the charm of a story about a candle that seeks its purpose is undeniable and even irresistible. However, for all that has been said positively, it’s a video game true to the saying “what you see is what you get”.
🌟 M I S C 🌟
◻️ 🌳 Visit my Linktree for more content.
◻️ ⚠️ Review originally written for FNintendo (defunct website) and published on October 16th, 2019.
◻️ 🙋♂️ Explore more reviews written by me.
◻️ 🎮 Discover Nintendo Switch video games I've played.
◻️ ✍️ Reviewed in European Portuguese.
◻️ 📜 Review Number 002
✨ F I N ✨
Precioso juego de plataformas y puzzles que considero que es casi perfecto en todo lo que hace. No es muy complicado en ningún momento, y solo tiene dos botones aparte del de moverse, así que es ideal para nuevos jugadores que se líen con la cámara. Cada nivel tiene algo único que no necesitan repetir, y aunque son tonterías, está realmente bien construido. Si tengo que sacarle fallos, solo pueden ser tres.
El primero es que creo que te mueves demasiado lento. Se que es en parte contemplativo, pero uf. El segundo es que aunque el apartado sonoro es muy bueno, hay algunos sonidos que quizás tienen loops muy cortos y se repiten más de lo que deberían en según que niveles. El tercero y último es que en los subtítulos en español aparecen numerosas palabras unidas comositehablaseasíderepente. Es molesto, sobre todo porque a más cerca del final más pasa, pero quitando estos detalles, creo que es un juego muy redondo.
El primero es que creo que te mueves demasiado lento. Se que es en parte contemplativo, pero uf. El segundo es que aunque el apartado sonoro es muy bueno, hay algunos sonidos que quizás tienen loops muy cortos y se repiten más de lo que deberían en según que niveles. El tercero y último es que en los subtítulos en español aparecen numerosas palabras unidas comositehablaseasíderepente. Es molesto, sobre todo porque a más cerca del final más pasa, pero quitando estos detalles, creo que es un juego muy redondo.
Really neat premise that allows an impressively ambient world to travel through. The mechanic of using your life to illuminate your surroundings is a very neat one which challenges your layout memory. Sadly, beyond this premise, there's simply not enough challenge/complexity that utilizes this concept, leaving a relatively shallow experience. Feels like a demo of a much fuller game.