No one lives under the lighthouse Director's cut

No one lives under the lighthouse Director's cut
N/A
Metacritic
88
Steam
82.696
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$6.99
Release date
21 April 2020
Steam reviews score
Total
88 (1 608 votes)
Recent
90 (22 votes)

A slow burn retro horror game, in which you arrive at the old lighthouse on a small island near the coast of the United States. After the previous keeper has gone missing, you need to take over his duties and watch after the light.

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No one lives under the lighthouse Director's cut system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: Windows 7
  • Processor: Intel Core Duo Q8300 @ 2.5GHz
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 630
  • Storage: 400 MB available space
  • Sound Card: Onboard Sound
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TabletopJoe
TabletopJoe

An absolutely incredibly slow burn horror game.

Creepy lighthouse island where things go bad fast.

Incredible!

Also amazing PS1 art style! Very well written with absolutely INCREDIBLE cinematography. Loved it so much.

EDIT- How could I forget some truly stellar sound design! Wonderfully eerie music as well as some really great texture in all aspects of sound from crunch underfoot to the truly awful sounds of... well... I'm not going to say what ;)

MrSteeel
MrSteeel

I don't know if someone is actually living under the lighthouse, but weird shiz is happening there that's for sure.

shankeybacon
shankeybacon

I wish I enjoyed this game, but i just don't see what other people do. I found it more tedious than fear inducing, and the story really didn't grab me like I would've liked. Too much of the game is spent trudging along the island, and going up and down the lighthouse, only for the payoff of "oh no your oil can has moved, isn't that creepy." I'm enjoy a slow burn horror, but this game asks for a lot of your time before anything happens. 4/10, wish I liked it more.

♥

Quite a few indie projects in recent years have used imitation PS1/CD-ROM graphics for surreal and spooky effects. A lot of great games have come out in this style, and No One Lives Under the Lighthouse absolutely stands out as being one of the best. It may even be one the best Lovecraft inspired games in general! The gameplay is tense, reasonably varied, and not overly-complicated or janky as are often major killers of atmosphere in other horror games. It's short but sweet, dense with enough content to leave you thinking about it. The 'Director's Cut' seems to have been a big upgrade.

Tallowhand
Tallowhand

What a disappointment. Designed to seem like a creepy lost PS1 game, it originally ended with a proper supernatural horror ending; since then, the makers have re-done the ending, turning it into yet another "just-a-stupid-metaphor-for-guilt" game. There's a bizarre fad in horror now in which no supernatural horror can be anything other than a metaphor, usually for guilt, and it's just plain tiresome. You aren't impressed, you aren't moved, you just roll your eyes and sigh because it's cliche by now. It makes the entire preceding 2/3 of the game just feel pointless and hollow. Which is saying something because the game itself is only about 2 hrs total. What is more, the game's audio swung wildly from almost inaudible to deafening seemingly at random. I couldn't find any way to fix it, but playing it on mute (my usual solution) meant I kept missing audio-cues that were necessary for proper gameplay. Overall verdict? Hard pass.

Witty
Witty

It's a short and cheap atmospheric spooky game where you do your daily tasks as a lighthouse keeper. No one lives under the lighthouse, what a silly idea! Just keep the beacon lit and spotless, and you'll be fine. Perfect game for some October spooky vibes, or perhaps you just finished rewatching The Lighthouse movie and crave more.

My only major complaints is the presentation of the story makes it hard to parse, and rerunning the game can get tedious when hunting achievements. Also the font for dialogue is kind of hard to read and I wish the inventory had item names, because later on you pick up some things and go "I have no idea what this is".

Kim Wexler Enjoyer
Kim Wexler Enjoyer

Very spooky game where you're just trying to vibe as a lighthouse keeper but weird shit keeps happening. Some of the gameplay is tedious but it's short enough that it's not much of an issue.

LuciusVoltaic
LuciusVoltaic

A game of enjoyably creepy retro-styled horror. Something of a “Shadow over Innsmouth” vibe overall. I don't know if there is a comprehensible story to be pieced together from the various flashbacks, thematic allusions, and alternate endings, but it feels like there might be. For a game like this, that's good enough.

Worth doing some replaying to catch another ending or two. It's not that long a game after all.

FantasyFor3st
FantasyFor3st

Very atmosphere rich with a strange, captivating story 8/10. I could just sing it's praises but you should experience it yourself. Worth the price

Wrath of Tron
Wrath of Tron

Though I expected the dread to be more existential and less Clive Barkery, I really freaking love the way this game presented itself. Good stuff.

scottux
scottux

Fantastic slow burn horror. Audio design and music are impeccable. Some of the best video game rain I've had the pleasure of experiencing.

