Flood of Light

pretty good!

Flood of Light is a really beautiful and good casual puzzle game, now then let's get into the story. The city called hope is in a hopeless situation submerged and ruined by rain that never ends and left abandoned by humanity to rot, it's only residents abandoned robots. But soon a mysterious girl in a raincoat appears, her only goal is to save this abandoned place and restore hope.

Alright the likes, the gameplay is pretty good and interesting, the light mechanics is a good concept needing to light lamps in order to get to the pillars, open doors and creating bridges. The puzzles were good for the most part they were hard but fair, it does a good job of really testing your brain, especially when a new type of light is introduced, I also like how there are some puzzles that you can solve in different ways as well as trying to light the pillar in as very few moves as possible.

Those kind of things really kept the game challenging, although I will say I didn't like the lamp puzzles, basically in the last two levels you can sacrifice a light to create a lamp which can be used to store your lights, I found that to be an interesting concept, although it did have its problems in the last two level, but I'll get to that later in the dislikes. The story was pretty good, as you get to find out through diary entries what happened to the city, I definitely like the themes of regret, the power of nature and that feeling of hope as you slowly start to stop the flood.

The graphics are absolutely beautiful with good somber colors and beautiful scenery that makes you just want to stop and stare at it all and just look at each of the nice little touches here and there. The levels are good, it takes place in a city but each level is very diverse with good touches that makes the City of Hope feel like a real futuristic place, I think my favorite level has to be the ground level even though it was pretty annoying gameplay-wise, it was breathtakingly beautiful with a good mixture of trees and Asian architecture.

The atmosphere is fantastic it has a good sense of melancholy as you wander this abandoned flooded city, but also fills you with hope as you complete each level and see the flood resend. The music is absolutely fantastic each track really fits the game well; I especially love the ground level track as it was quite beautiful. The characters were good while the characters are just the silent protagonist and robots, both were very cute and I did like the characterization of the doctor, starting out as this cold scientist, but slowly growing compassionate and remorseful.

Alright the dislikes, now the game is almost perfect except for this achievement called being the prophet, basically you have to complete a task on ground level and gain the S rank without having to replay the level.

But the problem with that is the lanterns, like I said in the likes you get a new power where you can sacrifice a light to create a lantern, I did like that concept, but the problem is that you have to be extremely accurate with them and getting the perfect achievement without replaying made it really annoying. Especially at this one segment where you are on a moving platform and need to create a light while the platform is moving, it all just got really frustrating really fast.

There's also a few bugs in the game, but they're extremely rare, one bug is at the last stage I was on the moving platform it was stationary at times but when I activated it the platform just moved but without me on, it even though I was on it. There’s also this optional Christmas level, but I never really understood it since you don't really get any achievement or anything by completing it, it’s just there.

Alright with that finished Flood of Light is a really beautiful and good casual puzzle game, it has good puzzles, absolutely beautiful graphics and absolutely fantastic music. So I recommend this game, especially since the price is more than fair.

A City Drowning in Beauty - Flood of Light Review 🌊

"Watt" the Flood?! - Four DOTA 2 Heroes, One Soggy City, and a Whole Lotta Bulbs

Flood Of Light is a casual atmospheric 2d puzzle walking adventure game.
Probably two of the first things that hook you into playing this game is its gorgeous 2d art and environment design and its beautiful music and overall environmental sounds that create a wonderful and peaceful and somber ambience. And if you are somebody that loves to listen to rain sounds, there is a lot of it in this game.
It has a very interesting story that slowly unravels as you go along (with a few spelling mistakes here and there). The gameplay/challenging part of the game is its clever puzzles and puzzle mechanics that are just enough to be challenging but not so much to frustrate you and take you out of the overall chill and relaxing feel of the game.
Overall… Flood of Light is an atmospheric puzzle game, with gorgeous art, beautiful music, and a very calm and relaxing ambience feel to it.

