No One Lives Under the Lighthouse XSX Review 8/10 "More Bite-Sized Horror Gold" 🗼 @marevocollectiv #IndieGames #GameDev

I am a big fan of bite-sized titles that can be enjoyed in a single evening – horror titles especially, as Boomfire’s recent The Creepy Syndrome reminded me.

No One Lives Under the Lighthouse is a game with some serious character in its presentation that drew me in on multiple levels from the visual style through to the subtle gameplay mechanics, narrative, and incredible sound design – with the only slight hiccup for me being the final sequence of events.

The game – a first-person adventure - opens with your character being dropped off at a remote island, with the titular lighthouse looming large. The boatman makes cryptic comments about the previous lighthouse keeper before rowing back off into the darkness, leaving you alone on the island….or are you?

Much like Anodyne 2, No One Lives Under the Lighthouse rocks PS1-style polygonal visuals, and they are nice and crunchy here, with the lo-fi aesthetic really focusing the player on the brush strokes of the narrative. You can explore the island freely, from the smattering of single-level buildings and outhouses, through to the pebbled beach and finally, across the way from the lighthouse to a copse of trees surrounded by rocks that may or may not look like an enormous, monstrous maw…

The visuals are enhanced through some really saucy sound design, from the creaks and moans of the lighthouse through to the crunch of feet on the stony beach, the eerie emptiness of the island is accentuated through rich audio work. I wasn’t able to play with headphones, but I can imagine they would be amazing – especially one of the most frightening and unsettling moments which I unfortunately can’t comment on here for spoiler purposes, although I will say that it’s one of the most memorable moments that I’ve had in a horror game in recent years, and it’s not through shock or jump-scares, just a clever build with a rich payoff.

The main mechanics are simple enough, you begin by wandering the small island and the scattered buildings to perform basic tasks to keep the lighthouse functioning, initially, this involves getting oil to light the flame, and winding a crank to allow the light to rotate, naturally – as the game evolves in terms of the narrative - the goals evolve with it. I don’t want to say too much, as this is very much a game that shines when a player dives in blind.

To be honest, I had a great time with the few hours I spent with No One Lives Under the Lighthouse right up until the final half hour or so, again – I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll just say that it falls into the trap of feeling like there has to be an action-packed final sequence, and it flies in the face of the clever build-up that the game carefully lays down.

It was also a touch too open-ended in terms of the narrative conclusion for my personal tastes, although I understand that for some, discussing plot threads and endings online is part of the fun of games in this particular genre.

SUMMARY

No One Lives Under the Lighthouse is a game that I highly recommend for horror fans, it looks and sounds fantastic, and stays strong right up to the end, but that end will be divisive for some.

It’s absolutely put Torture Star Video on the map for me, I’m keen to see what’s next!

Right, I’m off to shoo away those pesky seagulls…