Projection: First Light

“I cannot stress enough how wonderful Projection: First Light looks. It’s a well-rounded piece that uses an unusual twist on an old concept. The style reinforces the history behind puppetry, and the graphics and audio create a lush and emotive landscape. However, its key mechanic is its main drawback, forcing it to plateaus early as a consequence, and this impacts the desire to play. Do I recommend it? I do. Only because it’s a masterpiece to look at and listen to. If you want a copy, it can be purchased here! Be warned though, you’ll be balancing beauty with frustration. Can you help Greta manipulate the light and travel the world? Patience and a glowing butterfly are all you need to succeed.”

“As long as you don’t run into any major bugs, the most frustrating gameplay elements are the finicky controls, and if you don’t understand the intricacies of the plot, you might get bored waiting through the cutscenes. Despite that, Projection: First Light is worth picking up: it’s a stunning visual display with unique gameplay that usually succeeds in elevating its concept. Also, it’s fun to play. It’s pretty. I liked it.”

“Projection: First Light is one of the most unique games that I’ve played in a long time, and one that leaves a memory of a wonderful experience.”

“Even though I enjoyed my time with Projection: First Light's clever 2D platforming, there's no denying just how flimsy it can be at times.”

“Let's be clear – this is no disaster like Gleamlight. This is a well-crafted, carefully designed and fantastic-looking game. It's just such a damn shame that the central shadow-casting mechanic is so fussy, so irritating and so downright broken that we can't recommend it without the strongest of caveats. It's very clear that the developers put their heart and soul into Projection: First Light, and that effort deserves to be recognised. Unfortunately, we suggest you recognise it from afar. We don't think that a patch alone could solve this game's problems, and if there's ever a Projection: Second Light, we'd be surprised.”

“Projection: First Light is a game that requires patience, but if you enjoy sprawling, beautifully designed platformers, it is worth playing.”

“Only being lacking in some technical adjustment and editing stops this title from being truly great. Nevertheless, Projection: First Light immerses you in a forgotten culture for a visual and narrative treat that will no doubt prove to be a memorable experience.”

“We all were making shadow puppets with hands early in our childhood. Highlighted back during PAX, Projection: First Light has already showed a lot of potential using the light and shadow as a mechanic for platforming. Eventually you have a whole world of shadow puppets in front of you and you can freely play around with creating your own shadows.”

“An easy-going platformer with plenty of depth.”

“Projection: First Light started out as one of my favourite indie games of the year so far, but with a game-breaking bug in the mix, it’s sadly going to fall short of what I initially expected to score it. Hopefully the bug will be fixed soon, but for now, it unfortunately has to be reflected in my score.”

“Projection: First Light has a simple core gameplay but has executed it very well with some challenging puzzles and a different and beautiful art style to make it a very good choice for anyone looking for a good puzzle/platformer title.”

“Projection: First Light is a game that not only surprised me with its concept, but with its solid execution. It has a simple, yet incredible idea that I’m shocked hasn’t been utilized before. At least to this degree. The art style is beautiful with a subtle grace that adds to the whimsy of its narrative.”

“I’ll admit that simply seeing this game for the first time I pretty well fell in love, completely digging the unusual aesthetics and the promise of creative puzzle platforming it showed...”

“There might be some issues here and there, but this is a perfectly enjoyable puzzle-platformer with great pacing and enjoyable shadow platforming.”

“Projection: First Light is a charming tale of a little girl learning perspective and self-enlightenment through various cultures worldwide. The gameplay loop is continually changing as you move through areas, adding new elements such as swinging platforms, fire breathing dragon statues, spikes, massive boulders, and more. There are even a few boss encounters, although the final boss sequence (I won't give too much away) quickly becomes frustrating due to finicky precision controls during a chase scene.”