Play as W-02, a small girl left behind in a flooded and forsaken Hope city. Waking up in unusual circumstances with an interesting power to control and move electricity, collect wisps, repair the decommissioned robots, re-power the cities cores, and light the lanterns. Find the truth of what happened that left you alone abandoned in this lost city; and go home.

I loved Flood of Light! It’s an extremely cute game with a curious story with some rather creative and fun puzzles with a couple flaws; The text is mostly broken English and there is a fair amount of spelling errors, but the art, graphics, music, and puzzles more than make up for it. 4+ hours to complete, for the low price, it’s absolutely worth picking up and a great gift to send to a friend. Consider picking up the soundtrack as well!

There are not many unforgivable sins in the game development. Unfortunately, one has been committed here.
Flood of Light should have been a good puzzle game. It features great artwork, nice soundtrack and decent core design. It has some issues, sure - the English translation is simply bad and the controls are not thought out at all - but during most of my playthrough I have been able to overlook most of them, leaning towards my usual neutral-turned-positive stance as the result. The I encountered the horror.
No chill game ever should include timing-based challenges, period. It completely wrecked the mood for me, being outright opposite to what I expected. The fact that the challenge is in the third scene of the level out of four, and this specific level is rewarded with an achievement for passing without intra-level scene restarts, just adds insult to injury. This is not merely disappointing, it is outright infuriating; were I aware of the problem beforehand, I wouldn't have bought the game.

This puzzle game is kinda unique. Even though the game mechanism is simple, I am amazed with the ability of the devs who can set up a variety of puzzles. It provide many entertaining puzzles from the beginning to the end with the intriguing story in the background.
In the end, I found out that I only unlock one of the endings (i.e. the "sunshine" ending)). This interests me to give it another try sometime later to unlock the other endings.
The music is very relaxing and suitable as well.
There is one description of an object that still has Chinese words in it without being translated. I hope the devs can fix it in their next update. This is a near perfect puzzle game: challenging puzzles + interesting story + great graphics and music.

Flood of Light is a super chill puzzle game. The music is melancholic and beautiful. The story is one of those anime-style post-apocalypse worlds where everyone is dead except you, and your job is to try recover a tiny fragment of the society that was lost. You do this by joining together lights in specific sequences to drain and explore a sunken city. The mechanics are hard to explain, but easy to understand once you're in the game. I only got stuck once, and even then not for too long. It's a lovely atmosphere and well worth a go if you like light puzzles and this kind of sci-fi.

I'm sorry to say that I'm Not Recommending "Flood of Light." My wife really liked the game, but I didn't much care for it. If you like games that are based almost entirely around their puzzles, I suppose it'll be fine. But, I prefer a bit more (or perhaps "better") story. Anyway, the graphics and music are fine, but the game does have some actual problems:

• The elephant in the room is the translation. It's terrible. In the Discussion area, people have even offered to help with the translation. But, it remains just awful.
  
• I suppose this one could be related to the bad translation, but the story is pretty bad, too. It's fairly non-sensical (but, again, translation). Going along with that, the two endings aren't very good, either.
  
• A good chunk of the Achievements involve finishing each floor of the game in a certain number of "steps." Unfortunately, exactly what constitutes a "step" isn't spelled out very well in the game (though I might have missed it). I've written up a post with my best shot at a definition:
  
  https://steamcommunity.com/app/606480/discussions/0/3345546172890109445/
  
  
• The puzzles start out at a nice, comfortable level. They do get harder as you go along. But, unfortunately, that leveling up goes too far for my taste. By the 1st floor (that's near the end), I found the puzzles to be far too convoluted. The puzzles in the last (ground) floor add in some persnickety item placement and timing tasks that I didn't care for at all.
  
• If you collect all the "wicks," at the end of the game, you're given a choice which shows you the two endings. With no real explanation, the entire text of that choice is "On" and "Off." I had no idea what that was about.
  
[*]I'm using a 3440x1440 monitor. In Fullscreen mode, essential information is entirely missing from the top of the screen. I had to run the game in Windowed mode to see that information.