Turtle
Turtle

Short and tense horror game set on a desolate island where you're trying to keep a lighthouse alight while making sense of the island's (or perhaps your own) inner demons.

hamster9
hamster9

I'm voting this down which makes me sad. This game was a joy beyond joys for a while I was so impressed with the feeling of freedom combined with a wonderful atmosphere brilliantly building in suspense. Fabulous stylised graphics (wonderful rain!) and real proper creepiness. Captured the feeling of remote and alone (yet with a job to do) exceptionally well.

Loved all the scares and suspense etc...very, very good.

Then suddenly I found myself in something that resembled a Quake map full of red walls and hellish dungeons with a very random unintuitive layout running around looking for whatever pointless task I had to complete to progress.

And that's where I stopped. I bought something to do with a spooky lighthouse - not a Quake map in Hell. The plot change was sudden, weird and completely out of context and struck me as a result of developers feeling under pressure to deliver too much drama. The game was fine (brilliant actually) up to that point. If you want to add a strange twist by all means do so - but not one as ridiculous as that :(

Bran-nyan
Bran-nyan

Great atmosphere and style, but the gameplay is exceedingly tedious and it's just not fun.

PhrankDizzle
PhrankDizzle

No one lives under the lighthouse, its true.

Pbever
Pbever

Very good indie horror game. Lots of Lovecraftian elements, there aren't too many jumpscares, and it's overall a pretty solid experience for the price.

Agerroy
Agerroy

This game does a lot with a little.
- The visuals capture that PS2 aesthetic wile still looking good.
- There are some highly creative mechanics, and the gameplay as a whole is well polished.
- The sound design is excellent, and carries a lot of the horror and tension. Make sure you play this with headphones.
- I haven't gotten the full story yet, but what I've seen has been good.
- The level design is great, with different areas evoking different types of fear.

I strongly recommend this game if you're into horror.

cheshire.panther
cheshire.panther

Игра в которой 90% времени тупишь в паззлы вместо того чтобы пугаться. Ну и глаза пиздец устают.

lornlynx
lornlynx

A story-driven horror game with PS1-esque graphics. Short but with multiple endings and cryptic answers that make you reconsider the story.

The gameplay is mostly pretty straight-forward, your task is to keep the lighthouse running, for which you have to crank some gears and fill the lamp with oil. But already on your first visit you see that thing's aren't right, well obviously as the old lightkeeper just disappeared one day, and not only get your tasks hindered by someone on the same island but you slowly find out more about the backgrounds. It gets wilder quickly and without spoiling too much, but the lighthouse might have more secrets than it shows at first, and you will experience visions and cryptic messages that show that something unholy happened here.

There are some very unique scenes, and the horror is mostly implemented with suspense, but it's also not one of the horror games where you never see what is haunting you. It even has a very unique boss-fight. It's a game that makes you question what is now real and what not, and what the actual story is. There are three endings, and while the first one is basically free, the second involves some gameplay that's not so easy, and the third wants you to find some hidden achievements to unlock the "best" ending. It goes as deep as you want to, but finding the achievements and puzzling together the cryptic hints and messages is far from straightforward, and I wouldn't have done them without consulting a guide. If you want, you play through the game in some 2-3 hours and be done with it. If you are a person who wants to find everything there is, prepare having to play through it multiple times. One problem with such games is that often if you want to find it out yourself, you decipher the hints in wrong ways, or try stuff that makes no sense, or think of answers that are as far from the truth as can be, and this game (beyond the first ending) is one of these. What the developer thinks is enough hints and what actually is needed are often not on the same line, and the more cryptic you make things the more room for misinterpretation there is. Which would be not as much of an issue, as the game also claims that the endings are up for personal interpretation and which is fine, but having to find the achievement quickly becomes arduous as you are basically just restarting sections having to walk through every thing that would for a first play-through provide suspense, but gets annoying otherwise. But, in the end you can still say that it doesn't force you for anything, all depends how curious you are.

The graphics and presentation are purposefully kept first 3D-era style, I guess not everyone will enjoy that. But the effects still work, and the great soundttrack and sfx helps a lot with it. There are some whack graphic errors at times, it can be hard to ignore them, but if you view all through a lense of minimalism and can immerse yourself into that, it's still adequately frightening and intriguing.

eastbayed
eastbayed

I highly recommend this game. It is one of the best horror games I have ever played! Awesome job to everyone involved!

meta
meta

The game is 2 hours long and I still think it's too long.

It failed to grab my attention.
The story seems pretty dull and I often found myself not knowing what to do next. (Not in a confused, scared way, but more in a frustrating "Am I doing this right, or am I just wasting my time?" way.)

I know that the game has different endings, but I don't feel the need to replay it to get a different one. Mostly because I don't think there will be anything more to discover here.

To be honest, just watch "The Lighthouse" with Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson.
It's way better, has about the same length and the game developer was obviously very inspired by the movie.
The downside of this is that after watching the movie, the game feels like a worse, fan-made version of the motion picture.

