Darkless

Darkless

Experimental Studio · October 31, 2023 · Adventure, Platformer, Puzzle, Side Scroller, Exploration

Darkless is free to play — no purchase needed. We track it so you know if that ever changes.

PC
Mostly Positive75% · 28 📉 Recent reviews down 40%
This game is free to play. Get it on Steam →

Screenshots

Darkless price

Darkless is free to play — there is no purchase price, on Steam or anywhere else we track. We keep watching it, so if it ever stops being free the price history on this page will show when that happened and what it changed to.

About Darkless

✦ AI summary

Darkless is a 2D platformer where you guide the imprisoned spirit Nameless through a haunted mansion using light as your only weapon against ghosts and spectral enemies. Navigate challenging jumps and puzzles across mysterious locations while collecting hidden medallions and uncovering the dark secrets behind the mansion's curse.

Darkless looms over the Silent Mansion under the mysterious moonlight!

Ghosts and spirits lurk, seeking to sow fear, but it could be that Nameless has unleashed more than he imagined.

After being sentenced to the prison of a lamp as punishment for defying the powerful organization that rules the Mansion, Nameless is willing to do whatever it takes to defeat his enemies. Will you join him in this desperate battle?

GET READY FOR AN EPIC ADVENTURE!

● Immerse yourself in an exciting single-player campaign with diverse and unique locations.
● Use your light as your faithful guide to navigate mysterious worlds.
● Uncover all the mysterious spectral medallions hidden throughout the levels.
● Embark on a chilling journey through a nightmarish world where appearances can deceive.
● Make friends with intriguing characters along your journey, each with their own fascinating personality.

DISCOVER THE DARK WONDER OF DARKLESS

Are you ready to enter the exciting world of children's horror? With Darkless, we have created an exciting 2D platformer that is suitable for all ages. In this game, the player's skill is tested in daring jumps and challenging puzzles, while exploring our protagonist's unique mechanic: the amazing light he emanates.

We challenge you, player, will you be the hero who defeats the sinister X-Men, who have plunged the entire mansion into darkness? And most crucial of all, will you be able to recover Nameless's body from the clutches of the X-Men and their dark selfish designs? The fate of the mansion depends on you!

Are you ready to face this exciting adventure full of terror and mystery? Discover the world of Darkless now!

Darkless — game info

Platforms
Windows
Steam Deck
Playable
Player modes
Single-player
PC Game Pass
Not included

What Steam players say

Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.

✦ AI summary

Darkless is a short retro-style platformer with attractive visuals and responsive controls that are undermined by significant technical problems. Players consistently report game-breaking bugs, severe optimization issues that make sections unplayable, visibility problems including screen blackness covering portions of the display, and unwanted automatic camera zoom during difficult sections. While the game is free and has some charm in its concept and presentation, most players feel the frustrating technical issues and mediocre level design make it not worth playing even at no cost.

Not recommended Apr 16, 2025
A fine looking platformer flickering between fun and frustrating. There is a good contrast between the strong and bright colours and the more dim lighting, so everything reads quite well. Platforms and obstacles are decently visible most of the time through their prominent shapes. Additionally there are details in the environment and background that are nice yet don’t distract from the platforming. The music fits the setting very well having a bit of a Halloween vibe to it and is pleasant to listen to while playing. Plus I can always appreciate voice acting, especially if it’s done well as is the case here. Onto the gameplay the controls are responsive and allow for some fine-tuning of the movement such as high and low jumps and precise landings. Each level also has a gimmick of sorts, which given that there are only four levels is good. The boss fights too are all different and consist of little arcade fights, which mix things up nicely. However there are also some negatives, which while not being that many in number, they are rather big ones that notably impacted my enjoyment of the game. My least favourite level hands down is the second. Not being able to see while having to res…
2 found this helpful
Not recommended Aug 17, 2026
One of the most utter ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ platform games I have ever play. The optimization is so bad (had to brut force), if your PC can not handle it it will lag so much it will be unplayable. It somehow still is near unplayable as many have notice and posted me included, part of the screen is cover in pure total blackness. Nearly 35% of the screen on the left is off. The zoom. For some idiotic reason the developer goes hard in auto zoom in ''harder'' platforms sections. So you have no control over the camera IN A 2D PLATFORM GAME! (4K monitor 3840 x 2160 resolution OLED) How can you ♥♥♥♥ this much? By never testing your own game that's how. Bugs. Yes this game have multiple game braking bugs. Fortunately levels aren't that long. But you need to restart the whole level if you encounter them. Such as the first Tetris Boss battle, it was not counting my progression at all. This make the Boss immortal and unkillable. AVOID! The only good thing I can tell about this game is at least it save your coin progress even if you die. Sadly another case of a developer not giving a damn and/or not even trying.
1 found this helpful
Not recommended May 9, 2026
While a cute idea, I found that the light mechanic didn't make much of a difference to visibility and the first boss fight being tetris felt jarring and also bugged out where making rows stopped having an effect on the boss.
Recommended Oct 24, 2025
Only recommending since it is free with achievements. The platforming and puzzle elements are mediocre, with visuals that remind me of flash games. You can get all the secrets and such in about an hour.
Not recommended Sep 10, 2025
I could have persevered to 100% this one because it is short. I just could not see anything though. Yeah, I get that that is part of this game's uniqueness--what is trying to set it apart from others, but I draw the line at repeated deaths that cause me to restart only to attempt the sh*t-show all the way from the beginning. Its free, but in my opinion, not worth it.
Not recommended Jul 21, 2025
"Darkless" is one of literally thousands of retro 2D platformers infesting Steam and lowering the average quality of all video games everywhere... and I'm not kidding. Searching for "platformers" on the Steam store page yields over 17,000 results! Is this one of the best of those? Absolutely not. This is a simple and very short platformer with just a handful of levels. The bizarre idea is that you control some anthropomorphic furniture and fight the X-Men. Yes, that's not a typo, the developers are wilfully and deliberately infringing the Disney/Marvel trademark "X-Men". Just the name, you won't have to fight Cyclops and Jean Grey here, but still... you can't take other people's stuff. I can't make a game about Superman and The Hulk, two roommates in New Jersey who run a hot dog stand. Anyway this is a short and pointless platformer that offers nothing of tremendous or notable interest. It's clunky, amateurish and somewhat poorly designed. At least it's not pixelcrap? Platforming is an old, mostly dead genre, and this lacklustre experience, while it doesn't have an upfront cost, isn't saving the genre... it's no surprise this failed to capture any attention from gamers…