Under it's beautiful cover, this game is a brain racking puzzle, especially if you're aiming to reach the S rank for every floor (especially the 3rd one) without using a walthrough.
Because I was aiming for this challenge, I made a guide which only shows the number of steps each room require.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1893472238

The story in itself fit with the constant rain and the loneliness of the flooded Hope City. After all, you're playing the only human being and the only company you have is robots you can repair and the mails you're regularly receiving as you progress thorough the game.
The difficulty curve is well done, the game regularly introducing new mechanics and doesn't hesitate to push you to leave things unfinished in a room to come back later just to grind down a few steps.

While the control are, at first, a little quirky, you adapt quickly to the mix between WASD and drag and drop. You cannot change the control, which is a problem if you own an AZERTY as the keys are mapped on the letters and not on their place. To solve this problem, you can use "Key Remapper" but I admit I always find it annoying when I need a third party program for something that has been forgotten or not considered.

Another problem is the terrible English translation. It shows that it's not professionally done and that a translator has been used for most of it. It's honestly cringy, even more as the story in itself is heartrending.

Overall I do recommend this game, it's certainly one of the most original puzzle game I played, it's beautiful, the piano and rain sound is relaxing and you'll spend a good moment if you like smart puzzles.

Excellent game with utterly beautiful music accompanied by gorgeous visuals. It has some very simple and well-designed puzzles with optional and fun challenges for each one along the way. Can be easily finished in a day and, for the price, it's totally worth it if you like puzzle games. On sale, it's a steal and one that every puzzle enthusiast should have in their library. 9/10 overall.

Flood of Light is a beautifully hand-drawn 2D puzzle game that serenades the player with piano music while they travel through a city solving puzzles. Although the game is quite basic in regards to gameplay, the audio and visuals combine to make a very enjoyable and overall relaxing experience.

My only critiscsm of Flood of Light is that although the game is in English, it is clear that it was not the devs primary language as there are some small grammatical errors through-out. Not a big deal, just something to keep in mind if you decide to pick it up.

I would recommend Flood of Light to those who enjoy games like Journey and Abzû, or for someone who wants to relax after a long day at work or school.

Despite the good visuals and relaxing music, the game has some terrible design in some places.

+ Good visuals and music/sound effects

- The puzzles themselves are poorly made, easy, they lack any creativity and they require you to do them in 1 way ONLY if you want the highest rank. Just find some guide and repeat what you see in it.
- The dialogue with the robot npcs is dull.
- The ending is incredibly anticlimactic and I got disappointed.
- Also the game took me 3-4 hours to complete(the other half I spent farming the cards). Perhaps there is about 1-2 hours extra if you go for 100% achievements. Get it on sale if you have it wishlisted.

Why do I recommend it then? I don't, but there is no neutral score, only negative or positive.

You'd be forgiven for looking at this in the Steam Store and dismissing it as a cheap mobile port. Well, yes, it is both of those things, but it also happens to be excellent in every respect. The graphics are clear and atmospheric and, depending on your tastes, the music and fx are relaxing and unintrusive. The game's design is also very friendly. Checkpoints are frequent and you can restart a level easily. There's even a story if that's what floats your boat.

Where the game really shines though is in the puzzles. The mechanic of absorbing lights and transferring them to lamps and switches is simple but used to great effect. There's not one part of the game that feels lazy. Every puzzle on every level has clearly been tested and refined by hours of playtesting. The difficulty curve is perfect. This is not a platformer. There's no tricky timing stuff involved. It's all about finding elegant solutions, especially if you want to get 100% achievements.

It's a couple of quid for 25 - 30 hours of quality playtime. I loved it.

I bought Flood of Light primarily for the art, sound, and premise from the game's summary. Further, even tags like "Adventure" and "RPG" are still sitting on the page, and those also gave me more of an idea to try it out after looking at the quick trailer and screenshots.

It turns out that the only good things in the game are the art and sound. There is not really any adventure to the game, and there is nothing related to RPG's to be found within Flood of Light.