AsianPlagueDoctor
AsianPlagueDoctor

A short but tense game that effectively uses Lovcraftian horror. Highly recommend for fans of the genre and horror in general.

Tripwire
Tripwire

this was my ONE good pair of pants

Holland
Holland

No One Lives Under The Lighthouse starts out extremely strong with a great ambiance and fitting aesthetics.

About halfway through the game, however, the story gets quite complicated and the gameplay very fragmented. Definitely far from a bad game, but one which you will enjoy a lot more if you have a thing for figuring out complex narratives. But again, great ambiance throughout and especially early on!

EL Pollo
EL Pollo

good game. atmosphere is top notch and the first half is eerie and keeps you hooked. the narrative is compromised quickly though. the devs went for more ambiguous storytelling that makes the truth difficult to understand. put simply, the beginning of the game is the solid one and the second half is an off-kilter and somewhat messy revision.

still very much worth a play. it does a lot with very little and manages to be excellent storytelling despite the confusion.

Asami
Asami

So much more than I thought I would get. Went from typical horror to oh my god what is happening very fast

FrawnnieCrazz!
FrawnnieCrazz!

false advertising, someone actually lives under the lighthouse

Kain Klarden
Kain Klarden

I’ve seen the entirety of No one lives under the lighthouse played 2 years ago out of curiosity and while it seemed like a cute horror title, it wasn’t my cup of tea and some of the questionable late game moments made it so I wasn’t interested in playing it myself. Recently, however, I was reminded of the title and have discovered that since the release the title was updated to the Director’s cut, which almost entirely remade the second half of the title. It got me intrigued enough to give the title a chance and… well, it’s still kinda neat, but I can’t say that it’s much better than it originally was.

As it may be unclear from how the game looks like, it’s a first person perspective horror action adventure with emphasis on story and adventure aspect, but quite a few action segments as well. What you can clearly see from screenshots is that it’s following the trend of Playstation 1 inspired visuals with highly pixelated wobbly visuals optional dithering and low visibility tricks like fog, darkness and just super close render distances for bigger structures. However unlike the approach of David Szymanski, or similarly styled titles from Modus Interactive, or even something like Paratopic or Lost in Vivo the visual style of No one lives under the lighthouse is so over the top that I can’t help but feel that some people will be unable to properly play the game because their eyes will hurt. Sound mixing can also be all over the place making for a title that might be uncomfortable visually and audio-wise not in the good horror way.

That said, it does look cool when you can see things and it has a strong sense of style. Luckily also shared by the storytelling that nicely balances the dream-like atmosphere, madness and eldritch monster horrors. I have to say that it’s very nice to see more titles approaching distorted storytelling chronology via real-time interactive gameplay and not just cutscenes in a cinematic way. Abrupt jump cuts and other cinematic techniques that used to be unique to something like Thirty Flights of Loving used in a game that has more involved gameplay feels great and enhances the horror experience.

The main gameplay loop is rather okay. It’s mostly an on-rails experience with some occasional optional things to look at or do, but it’s done mostly well. And some of the ways how the game uses repetition and daily rituals to the advantage of horror are really nice. Although, there are also countless moments where you understand what you’re supposed to do but cannot either because the game is having a scripted moment that doesn’t start immediately or because the interaction point is so finnicky you have to dance around the spot to find it.

And the director’s cut new content? Well… Gameplay-wise it is a huge improvement, as the original title (still available for those owning the game) had a dreadful maze section near the end and afterwards a cool looking but very confusing and boring extended adventure sequence. While this time the gameplay segments are far better designed and we even get more involved action moments. That said, these moments aren’t particularly great either, feel counter-intuitive occasionally. And the changes to the story, while interesting, ultimately turn a rather simple creepy short tale into a far more complicated messy one that loses a bit of impact as a result of being longer and more complex. I suppose in trying to make the game less one-sidedly monster horror and adding more madness the developers accidentally unbalanced the story in the opposite way instead of finding something in the middle.

Overall, unless you find the title to be physically uncomfortable to play due to its visuals, it’s a neat short horror title that has a lot of really well thought out and delivered moments. It’s also more involved gameplay wise than many such horror titles that usually tend to be more like a story exploration title with just walking around and watching a story unfold. If you’re looking for something like this, definitely check it, especially on sale. Otherwise – yeah, it’s cute, but can’t say that you’re missing out much if you don’t play it.

Fungass
Fungass

WARNING: Spoilers for the Game

I will admit, I got lost a LOT all throughout the game. There were times were I didn't know what to do to get to the next scene or day, and at times I swore I did the action and yet the scene wouldn't load.

Despite all of that, this game scared me to the core, and I loved it! There are no "cheap" jumpscares and the monster chase scenes are brilliant! I never seen a chase scene before where you are in the perspective of the killer/monster and I now want to see more like it. And that's not the only thing, Marevo Collective (developers of the game) also gives us more story about the monster, how they become it, and gives us scenes of where we play as the monster and trying to scare our old character. That alone is hard to pull of by itself, and Marevo Collective nailed it.

