Strayed Lights Xbox Review | Invision Game Community

Strayed Lights is an intriguing title. It’s an action-adventure sport that makes some daring selections with its design. From its visuals and artwork path, story and gameplay mechanics, Strayed Lights takes typical tropes and design selections and strips them again to a extra simplified, however no much less attention-grabbing core. When virtually each title nowadays appears decided to be the following large factor in its style, Strayed Lights selections make it a daring outlier. But it surely’s additionally these selections which will polarise you over whether or not or not you really take pleasure in it.

Strayed Lights doesn’t fairly match into anyone class of gaming fashion. There’s an exploration journey really feel to it, slight platforming components, hub-like components, considerably Souls-like fight and an method to cinematic storytelling in its framing of minimize scenes and atmosphere design.

There’s clearly a whole lot of ambition on show right here, however developer Embers’ first vital assertion with Strayed Lights is their selection to inform their story with nary a phrase of spoken dialogue. As a substitute, the story circulation is instructed by means of motion and the occasional nonetheless picture solely. Is there a narrative right here in any respect? Actually, nevertheless it’s additionally open to interpretation which is an enormous plus in my guide.

This daring selection places you within the sneakers of a newly born being that holds the twin components of sunshine and shadow in it’s make-up. Throughout its delivery, one thing goes unsuitable and the darker facet of its nature, together with a wholesome dose of energy, splits from it and begins a reign of terror. Thus begins your journey to not solely reclaim this manifestation and your energy, but in addition cleanse the souls of your siblings who appear to have been corrupted by means of their fears.

Strayed Lights makes use of its non-verbal method to inform a narrative concerning the manifestation of worry and overcoming the darkness round you. A minimum of, that’s what I gathered from my time with the sport. The builders have by some means managed to inform a story that – particularly should you go to the web site – is pretty defining but in addition open to interpretation by respecting that the participant is kind of able to figuring it out.

There’s no hand-holding right here, no merchandise or lore descriptions to inform you what’s happening. Solely the world, its devastated look and the wordless cinematics for you to consider.

Strayed Lights alien planet is simplistically grand. The stylised artwork and atmosphere design received’t win any awards for polygon-pushing visuals. Nonetheless, there are sometimes sufficient artistically designed vistas and remnants of a destroyed tradition to stare upon that it makes the sport’s photograph mode a pleasure to make use of. Dripping caverns, desert-like areas, thriving jungles and shattered towers all make up the world that you simply’re going to discover.

Throughout a wide range of ranges that seamlessly join again to every hub space you’ll get to do some gentle platforming, some restricted exploration and a good quantity of combating. Every space primarily has you trailing a boss – one in all your siblings who has been corrupted – by means of the extent and combating them a number of occasions till you’ll be able to cleanse them of their trauma and evolve within the course of.

Each enemy you defeat will provide you with a shard that can be utilized to improve your character. Strayed Lights has a stripped-back talent tree with solely a handful of expertise and skills so that you can unlock. Every of those expertise has been designed to reinforce the sport’s primary fight system. If you happen to don’t get used to that, to start with, none of those will matter.

And that’s the place Strayed Lights most divisive component comes into play: the fight system.

Ember has constructed the sport’s fight system round parrying and a twin color/nature system. The story’s gentle and darkish focus additionally performs into the sport’s fight as you’ll be able to change between color states at any time. Now this doesn’t change up your skills in any respect however is essential to what assaults you’ll be able to efficiently block and parry because the enemy and managers have this twin nature as properly. Merely put, a shadow assault can solely be blocked within the shadow state and vice versa. Failing to take action leads to you getting harm.

Efficiently blocking assaults damages the enemy, reducing their vitality bar and build up a big vitality bar for you. Enemies can solely be disposed of as soon as this bar is constructed up totally and also you unleash a big burst of vitality. You do have a primary three-hit combo melee assault nevertheless it’s so ineffective as to be ineffective. In truth, it feels extra like a tacked-on addition to appease melee gamers reasonably than one that’s essential to your toolset. No, you need to efficiently parry assaults to win right here or it’s a swift demise for you.

There’s a small number of enemy sorts, with each having its personal assault combos and speeds with success depending on recognising every enemy sort and their assault patterns. As you’ll typically take care of a number of enemy sorts in a combat, it’s good to prioritise who to take out first as enemies received’t stand round and wait their flip. Combating two enemies on the identical time who’ve utterly totally different assault timings might be very troublesome, which makes it very troublesome to discover a pure circulation to the fight. This may occasionally have the benefit of holding you in your toes nevertheless it additionally offered a good quantity of frustration, particularly since I’m not one of the best at parrying.

One of many nicer additions to fight is the dearth of therapeutic gadgets. As a substitute, every profitable parry restores your well being in a combat so there’s all the time some extent of hope when it might appear to be you’re on the again foot. After every combat your well being is totally restored. I fairly appreciated this addition to the design.

One factor I’m much less enamoured with, aside from a system designed solely round a mechanic I’m not keen on, is the a number of occasions you need to combat every of the sport’s bosses. It felt solely pointless and solely dragged every of the areas of the sport out. To worsen the matter additional is that the sport suffers from lengthy loading occasions on final gen techniques. Whether or not you’re booting it as much as play, ready for a stage to load or reloading after a demise, Strayed Lights on final gen techniques loading did take a look at my endurance. Present-gen machines fare higher.

Whereas Embers’ determination to inform their story by means of motion might not sit properly with some, it isn’t a deal breaker and a threat that I take pleasure in and applaud. The place Strayed Lights actually can be divisive, and a consider whether or not or not you’ll take pleasure in it, is how you’re feeling a couple of sport designed solely round parrying. It will both make or break Strayed Lights for you. That mentioned, the sport’s makes an attempt to strive one thing totally different in right this moment’s crowded style markets must be applauded and this alone is value your time to test it out.