Literally, the game is a handful of linear rooms with puzzles where you drag light from lamps to fill up certain pedestals that cause the water level in the flooded city to lower down, thus allowing you to progress further. There is no exploration whatsoever. Everything is insanely linear and just boils down to each room's puzzle, with the puzzles very rarely depending upon what you did in the previous room.

In fact, most of the puzzles require "perfection." You will likely hit the "Replay" button often, because certain lamps are out of reach if you arrange the lights in the wrong order.

The game adds in some new mechanics in the latter half, but they're relatively short-lived, and for the most part the puzzles become boring and monotonous. I had no excitement or sense of accomplishment progressing through the game.

Depending on how well you are at figuring out the patterns, you can probably finish (maybe not at 100% completion) within 2 to 3 hours. Which might be fine for the game's price tag... but honestly, I didn't get any enjoyment from the game.

When it comes to the story of the game, there's some sense of dystopian future, experimentation, and some deity-like notions, particularly in the main character's ability to move around light. But it's all done pretty badly. You encounter robots that speak to you, but the majority of them repeat the same generic information. Besides that, some little story messages explain more about who you are, but never really get far enough into a sensible story. Nor does the game have any sense of completion or progress with the plotline other than learning bad details in the past.

(Side Note: The English translation is not well-done and learning from the story messages just sort of kills the moment when certain things don't make much sense to read.)

Even worse, there are two endings to the game and both of them just drop everything immediately. Note that the achievements publicly mention both endings, so I'm not spoiling that they exist. In any case, if you go out of your way to get the "true" ending, all it does is change the final cutscene to something that's just about as bad as the original ending, considering that both of them only last about 10 seconds. They give no more expansion upon the story. Then you are just handed a "Thanks for Playing" screen, rendering the already very small story even more useless.

Honestly, I feel like Flood of Light should have been an exploration game with more focus on the story instead of a small-scale puzzle game that left the story in the backseat. The art style and the music and sound are the only positives I give to the game. They are really nice and definitely give off the sense of loneliness in this drowning city. If all of that had been funneled into an actual adventure with exploration and other mechanics instead of the repetitive puzzle rooms, then I feel like the game would have given a better vibe and accomplished a lot more.

Instead, the end product here is nothing too exciting or fun for me.

If you like this review, please check out my Curator page, Engage Brain. Dedicated to reviewing games that challenge the grey matter. not the reflexes.

Introduction

Gameplay

Story/Plot

Audio/Visual

Controls

Summary

While I can't recommend it for the story (what is kind of a first for me), I can and certainly will recommend it for the puzzles.

As the description goes, in Flood of Light you play as a little girl who needs to light her way through a city submerged by rain. You start on the roof of a building and your objective is to activate the pedestals at the end of the level on each of the floors. However, in order to reach said pedestals you must light different lamp posts and activate a few stone posts along your way.

For the most part, the game does a pretty good job introducing you to the different ways in which you can manipulate light, how you can absorb, store, and transfer it, as well as the different types of light that will be available to you (blue can be submerged, yellow cannot). I say "for the most part," as there is some trial and error in order to get the most out of the available light. The game encourages you to be efficient and thorough, suggesting a maximum number of steps (how many lights you move in order to reach the pedestal) and indicating what discoveries you need to make to achieve a perfect 'S' rating. Achieving a perfect rating on all floors unlocks the 'true' ending.

I cannot emphasize enough how addicting this game is, a feeling that is undoubtedly exacerbated by the drive to solve each and every puzzle in the least amount of moves possible, not to mention some achievements require an inordinate amount of patience and perseverance (more on this later). I would sometimes stare at the screen for a few minutes, mentally transferring light from one lamp to the next, activating and deactivating switches, tallying the number of imaginary moves I was making. It felt incredibly rewarding solving the puzzles on each floor and I instantly took up the challenge to achieve a perfect rating on every one of them (which I did).