I would love talk more about this game, but I don't want to end up give away more spoilers. So, in short, this is a terrifying game, but also one that has a rich storyline and bizarre endings (there are multiple, so try to get them all!). If you are thinking about or considering the game, buy it! I can't wait to see more from Marevo Collective in the future, this game has made me a fan of them.

Danxious
Danxious

guys im starting to think that someone might live under the lighthouse

Fellvoid
Fellvoid

Certainly one of the best and most underrated atmospheric horror games out there. Totally worth it! It deserves way more players and attention than it has.

Slog Master
Slog Master

What the fuck there was clearly someone under the lighthouse!!!

hieiaijima
hieiaijima

I do not review games on steam as a rule, but given the size of the publisher and the quality of the game, I felt I had to at least give credit as this was easily the most effective horror game I've played since the original Silent Hill Games. It is a very slow paced game but the gameplay is quite different when it comes to the active horror elements. It's hard to say much about it without spoiling the experience. I absolute recommend it.

[EXDr] ThievesHand
[EXDr] ThievesHand

Others have explained this more adequately, but to summarize: apparently the director's cut messed up, because by the second half it was a bore to play through. The story made little sense, with jarring cuts in pov and flashbacks, and it didn't want to end. I was hoping for some pay-off at the end, at least. Alas, no luck in that department.

Wasn't a fan of the first half, but actively disliked the second half.

jester
jester

i want to cook the game and eat it

Lion
Lion

I can confirm that no one lives under the lighthouse

Cydonia
Cydonia

A game of two halves: The first is a decent slow burner of gradual descent into solitude and madness, but the second is a tonal whiplash that throws subtlety and pacing out the window and doesn't know when to end. The whole premise is effectively ruined by that latter half, which is a huge shame as No one lives under the lighthouse could have indulged its surrealist psychological horror to more effectively leverage its themes, and also to simply make more interesting gameplay - but the turn from light puzzles and atmospheric exploration fall away to silly and surprisingly boring chase and action sequences, and a general shift towards on-the-nose excess that retroactively undermines all the hard work achieved by the ominous first half.

Regardless of the design missteps, the presentation is excellent: The extremely low resolution and intense aliasing make geometry and textures uncertain as the world dances and breaks across the screen, and the artistic direction of muted colours, gritty surfaces, dark shadows and strong silhouettes makes the environment feel hostile, indifferent - that your presence is insignificant at best, and unwelcome at worst. Surprisingly almost all the assets are store-bought, so hats off to the developers for threading cohesive visuals together. Audio is similarly unsettling, and realistic enough to give weight to the deliberately rudimentary graphics. The design flaws are too severe to ignore and purely focus on the audiovisuals, but they're worth praising nonetheless.

Supposedly the Director's Cut is to blame for the majority of these issues, and the original version is in a beta branch, but I can't recommend buying the game just to switch to the old version for multiple reasons: Most of the game's effective horror relies on the unknown, and subtracting the Director's Cut additions would still leave the original first levels mostly unchanged and myself thus unable to give a fair opinion; the original version apparently has bugs that the developers understandably won't fix; and we have no idea whether that original version will be indefinitely available.

It pains me to not be able to recommend artistically creative indie games. It was a fair try, but the shift from moody Lynchian horror to James Wan-esque camp just doesn't work, and it's a shame that the biggest flaws supposedly came from the overhaul update. It goes to show that doing a good job is just as important as knowing when to stop.

★★☆☆☆

AshleyEld
AshleyEld

I sort of wish there was a middle option for this, since it's not terrible and some people seem to love it. Personally, I found the creepy and unsettling vibe from the start of the game wore itself out by the end (or at least the ending I achieved) since the gameplay was just so meandering and directionless and I spent most of my playtime just wandering around figuring out which arbitrary thing I needed to do. Plus, when the game goes completely off the rails in the second half, I think it goes a little too far off the rails, or at least doesn't execute it well enough: it's too confusing and abstract, hopping all through time without really serving what I think turns out to be a bit of a disappointing story. Some awkward bits of gameplay here and there hold up what could have been better moments too, I think. Still, if that doesn't bother you, then go ahead -- there is certainly enough creepy, cryptic stuff in here to keep you engaged if that's your bag.

Raine
Raine

I didn't expect such a complex and compelling mystery and story when picking up this game everything about it adds to the overall horror elements the graphics, camera angels, and atmosphere all mix together to create something spectacular I can't wait to replay the story and unlock all its hidden secrets for the price of this game it's a steal and I recommend it to any horror fan looking for a unique experience

'El Gabaguul
'El Gabaguul

Being honest, even though I write this review now, I can tell you that I'm probably not done with this game all considered.

