From Light

From Light, developed and published by Anima Games, is a story-driven role-playing game that draws clear inspiration from classic pixel-era RPGs while centering its experience on a more personal and emotionally grounded narrative. It places the player in a dark fantasy setting shaped by decay, illness, and looming catastrophe, where the journey is defined less by grand heroics and more by the struggles of individuals trying to survive and make sense of a world slowly unraveling. From the beginning, the game establishes a somber tone, focusing on atmosphere and character motivation rather than spectacle. The narrative follows a solitary mage whose life becomes intertwined with a growing crisis that threatens not only her family but the wider world around her. The story unfolds gradually as players move between different regions, each presenting its own challenges and glimpses into the state of the kingdom. The pacing is steady, allowing the plot to develop over time without rushing key moments. While the themes of responsibility, sacrifice, and personal loss are handled with sincerity, the overall structure remains rooted in familiar fantasy storytelling conventions. It succeeds in…

Here we have yet another example of why RPG Maker Games has a bad reputation. Not that it's particularly surprising, given that the publisher is known for its shovelware. The first few minutes already show how the rest of the game will play out. For some reason, the heroine's daughter is kidnapped, and she sets off to rescue her. Along the way, she encounters her party members. There are no random encounters; the enemies in the dungeons are visible, and once defeated, they disappear forever. Fine, but defeating the enemies yields hardly any experience points or money. However, they drastically reduce the party's HP... and initially, none of the heroes can heal (the healer at the beginning was the aforementioned daughter). So, once again, only potions remain... which are barely affordable! Therefore, I regularly had to make the journey back to the home village to sleep. And since the dungeons are sometimes quite large and filled with many enemies, running back and forth quickly becomes tedious. ... Oh yeah, and the home village... of course, there's no equipment to buy there. Most of the NPCs just stand around and can't be interacted with... basically, the village consists only o…