Candleman: The Complete Journey review

Reviewed on: PC

Indie games are famous for their simplicity and good ideas, but it’s a pity that not all of them manage to make the final product meet the expectations of such a competitive market. We have witnessed several truly promising games that made us cry when we saw the final product.

Today’s game is an independent, simple and straightforward title that (fortunately) delivers a very well executed final product.

Candleman was originally released for XBOX ONE in 2017 and now arrives on Steam with 12 chapters full of darkness.

A Tale of Candles

Here you command the actions of a candle in the middle of an existential crisis. Lost on an abandoned boat, the little candle begins to question the meaning of life, the universe and everything. Sad and melancholy, the little friend sees a light (ha!!!) when she spots a lighthouse not far from where she is, setting off on a journey to bring light to people’s lives.

In Candleman there are only two commands: jump and light the wax. You won’t need to worry about dash, double jump, hadouken and things like that. Just be observant and act with plenty of patience. There will be moments when you want to do everything very fast, but the premise here is “slow and steady”.

You will go through skill tests, puzzle solving and the search for other candles (these static and uninterested in other people’s lives). The challenge increases gradually and you won’t have trouble finishing the saga in under 4 hours of play.

And although the most talked-about thing about this game is the fact that the wax can burn for only 10 seconds, that is the least relevant factor during play. There are few levels where constant illumination is needed, and besides, you can work on your memorization and photograph the whole environment in your mind after a small “flash”.

The scenery and the elements that make up the environments are beautiful. Some levels are superb and delight with their beauty and light and shadow effects. You won’t witness anything out of this world, but everything here is done with such balance that you will still let out a few “wows” while having fun.

Final verdict

I loved this game. The calm and tranquility that Candleman conveys is something unique. If you want to escape frenetic action for a while and go for something purer and more philosophical, this game is just right.

In fact, it is so simple that there isn’t much to say about it. Although I wrote this technical review, it is in the “art” department that Candleman stands out.

Now stop holding the candle there and go play this marvel.

NARRATIVE: 9
AUDIOVISUAL: 9
MECHANICS: 10

Review done on the Steam version kindly provided by Spotlightor Interactive.