No one lives under the lighthouse is what I would refer to as an indie horror experience. You are the new lighthouse keeper. The previous keeper has disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Regardless, you have a job to do. Without spoiling anything that happens, this is a slow burn game where things unfold gradually. There isn't much more I can say without ruining the mystique of the game. What I can say is that there are multiple endings and you will probably need to beat the game a couple times if you want the full picture.

Graphically, its no marvel, but it is very unique looking. It's PS1 art style is crude, but very cool and it fits the game. On a technical level, the game is very solid. There aren't many settings to change, but the game runs very well and I had zero glitches or bugs while playing.

The sound design is pretty great as well, which is very important for horror. The droning ambient score is haunting and the in game sound effects are all delightfully eerie.

To summarise the gameplay, its closest to psychological horror. Most of the time the horror comes from what you can't see. The game loves to mess with you in minor and major ways. It keeps a constant sense of tension throughout the game which kept me on edge. The main focus is on you attempting to do your daily duties as the lighthouse keeper, whilst strange things continue to happen around you. As the game goes on, the stakes get higher and more information is filled in. It's a pretty engrossing experience all considered.

Overall, I would recommend No one lives under the lighthouse. It's a short game. It took me around 1 hour and 40 minutes to beat. Despite this, there are multiple endings and the story is vague enough to be open for many interpretations. It's a unique game, and a cheap one at that.

FAT BOY
FAT BOY

They should get willem dafoe to voice act this game

Swamp Trash
Swamp Trash

I played a bit over an hour and 30 minutes, but most of that was just walking back and forth between the same small play space waiting for something to happen. It's tragically boring, and I don't know if I'm going to finish this game.

大腿粗
大腿粗

my buddy eric lives under the lighthouse i think

Encore!
Encore!

Someone lived under the lighthouse

bucket
bucket

was cool at first then branched out way further than it had the comfort to. amazing visuals, though.

Corruptedk1d
Corruptedk1d

atmospher and sounds like in painkiller! It says a lot.

beckysquadlam
beckysquadlam

I do recomend this game if you are interested in more eerie games, but at the end it gets far too confusing to finish.

snelia
snelia

beautifully tense atmosphere and surprisingly great replay value, especially for a horror game!! im having a ton of fun with this game and if anyone is a fan of the horror genre they should absolutely check it out for themselves :>

GoomyKazoomy
GoomyKazoomy

For what it's worth, this is a REALLY good game, I loved the look of the graphics because older looking games are just scarier to me. You'll probably get a good 3 hours of playtime out of this, I sure did. This is now one of my favorite games of all time.

Burowski
Burowski

i don't really play horror games but this was worth it

esoog
esoog

Someone lives under the lighthouse 0/10

Scoutaro
Scoutaro

Yeah it fun you should get it.

L0kkash
L0kkash

Shat my pants three times.
Overall pretty good :)

origamifan
origamifan

A great game with good atmosphere, that can balance perfectly making you feel afraid, unnerved, or, at the beginning, strangely cosy chilling near your cabin, and the lighthouse.

CinematicBlitz
CinematicBlitz

When they assured me that "no one" lives under the lighthouse, what they meant was that several people live under this lighthouse. Luckily, I'm a hot-blooded, god-fearing man who values his exceptional record as the world's calmest keeper of the lighthouse. Come rain, skinwalker, or freaky fish man, I will not be deterred from keeping the beacon alight. I am he who guides the ships, shining my beams of pure light upon these vast, uncharted oceanic expanses.

Not a single ship has crashed ashore during my term here. The screams of distant beasts produce a musical chorus which soothes every nerve in my body. I am dead calm. My focus is razor sharp. My roof has a hole; within minutes, it has been fixed.

Fear not what lives under the lighthouse. Fear the madman who discovers it, and calmly continues his duty in silence.

lunaarcana
lunaarcana

Slow-burning dread lurking in a lonely cultic womb

Bucket
Bucket

Trust me when I say this, NOBODY lives under this lighthouse. You can trust me, I'm very human

Gedric
Gedric

Great game with a great atmosphere. Definitely recommend!

Guimigli
Guimigli

Amazing. It knows how to set up a scary, mysterious mood perfectly even while trying to recreate PSX-era graphics. It's also very fun to try and follow the story along. Well worth the buy.

TROPIC
TROPIC

Very scary game but also kinda friendly cuz i keep it family friendly around here😘

Henny
Henny

I did one playthrough of it and I have to say that I didnt really like it.
I was constantly expecting a really scary thing to happen but sadly the monster itself and the way that it was shown was kinda boring.
The game also has problems with building up a good atmosphere. The constant time skips and teleportation to other areas really took me out of it. Also the monsters footstep sound gets really unbearable with time as it is too loud annoying and repetative.
Also the art style wasnt really used to its full potential. In other games it adds greatly to feeling of the game but I feel like here it just made everything look cheap.
From the trailer and the first few minutes of gameplay I was really hyped but I was sadly disappointed .

