Candle: The Power of the Flame Review For Switch

Game: Candle: The Power of the Flame
System: Nintendo Switch
Developer: Teku Studios
Publisher: Merge Games
Age Rating: 10+ (US) / 3+ (EU)
Price: $14.99 US/ £14.99/ €19,99
Release Date: July 26, 2018 (e-shop)
(There will also be retail physical versions of the game, due out in Aug.)

(Review code kindly provided by Merge Games)

Overall Feeling: I’m not sure

Candle is one of the myriad interesting Indie titles to recently land on the Nintendo Switch e-shop. It’s described as an action-adventure game by the developer, however, it’s more of a puzzle-platformer. It opens with an in-depth story and powerful scenes of worldly destruction and worlds re-born. There are familiar themes of mankind’s ingenuity and brilliance, as well as the tendency to oppress and dominate those deemed less powerful. It certainly paints a vivid picture and all of it is aided by some dramatic voice narration and extraordinary artwork.

After the intro, we are then introduced to Teku, the game’s protagonist. He’s a light guide for his people, and in service of his tribe’s shaman, Yaqa. This great honor came at a great cost: the removal of one of his hands, with a magical candle as its replacement. One day, Teku awakens to find his village besieged by the evil Wakcha clan and in flames. Worse still, Yaqa the shaman is missing!

A Perilous Journey

Teku is now tasked with venturing out beyond his home, into danger unknown, to right the wrongs against his tribe. He must rescue his master whom he was sworn to protect, and along the way protect his candle’s precious flame. To do this, you must guide him to avoid innumerable pitfalls and vicious creatures, all while solving puzzles and uncovering secrets in a hostile environment. That isn’t an easy task here. You will find yourself consistently breaking your neck by a mis-jump and plunging into the depths or off a precipice. Luckily, there’s no set amount of lives. You just return to the spot you last were.

You will need to light your candle at different points throughout the game, either to light your path, scare off enemies, or activate different mechanisms. Teku will perform this action only after first locating the required torch or fire, and he can’t keep the flame lit indefinitely. Some foes can also detect your presence by the fire’s light and you will need to extinguish it to avoid them. There are times where you tiptoe around to sneak up on an enemy or slip past them. If one spots you, you’re unlikely to get away. Small toads and large ones swallow you whole in one gulp if you approach them directly.

As for the puzzle-solving, there is a ton of trial & error involved. You will routinely find yourself wondering what you’re supposed to do or where you need to go next. It isn’t always clear and though there are on-screen clues at times, they’re too often vague. I found this aspect more than frustrating. The developers definitely set the difficulty bar high in Candle. For some brave folk, this may be part of the game’s appeal.

Gameplay and Controls

Teku moves rather sluggishly as he lumbers along, and you will often find it’s a frustrating exercise, controlling his movements. You must time your long-jumps across gaps with the utmost of precision. If done correctly, he will dash across and land safely on the other side. He also can grab onto a ledge and pull himself up. When he stands at the edge of a drop, he will peer over, and then you guide him down by holding down the toggle. Just be sure there’s a surface close enough to fall to. To long-jump, you must get a running start, then leap at the right moment. For dashing, hold down “ZL” or “ZR” in the desired direction. Simple controls here in theory, but not easy to execute, I’m afraid. Jumping to an outcropping or cliff, you must be perpetually sure-footed, and these controls take some getting used to.

Throughout Candle, you will come across various objects and symbols that need to be interacted with. There are items to collect for your inventory, which you access by pressing “x.” Each one has a description and hint, although there is often no obvious use for the found item until much later. When you find and click on an “eye” symbol, there will suddenly be a narration that plays over the scene. These prompts serve as information or clues for the area you’re in. Sometimes helpful, sometimes not. At first, the sound clips were a bit disconcerting, but overall they add to the atmospheric quality of the game.

Visuals and Sound

The intricate, stunning graphics are where Candle really shines. It cannot be overstated how beautiful this game looks, like a Grimm’s fairytale brought vividly to life. Every detail in its lush world has been hand-painted in watercolors, then scanned in. This painstaking process must’ve have taken the development team untold hours to complete! It was surely a labor of love and I applaud their daring and tremendous effort in this sense. On the other side of it, the game’s puzzles require you to search the environment for visual cues on how to proceed. Often, there will be some clue hidden in plain sight, like an inconspicuous drawing on a rock. But because there’s such minute detail in the layered foregrounds and backgrounds, these frequently go unnoticed. In Candle, you will find Teku having to do a lot of backtracking and searching around for whatever you missed on a previous screen.

The music is light and upbeat, with a tribal sound that complementary to the game’s theme.  I read that it’s based in Latin American traveling music. Often, the soundtrack repeats across back-to-back areas, which might get a tad repetitive. But I particularly enjoyed the soothing flute sounds that at times accompanied Teku on his quest.

Conclusion

I very much wanted to love Candle, and it’s not without its charms. Teku Studios’ first release is certainly an ambitious one. It has an impressive visual style that is like a Dali work infused with The Wind in the Willows. Somehow, I didn’t seem to connect with the story, even if Teku himself is an endearing fellow. The narration was fairly decent, and lent to the feel of the game. But the mechanics, such as the somewhat unresponsive controls, and a lack of clear direction in objective were a drawback for me. It may be a true gem in more dedicated, capable hands. I don’t mind a tough challenge here & there, but I prefer a more balanced approach to puzzlers. There is, however, enough quality in it to recommend others at least give it a look.  You may have a totally different view! 🙂

I’m not sure

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