I am many things, but a horror game enjoyer is not normally one of them. So imagine my utter surprise when I decided to take the reins of Little Light House of Horror, a… horror… game. To then actually enjoy it? Unthinkable. At least, I would have said so before I gave the game a go. If you’ve ever sat and thought to yourself “Boy, I wonder what it’d be like to be a lighthouse operator who is also sort of cursed by spooky occurrences!” then do I have a surprise for you.
Little Lighthouse of Horror is a unique take on the horror genre, due to the fact that — as you may have guessed — you’re a lighthouse operator that has to maintain a gigantic beam of light as well as fight off your own plunge into insanity. It’s a 2D game with pixel art making up the vast majority of the visuals that you’ll become accustomed to along your journey as the keeper of the lighthouse. The choice of art style and colours really helps reinforce the feeling of isolation and eerie dread that slowly creeps over you for the course of the game.
First off, if you’re looking for a game that’s a smaller, encapsulated experience then I can tell you right off the bat that Little Lighthouse of Horror is not a long game. It’ll likely take you around 2-3 hours once all is said and done, maybe more if you’re an achievement hunter and would like to experience the different ways you can… ‘end’ your journey prematurely. With that in mind, don’t let the short play time scare you off, as the narrative that unfolds is one that kept me interested and intrigued, especially once certain plot elements were revealed and more characters were introduced in the latter half of the game.
There are elements of resource management too, given the fact that you have to maintain aspects of your character as well as keeping the lighthouse running and switched on depending on the weather conditions of each day, which is displayed to you in the form of a pocket watch you’re able to view at all times. If, like me, you’re a bit daunted by the idea of games that don’t really tell you much then you’re in luck as there’s a handy dandy guidebook you can refer back to if you feel stuck at any point.
There will be times where you may feel frustrated by the lack of information and that’s okay because lord knows I was too, but now that I’ve beat the game and experienced everything there is to offer, I’ll say that learning through failure was weirdly… enjoyable? It’s not often I find myself saying that about a game, but it just reinforced the feeling of embodying someone who’s arrived on this small island, been told to keep the lighthouse running and just left to their own devices.
Once you figure out a system that works for you, you’ll likely manage your hunger, sleep, sanity and boredom just fine, as the biggest focus is on making sure you’ve set the lighthouse beam up and kept it running throughout the night. You’ll also have to make sure you’re recording the state of your tech by writing in the logbook at the bottom of the lighthouse, something that you might think is hard to miss but trust me, I somehow did on my first go.
I don’t want to spoil too many elements of the story so I won’t describe the plot in major detail, but I will say I enjoyed how information was delivered and that the game does not rely on cheap jump scares as a lot of indie horror has been known to do. The slow burn and reveal of major plot points really did it for me, coupled with the drone of the soundtrack and certain cut-scenes that play after you reach a certain point (which look fantastic).
All in all, I can say that I was pleasantly surprised by Little Lighthouse of Horror, and to anyone that might hold off due to the horror element then I’d say that it’s worth being brave for, as it’s so much more than just a spooky game.
You can pick up Little Lighthouse of Horror right now on Steam.