Digpoke
Digpoke

Made it like 3/4 of the way through, quit to take a break. Came back and my "last save" was about 45 minutes ago. For how slow the pace of the game is, it doesn't feel worth it to go back. was cool while it lasted. The game was great up until that point, some might call it arduous, though. Just don't quit and I'm sure you'll be fine.

Clown Man
Clown Man

A game so simple yet so complex beneath the surface, I enjoyed trying to figure out the mystery. 9/10

Rejfen
Rejfen

First half is awesome, second goes into Lovecraft stuff but is still good. I recommend this to everyone who wants to feel dread and not be scared by stupid jumpscares

Nortgron
Nortgron

There is nothing under the lighthouse

BangkokLethal
BangkokLethal

This is what a timber man wants with bein' a wickie

Deofred
Deofred

If it was 1930s, you could publish this story on Weird Tales.

MrHotdoge
MrHotdoge

I think someone lives under the lighthouse

Schwankmeyer
Schwankmeyer

This game is a true gem of the horror genre to me. Especially the beginning, when you perform the daily routines of the lighthouse keeper, had an intense atmosphere with the terror slowly dripping in. Here the game succeeds to be really unique and the PS1-aesthetics helped deepening the mood of slowly creeping unease. The second half was still great, even though it felt a lot more fractured, it nevertheless really succeeded in creating a weird Lovecraftian feeling of doom and insanity, something not many games (or movies) achieve on this level of perfection. Wonderful game, that really was a joy to play from start to finish.

mynamejevin
mynamejevin

have not finished it yet because im stuck on a section but so far ive crapped myself at least one time so i would recommend it

lotrauts
lotrauts

This game rocks! To some it might seem a slow burn at first, but this built up a lot of suspense for the second half of the game. This is the type of game where you want to get every ending and achievement to see if you can try and put together every piece of the story like a puzzle.

Necrnom
Necrnom

Only good lovecraftian game to come out since Bloodbourne.

JustUrAvgNoob
JustUrAvgNoob

This game is fun i think. The ending sequence was quite creative, and the final levels were quite scary.

Superporkchops
Superporkchops

Exceptional game that is so incredibly atmospheric, rich and at times very scary. I cannot recommend enough!!

mildly below average human
mildly below a…

Immensely atmospheric and foreboding whilst setting up the horror, even though the actual pay off is rather laughable. There's also a somewhat completionist methodology to the game's structure that has you replaying a lot of purposefully menial and tedious objectives with non of the suspense inherit to a first play-through.

Dontreadthis
Dontreadthis

solid horror game. very lovecraftian inspired and nails it, for the most part.
7/10

NoobAgain
NoobAgain

I have no idea what's going on or why there's suddenly a french village, but I'm down for it.

Catinkontti
Catinkontti

Excellent horror game which no one seems to talk about! This game is very fateful for its lovecraftian source with its cryptic nature and ominous, dark presence which strikes without mercy in a short story branching into three different endings. Graphically the game allures with its unique retro style looking like it was made in 90s, but I don't believe this is neither a plus or minus for the grade for I believe that the same kinda tension could have been made also with modern engines. Horror leans much to psychological part, but there is also fistful of jumpscares (nothing too ravishing though) and even some FPS features which become only present if you get deeper into game and are willing to see all the endings and unlock the achievements. I loved all the endings though some details in the story was too blurry for me to actually understand the story throughout, but that did not bother me too much. The game was recently updated and a lot of content was recreated, moved or changed and you technically get two games in a some package and are able to change between old and new versions from the game's library settings.

Lovecraftian horror with a very nice gripping setting and retrospective execution.
Grade: A-

SalmonPunch
SalmonPunch

The product page is literally the best part of this garbage game, I enjoy walking sims if there's some substance but this was seriously a slog to get through. Every time I got to another section of the last chapter (you're being chased by a monster BUT WAIT you're the monster hur dur) I was angry that the whole experience still wasn't over yet. I was about to alt-f4 then the credits popped up

TBF I was intrigued by the first 2-3 chapters, the scene with the moths was awesome, but the last bit is tedious and not fun or interesting, a ton of SLOW backtracking, and an uninteresting understory, I'll give the sound and visuals a pass because they were intentionally "bad". Glad I got it for next to nothing via summer sale

ryanscottxeper
ryanscottxeper

Could have been something like Dark Fall, ended up as a lighthouse keeping simulator. 1/10

Shearman360
Shearman360

No direction of where to go at all. I had to keep checking walkthroughs until I opted to just watch the whole game. The game itself has good moments of tension but doesn't really do anything unique besides the monster pov sections (which also ruin the sense of mystery since now you know what the unseen threat is).