Community reviews

—

0 reviews

Sign in to write a review.

No reviews yet. Be the first to review this game.

More like Darkless

News

All news →
Minecraft Dungeons 2 Deluxe Edition: skip it, play on Game PassXbox

Minecraft Dungeons 2 Deluxe Edition: skip it, play on Game Pass

The Minecraft Dungeons 2 Deluxe Edition asks you to pre-order two unannounced DLC packs for a game Game Pass already gives you. What it contains, and why the upgrade can wait.

Sep 30, 2026
Is DayZ worth it? A straight answer before you buyPC

Is DayZ worth it? A straight answer before you buy

Is DayZ worth it? Twelve years on it is still the genre's least forgiving game. What you are buying, who it suits, and what our 97-day price record says about the timing.

Sep 30, 2026
Transport Fever 3 price: which edition to buy on launch dayPC

Transport Fever 3 price: which edition to buy on launch day

Transport Fever 3 is out today. The Transport Fever 3 price splits three ways, the loyalty discount has a fortnight-long fuse, and our record shows what the older game really costs.

Sep 29, 2026
No Man's Sky price: how low it gets and when to buyPC

No Man's Sky price: how low it gets and when to buy

The No Man's Sky price has come a long way down since 2016, and the game is on PC Game Pass too. Our tracked 12-month low, the regional key gap, and what to actually pay.

Sep 29, 2026
Sekiro cheap: what our price record shows, and what to avoidDeals

Sekiro cheap: what our price record shows, and what to avoid

Search Sekiro cheap and the results are keyshop listings, not a store discount. Our three-month price record explains the gap, and why so few live offers changes the advice.

Sep 28, 2026
System Shock 2 Remaster free on Epic from 1 OctoberFreebies

System Shock 2 Remaster free on Epic from 1 October

System Shock 2 Remaster free on Epic from 1 to 8 October, alongside BURIED STARS. Our price record shows why its floor has not moved in three months, and why waiting beats buying this week.

Sep 28, 2026
Dead Island 2 cheap: which edition, and what the price doesPC

Dead Island 2 cheap: which edition, and what the price does

Dead Island 2 cheap used to mean under a dollar. Our price record shows the floor has roughly doubled since September - here is which edition to buy, and the one that is a trap.

Sep 27, 2026
Steam Autumn Sale 2026: the games that cannot be discountedDeals

Steam Autumn Sale 2026: the games that cannot be discounted

The Steam Autumn Sale 2026 runs 1-8 October, but Valve's own rules bar every September release from it. Which games are locked out, and what our record says about the two biggest.

Sep 27, 2026

Top games right now

All rankings →
  1. 1Counter-Strike 2Free
  2. 2Dota 2Free
  3. 3PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDSFree
  4. 4Grand Theft Auto V Legacy—
  5. 5Terraria$2.20
  6. 6Rust$25.62
  7. 7Team Fortress 2Free
  8. 8Black Myth: Wukong$35.70
  9. 9HELLDIVERS™ 2$30.56
  10. 10ELDEN RING$52.89
  11. 11Apex Legends™Free
  12. 12Left 4 Dead 2$9.99
  13. 13Stardew Valley$14.73
  14. 14Wallpaper Engine$3.99
  15. 15Euro Truck Simulator 2$4.99
  16. 16Dead by Daylight$10.40
  17. 17Red Dead Redemption 2$10.54
  18. 18Baldur's Gate 3$41.99
  19. 19Phasmophobia$18.29
  20. 20War ThunderFree
  21. 21Call of Duty®—
  22. 22ARK: Survival Evolved$14.24
  23. 23Among Us$3.03
  24. 24The Forest$19.99