The game however, is not without its flaws, and one of the most glaring ones becomes apparent right away: there is no manual save. What does this imply? Well, for one, it means that if you quit the game before you have completed a floor, then all your progress on that floor is lost (what contributed to my 45-hour playtime as I sometimes left the game open and went to bed). Sure, there are checkpoints throughout the floor that allow you to replay a particular segment in order to optimize the total number of moves but if you quit the game, you'll have to start that floor over from scratch. Also, these checkpoints are sometimes quite inconveniently placed, making it easy for you to make a mistake and not having enough time to get back to the menu to hit replay before your progress is automatically saved.

This lack of manual saves is particularly maddening when you're trying to unlock the "Being the prophet" achievement, as you cannot use the aforementioned replay function. I mean, you can, but if you do, you won't be able to unlock the achievement. That means if you make one false move, you'd better start the level all over again... and there is a noticeable ramp-up in difficulty on that last floor; I must've replayed it ten times, maybe more. A friendly tip: favour the keyboard on that floor instead of the mouse. Sometimes the mouse doesn't respond correctly when you're trying to place a lamp or absorb light, but you can be sure that won't happen with the keyboard.

This repetition can certainly get on your nerves but, fortunately, the game has a soothing (if simple) soundtrack to ease the tension. Combine that with the lovely artwork and this is definitely a most inviting game to play and replay.

As for the story, while you do collect letters that try to explain what is going on, and you interact with robots that give you a few tidbits here and there, the issue lies in the fact that all of the writing has been translated from Chinese to English... and the translation just isn't very good (to say the least). Sure, you can understand most (if not all) of it, but at no point did I feel engaged by it. I know there's probably a good story there, but the issues with the grammar took me out of it.

Considering its pleasing aesthetic, high replay value, and relatively low price-point, Flood of Light is a great game if you feel like flexing your brain muscles. While I would've preferred that the soundtrack had been included with the game, I have no qualms recommending this title at full price.

The reason to play Flood of Light is its art. One of its promotional images shows the protagonist kneeling in a cloak in front of a darkened cityscape, bright bursts of pink  (cherry blossom trees, it turns out) on either side of her and rain drizzling in the background. It's that image that caught my eye, and even though I read some brief impressions and looked at a few screens after that, I was probably always going to buy it after I saw that initial artwork, assuming it didn't end up being some kind of call center simulator. But honestly, I'd probably buy even that if it were attached to art this pretty. The same aesthetic carries through the entire game, with muted grays and blues punctuated by splashes of more vibrant colors. It's surprisingly evocative for such a small game; the city itself reverberates with an eerie stillness, while the more whimsical character designs lighten the mood ever so slightly.

The puzzles are better than they probably needed to be, too, particularly for what was originally a mobile game. If the mechanics aren't particularly novel, they are soundly executed, and the gently sloping difficulty curve is ideal for this more casual type of game. You're introduced to simple set of rules early on, and though there are a small handful of new mechanics introduced throughout the game, those same rules will always apply.  Crucially, it never violates it's own logic, and never asks you to come up with solutions it hasn't taught you. A pet peeve of mine is when a puzzle game pulls solutions out of thin air, as if it's so very clever for expecting you to solve a puzzle in a way it never even communicated to you was possible; none of the puzzles here even approach that. There are a few telltale signs that Flood of Light didn't originate on PC; it's very mouse-oriented even when that isn't the most intuitive input option, and character movement is sluggish and occasionally imprecise. Overall, though, it's a very solid port, and I think the fact that I didn't even realize it was a port until I was nearly halfway through says something about the quality of the game.

If it has one major downfall, though, it's very clearly its writing, or more accurately, the translation of that writing. Flood of Light comes from a Chinese developer, and I strongly suspect they translated the game into English themselves, perhaps with some help from Google Translate. The result is incoherent at best, and complete gibberish at worst. A kind steam user volunteered to fix its grammar, which removed some of the most egregious errors but it essentially amounts to a band-aid on a chainsaw wound. What the game really needs is for every line of text to be rewritten from the ground up by a proper translator. Do I begrudge a small studio for not having the resources for a better translation? Not at all. Do I think you should be aware of its translation issues before buying Flood of Light? Absolutely.