EvilApple
EvilApple

Ye're fond of me lobster, ain't ye?... I seen it. Ye're fond of me lobster!

JiggaWea
JiggaWea

This game is actually scary.

Play it.

Visaru
Visaru

Minor Spoilers:

Maybe it really turns around in the second half, but I found myself exhausted by the first hour of this game. A simple enough game loop where you light the lantern atop the lighthouse and crank it up to make it rotate, a task which is constantly sabotaged by an annoying eldritch horror that lives on the island with you. Dealing with the monster stealing your keys and leaving a mess around the place is spooky at first, but the chase sequences rob any tension or mystery from them.

In the chases, you play as the monster, and charge toward the player character. This pulls you out of the immersion of the character, making it far less terrifying than were you to play it from the fleeing man's POV (like you do in horror games like Amnesia) and also makes it terrifically difficult to control your fleeing character because you are so far away and the graphics are incredibly low res (a cool artistic choice otherwise that functions terribly here.) The sequences quickly lose any element of terror, becoming a mechanical chore, the monster sounds and screams quickly becoming meaningless repetitive noise. These sequences also take away the promise of the mystery: If all that happens when I finally discover the monster is switching to an unfun chase sequence, and the rest of the game is a monotonous chore, I'm not sure why I am playing.

Love the retro graphics, the spooky silent vibe, and the constrained space, I just wish the core gameplay was more fun.

Razar
Razar

A good short indie horror game. My favorite movie is the Lighthouse so it's really up my alley

Austinsnake
Austinsnake

Starting to think someone might live under this lighthouse guys

SpinalSauce
SpinalSauce

just another saturday night for those of us who like alot of booze before we snooze.
for those who don't:
you play as john "delirium" no'onelifuntalighthouse,a man on an mission.
You try to keep the lighthouse in check but things just don't go your way,
and you soon find yourself in a bad spot.
think i got the bad ending for skipping a level and not getting all the chaos emeralds,

Tender Mr. Lovemuffin
Tender Mr. Lov…

This is definitely the game i ever played

gs02k
gs02k

This is a very different game from most horror titles. It's very atmospheric, and nails the idea of 'Lovecraftian horror' without a single octopus. Well-written horror that isn't just jumpscare mania or gore-splosions. Even the old school graphics actually help, at least in my opinion, by making it a little harder to make out what is what.

nyte
nyte

Short great narrative horror made with premade assets and a nice artstyle.

Erzo102
Erzo102

The style and atmosphere were great, but the narrative was uninteresting and exhausting. I think it had a lot of potential, but for me it failed to create enough tension and intrigue. I was intrigued in the beginning, but there was no payoff whatsoever. And whatever tension there was in the beginning, it was ruined with a reveal made way too soon. It ended up being a mess that was left for interpretation, but then felt like there wasn't a clear story to uncover anyway. Also some parts felt really frustrating, even though I think it was trying to be scary(??)

My experience wasn't that great, but it might be that I just simply didn't "get it."

(Also: Why's there a lion roaring in my right ear throughout the rain/thunderstorm sequence...?)

enoowt
enoowt

This game is excellent. Extremely cleaver about using atmosphere and mechanics to instill a fear of uncertainty, tension, and fear. Very, very worth the price.

half a banana
half a banana

Waste Of Time

this was the biggest waste of time. Literally half the game didn't make any sense and nothing is explained. and 95% of the game is walking around trying to find stuff that randomly disappears with no context with nothing scary even happening. the only thing that's good about this game is the concept of you having the monsters POV. TLDR you would have a scarier and funner experience by playing a Roblox game

Sputnik34
Sputnik34

An incredibly spooky game with all sorts of underlying themes and hidden haunts that lead to multiple endings. I haven't been able to try the new content but i can't wait to soon!

If you enjoyed The Lighthouse movie then you absolutely need to play this.

The Morb The Merion
The Morb The Merion

I didn't know entirely what I was getting into with this one, but what a good time it was. It leans far more into slow-building dread than into cheap scares, and it absolutely delivers on that buildup.

Timy
Timy

Great little horror game, very imaginative and very well made. I absolutely recommend it.

Divine
Divine

Did you love the film "The Lighthouse"? You'll love this!

walshy
walshy

A great game that's dripping in atmosphere and has a really intriguing story.

LORDJESSIAH
LORDJESSIAH

One of the best Indie Games I have ever played and has a lot of replay ability also runs really well! An easy steal on sale and worth full price! 10/10.

ViciousDelicious
ViciousDelicious

My review spoils a bit of the game but in general its a great game which lost its charm around its end. But i do recommend it.

While title suggests otherwise you do know there is someone ooor something under the lighthouse, you arrive at and will be working in for some time. That tension is great, it keeps going around half of the game and that when the game is at its peak. Near its end it drops a bit but in general its a great game.

bunnydrums2o
bunnydrums2o

Good game. Spooky and fun. Buy it!

