Played: Deadlight

Observations:

• This game was very pretty. Seriously, look at those pictures. That’s not another ugly platformer. It’s funny - I just came off the back of playing The Cave (which I need to do another run of before I do something like this, owing to the game needing multiple playthroughs before you can really say you’ve completed it), and that game doesn’t even touch on this one in terms of prettiness.
• The story, on the other hand - and, yes, this is just a platformer, but in a world with Trine even pretty platformers have to try when it comes to narrative - is utter bollocks. That’s a shame, because it has the elements of a good story - unreliable memory, beginning in media res, and a not just pretty but interesting backdrop - but it ends up being a little rushed. Blaze through this, and you can probably finish it in about four hours.
• The balancing was a bit off. There were areas I’d fly through in seconds, and then others where I’d keep dying over and over until I wanted to throw my controller on the floor (I didn’t. I’m not one of those people). The controls aren’t as fucked as people claimed (or they might have been tightened up since the XBLA release), but there’s a lag to get used to and a lot of very tight jumps.
• The items you pick up along the way were a nice touch - especially the ID cards. Zombie fiction - The Walking Dead aside - rarely dwells on the deceased, so it was nice to see it dealt with quietly but effectively. All they needed were names, and it rounds out the world a little.
• Worth playing for the prettiness, but the fact that they included a Nightmare Mode is kind of hilarious. Oh, and if you get it, make sure you don’t pay full price - it’s a £5 game at most.