Game: God of Light: Remastered
Genre: Puzzle, Simulation, Arcade
System: Nintendo Switch (also on Steam, (Windows) & Xbox One)
Developers | Publishers: Playmous | Saygames
Age Rating: US E | EU 3+
Price: US $4.99 | UK £4.49 | EU € 4,99
Release Date: February 8th, 2024
A review code was used, with many thanks to Keymailer.
God of Light: Remastered was initially a mobile game played by over 15 million people. After its release on Steam in 2017, the developers are now bringing the remastered edition of the game to the Nintendo Switch.
But don’t let the remastered name fool you and expect more content on offer. This remastered version is, in fact, the same game you can already pick up on mobile. However, it comes with brand-new HD visuals and a soundtrack from UNKLE.
Puzzle Game, God of Light: Remastered
God of Light: Remastered is a puzzle game that focuses on light and the movement of it. In the game, you must help Shiny, the game’s mascot, to save the universe from darkness.
Your mission is to manipulate the light energy (Shiny) using various tools like mirrors, prisms, and collectors to activate Sources of Life on each level and restore light to the Celestial Tree and the universe. It sounds simple enough, but various elements such as mirrors that swap places, prisms, black holes, and others get added along the way, complicating things; it is a puzzle game, after all.
Shiny
At the beginning of each level, Shiny emits a solitary beam that is under your control. You move this around to beam light onto various objects to activate them, such as mirrors within the environment.
These objects range from mirrors to other intricate mechanisms, like timed gates that must be unlocked and light omitters that make the light shine in numerous directions. Manipulating some objects allows you to redirect light, adding a layer of strategy. While God of Light: Remastered is not overly challenging because some objects have fixed placements, I liked experimenting with trying to illuminate the level environment fully.
Darkness Until There Is Light
The core light mechanic is fun and challenging. Initially, each level begins shrouded in darkness, but as you move the beam of light and it reflects off mirrors, the level gradually brightens as you activate the reflective objects. The game adds different mechanics to overcome and get to grips with as you play. Adding variety to the gameplay and introducing new mechanics keeps the game fresh and interesting.
As you complete each level and earn three crystals, the next level is unlocked. Once you complete all 25 levels and collect every single crystal, you can watch the Celestial Tree come to life before moving on to the next world.
Collect Fireflies
Additionally, there is also a sub-goal of finding a firefly on each level. Finding the firefly is pretty easy to do; you have to be aware to look for it. The fireflies aren’t just a collectable, as they have their use in the levels, too. You can use the fireflies you collect to get hints by directing the fireflies to light up the level, which is a great way to get a hint of how to solve the puzzle.
Lighting Effects
There are six distinct worlds and 150 levels to explore; each world is colourful once you get to see it all illuminated. Furthermore, the game’s lighting effects, which are crucial to a game like this about light, are top-notch.
God of Light: Remastered is a fairly simple idea that has been executed well. But like many mobile games that come to consoles, there’s always concern about whether the controls will work well. Unfortunately, God of Light faces a bit of a challenge in this area.
One reason solving some levels can be a challenge, especially the later levels, is that the beam of light can be quite finicky to control on the Nintendo Switch. The light can shine in more than eight directions, so you sometimes have to really micro-manage at what angle it’s shining.
Adjusting the light to shine in the correct spot using the L stick is challenging. On top of that, you have to wait as there seems to be a delay when you move the stick before the rotation of the mirror begins, and at times of need, that delay is rather unwelcome.
The lack of utilization of the touchscreen on the Nintendo Switch in the controls for God of Light: Remastered puzzles me the most. To port a game from a mobile device where you must use the screen to play the game to a console with a touchscreen and then not using that facility on the Switch is unbelievable and lazy on the developer’s part.
Conclusion
God of Light: Remastered offers an enjoyable puzzle adventure for players seeking an illuminating experience on the Nintendo Switch. If you’re a fan of relaxing yet challenging physics puzzlers, you will probably enjoy God of Light: Remastered. However, bear in mind this is a game that costs £1.99 on the Apple App Store with touch controls versus the same game on the Nintendo Switch minus touchscreen controls. The choice is yours, of course, but I know which system I’d play it on.
Final Verdict: I Like it a Lot 