LIT has just arrived on the Wii Shop Channel for US owners, who can download the spooky puzzler for 800 points assuming they have 232 blocks of fridge space. I’ve just spent an enjoyable hour or so with the game - while it’s very limited in some respects, it’s also quite ingenious, and worth a bash if you’re after a download that offers something a little different.

You play as Jake (think Xander out of Buffy but a little braver) who finds his school overrun by creatures that skitter about the floor, but only in darkness. Any steps into the inky blackness and Jake gets dragged away by said monsters, who emit a really quite disturbing asthmatic wheeze as they pull Jake into the aether. So it pays to stay in the light, of which there’s precious little as you step into each classroom. But you’ll soon discover lamps, which reveal ammo for your slingshot, with which you can smash windows to let in more light, and soon the room becomes crossable - make it to the exit and it’s straight into another puzzle, more difficult than the one before.

It gets pretty intricate surprisingly quickly - and the trial-and-error nature of the gameplay could be off-putting to some. But persevere and get your head around its tricks and you’ll soon figure out which windows need to be smashed in which order. As the game progresses, it adds plenty of neat new ideas - Jake’s girlfriend Rachael is the only other survivor, and she’ll find a way to call you on the various ‘phones in the classroom, with her worried voice audible when you hold the remote to your ear. Moving fans force you to think fast as you try to stay in their beams, while a bar at the top prevents you from switching on too many appliances - sometimes you’ll have worked out a plan of action only to realise it’s going to involve too much power, which forces a restart of the stage. Oh, and there are boss battles - the two guardians I’ve faced so far try to destroy the light sources which are harming them, forcing you to improvise strategies on the fly.

It’s not a good-looking game - the art style is quite ugly, and technically it’s at about PSone level. But with terrific use of sound, it retains its uniquely creepy atmosphere, and its intriguing gameplay makes it just about worth the 800 point outlay.

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This entry was posted on Monday, February 9th, 2009 at 9:18 pm by Chris Schilling
Latest Games, WiiWare.