REVIEW | The Green Light

I’ve been in something of a short-horror game binge run recently, so when the opportunity presented itself to add The Green Light to the list, I grabbed it. Much like how our protagonist uses the first possible excuse to escape from his day job and go running towards a lighthouse with a green light, for no apparent reason.

Things I liked!

• It’s Cheap and has easy achievements | It’s kind of sad that this is the positive I have to lead with, but it’s honestly one of the main reasons it’ll sell some copies. It costs just under $5, and you can earn 1000G in 50 minutes.

• There are some nice music moments | There are honestly a few beautiful moments in the game where nice music plays to evoke emotions, and they work. Like the staircase to climb the lighthouse at the end of the game. It’s just too bad they feel out of place in the game and have no real meaning (or none that I could find)

Mixed & disliked!

• It’s a TERRIBLE port | If you’re playing this on the Xbox and not on PC, you’re in bad luck. Let’s point the finger at some of the bad decisions made: no lighting settings, and the default lighting is terrible. I was playing at night with zero light pollution around me and a 65″ OLED 4K screen. Good luck seeing anything on the screen if you’re playing during the day or on a smaller screen. To make matters worse, the few light-emitting tools you’re given, like a lantern and later on a firetorch, shine almost no light outside of a very small cone. The cursor is tiny as well, and hard to spot when it changes from not being able to interact with items to a small hand that means you can. There is also no chapter selection, so if you missed a single achievement, as I did, you’ll have to replay from the start, and even though it’s very short, it’s still too big of an ask.

• It’s incredibly linear with interactions | I spent 10 minutes running around the starting area, looking for a way to turn on the power. I had thought I had found the red switch at the end of a corridor, but noticed no interaction option on it. Turns out it WAS the correct object to interact with, but the collision box was so small, I had to target a specific part of the switch for it to work. Later on I also figured out I would need to interact with certain other objects to continue the story, but the game doesn’t let you unless you have first interacted with all the ones before it in the proper sequence order.

• Jumpscares are pointless | There are 4 or 5 jumpscares in the game; most of them you can actually see from a distance, and they only trigger when you look at them for a while or get closer to them, defeating the purpose. Not that I like jumpscares in horror games, but if they’re well implemented, they add to the tension. Which brings me to the next point.

• Why is this a horror game? | Outside of the above-mentioned jumpscares, there is nothing scary about the game. There is no real horror story, no suspense, no build-up. Just a very short walking simulator with little to no story and a dash of jumpscares sprinkled on top as if the few grains of salt would save the soup from tasting bad.

• The story makes zero sense | The best I can do is conclude it’s about quitting your boring job. You start in an office building getting harassed by a boss over the phone. A voice lures you outside. Then to a barn/farm area. All to get to a lighthouse. I’ve read all the files. I’ve listened to all the audio narrations. I’ve got no clue what the writer/developer is trying to tell me other than “get a better job if you don’t like the one you have.” Perhaps this is an escape fantasy where they themselves are using the medium of video games to ask for our help.

• How long did I play the review before publishing? 1 hour
• How long to beat the story? 40 minutes if you know where to go
• How many Achievements did I earn before publishing? 10/11, 910/1000G
• How long to get 100%? | 40 minutes with a guide
• You’ll love this game if you like these | Welcome to Kowloon, The Last Case of John Morley, The Shore

Score: 20/100

The Green Light promises light at the end of the tunnel, but most players will just be left in the dark. A handful of nice musical moments can’t stop this game from guiding itself straight onto the rocks.