WastaPasta
WastaPasta

I LOVE SAUDI ARABIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

pacouranga
pacouranga

Tried to row out of there 1min into the game. Wouldn't let me. Scared some seagulls. They died. Tried to repair a cart to carry some bags of sand. Couldn't. Had to carry by hand. 0/10 Pretty Good game.

Skub
Skub

I really liked it up until one of the later boss fights which i could not end up beating, besides that it was a cool horror game that I would recommend to anyone especially if it is on sale.

iRie
iRie

Huh, the title says it all. No one lives under the lighthouse. And you definitely don't go mad. Fun game with multiple endings, scary atmosphere.

JakobimHaus
JakobimHaus

Finally I can play as a lighthouse keeper!

The first half of the game was better than the last, but it is still a good game. I like the Silent-Hill-1-vibe and the general mood and aesthetic of the game. It doesn't rely on cheap jumpscares and rather works with the general feeling of unease. If you want a retro-indie horror game to have fun with (for roughly 2 hours), just get it! If you want to enjoy the life of a lighthouse keeper alone on an island, just get it!

Small advice: Avoid watching the trailer! It ruins some scenes a bit.

Wimbles
Wimbles

An utterly baffling game peppered with neck breaking tonal whiplash. It begins innocuously enough with a palpable atmosphere and creeping tension, reflected on the store page, but said tension immediately dissipates due to a sudden Benny Hill-esque monster chase. It then just completely spirals into a series of confusing and messy set pieces which feel so out of place that it's almost comedic, and the constant spontaneous cutting between seemingly unrelated areas is nauseating. The waste of genuine potential set up by the early game is just disappointing.

Just watch The Lighthouse.

ProZack
ProZack

I've only recently starting to really play and appreciate horror games. I've been having a hyperfixation on lovecraftian horror recently, and this game definitely scratched that itch! The way the game is designed with the low poly graphics in mind lends to a lot of what I enjoyed in the game; needing to get close to everything in order to make out what was what lends a lot to the 'curiosity' themes that are always prevalent in lovecraftian horror. It seems like such a small compliment to the game, but it's done extremely well. This game is well worth the full price, as it compares to a cheap movie ticket -- a nice, and complete, experience.

I saw someone else criticize it, and I'd have to agree: the biggest gripe I have with the game is that it reveals its hand too early. It still does it pretty well, mind you, still leaving a lot to the imagination, but it also takes away from the imagination in the same sense. Either way, this game is great, and definitely worth a play if you're looking for a good 2 hour lil' spook fest.

TIDE Txkyo
TIDE Txkyo

Great story telling, it was amazing in every way i can describe. I highly recommend to those who enjoy the retro horror ganre. The ending(s) really confused the hell out of me! but i guess that was the point. Very well made. I hope they decode to make more installments like this one.

Trashboy
Trashboy

Holy crap are those achievements Jojo references?!?
In all seriousness though, this was an interesting game that left me with a lot of conflicting opinions. On one hand, the visuals and sound design were absolutely incredible most of the time and made for a horror experience that felt genuinely mesmerizing and creative. On the other hand, while it only took me around 2 hours to beat the game, it still felt like it was dragging a lot of the time. I get that certain repetitive elements help build the atmosphere and tension but especially the narrative felt overbearing and made me really impatient a lot of the time.
Now I'm aware that what I've played is the Director's cut and the original game (which is still accessible) is supposedly paced very differently in the second half, which is where I found most of my problems with the game. I'm also aware that my trek through the game only constituted one of multiple endings/routes. However, what I've experienced made me absolutely not want to go back and experience the other routes. To me, the story felt a lot like it was designed to bait Youtube explainer-videos, which is a type of storytelling that absolutely does not appeal to me. While I like slow-burning media that make you ponder, I wish this game would know it's strengths better and just get on with it.

TL;DR

A roughly 2-hour romp with some amazingly creative sequences and a very mediocre, tryhard story that keeps getting in the way. Worth the price imo but might not be worth the time required to play depending on what you value

borbette moral
borbette moral

dead seagull (nobody lives under the lighthouse)

hiltunen
hiltunen

The style and atmosphere were great, but the narrative was uninteresting and exhausting. I think it had a lot of potential, but for me it failed to create enough tension and intrigue. I was intrigued in the beginning, but there was no payoff whatsoever. And whatever tension there was in the beginning, it was ruined with a reveal made way too soon. It ended up being a mess that was left for interpretation, but then felt like there wasn't a clear story to uncover anyway. Also some parts felt really frustrating, even though I think it was trying to be scary(??)

My experience wasn't that great, but it might be that I just simply didn't "get it."

(Also: Why's there a lion roaring in my right ear throughout the rain/thunderstorm sequence...?)