I can imagine some players criticizing Flood of Light for being too easy, but I think to do that is to fundamentally misunderstand what type of game this is. It's not trying to force your brain into mental gymnastics like The Talos Principle,  or make you feel like a small, worthless and very stupid pile of organic refuse the way Stephen's Sausage Roll does; it's trying to be the game you play to relax after work. Think of Flood of Light like a lazy brook in the summertime; it's pretty, gentle, and will have a decidedly calming effect on your mental state.

Flood of Light is a light-weight, puzzle-solving game. Easy-mastered moves, proper difficulty and the never-stopped raining sound makes it a nice choice to relax yourself in such a hot summer. One can expect to finish this game within 6 hrs(as slow as me 0_0), but it takes a lot more time to get all-S achievement.

9/10. Would give 10/10 if developer could provide a better ending animation.

おすすめ！

Flood of Light is a very atmospheric puzzle game with a stellar soundtrack and beautiful backgrounds. Gameplay is focused on limited-space puzzles where you have to move the light in correct sequence. If anyone is wondering there is no reflex based gameplay like platforming etc. The difficulty was very good in terms of progression. Overtime game adds new elements to the gameplay and puzzles become more complex. I thought the solutions were very creative and I found myself cheering every time I beat a hard level. Surprisingly I never felt annoyed or completely overwhelmed by difficulty. I think great soundtrack just makes the game so soothing that I can't even feel frustrated. It has tutorial throughout the game with images and tips (translation might be a bit meh but I had no problems learning mechanics).

By far the best part of this game is the atmosphere created by visuals and the music. It has this very melancholic feel that creates a compelling world. All levels have a suburban theme with some occasionally unique locations. Maybe the character animation could have been a little better though. Music was just fantastic, one of my favorite soundtracks in any game. It takes about 4 hours to beat but that won't give you a true ending. You would have to spend about 6-7 hours if you want to get a better conclusion. Good length for this type of game and it did not overstay its welcome. While there is not a lot of narrative, the story had a nice mystery which motivated me to finish.

Pros:

Cons:

Flood of light is a 2D puzzler that offers a number of challenging puzzles in a beautifully drawn environment.

You can find 25 minutes of gameplay with commentary here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij8LAfAaUnI

I choose to purchase this game based solely on how nice the art style was. Through the game this does not falter, and it is a joy to look at. The music is also enjoyable to listen too, and you can purchase it as DLC for an additional cost. While I wouldn't go that far, it adds to the atmosphere of the game and help overcome the games shortcomings.

You begin by entering a city that has been flooded by an endless rain. The goal is to reach the end of each stage an activate a pump, which lowers water the water level and provides access to the next level down. Throughout each stage you will come across a range of puzzles that involve using orbs to illuminate lights. The orbs can only move from light to light, and all of the orbs you carry are used each time, with any excess being attached to the last light in the chain. This mechanic is deceptively simple, but gets more complex as you move through the game. Most new stages also introduce additional mechanics that effect the use of, or the orbs themselves.

Story wise, as you progress through the game there are terminals where you can gain information on what happened in the city. There are also robots who explain new game mechanics or provide a glimpse into the history of the city. It is a fitting way to learn about the game but text has been translated from Chinese to English, so the words used and context is sometimes slightly off. Its not to the point where you can't understand the story - just that some of the text could have been written better.

For controls the game uses mouse and W S A D for movement. There is no real way to die, but if you use the orbs in the wrong way, you will have to reload from the previous save to try again. The game also has 4 measurements at the end of a stage - "wicks" lit, moves taken, robots spoken too and story elements collected. Apparently if you get all four items for all of the stages, there is an additional ending.

This game is a port from iOS and Andriod, where you can find it under the same name. The levels have changed slightly from mobile, but not enough to warrant buying it again if you already have it. The PC implementation works and does not feel like it is missing anything.

All up I would estimate about 4 hours of gameplay, depending on how quickly you progress through the stages. There would be much more if you want to go for the full completion, as many of the puzzles left me clueless how to get the wicks. I have enjoyed my playthrough so far and feel its worth the 3.99 price tag.