In Rays of the Light | Xbox Series X Review

April 21, 2021 Chris Behrensmeyer

In storytelling, one of the biggest elements for me is the worldbuilding and atmosphere that a storyteller is able to create. Whether it be a super creepy isolated ship like in most sci-fi movies or a bright, beautiful world from a fantasy setting, for me it is the key factor in immersing yourself in the story. Without it there is no soul to the entire experience and it all just falls flat. In Rays of the Light is a remake of a PC game from 2012 called The Light that attempts to build a fantastic world. I was recently given the opportunity to dive into this game and see what it’s all about. Let’s take a deeper dive into what got me initially excited to take a look at what the developers called a meditative quest, and see if this could be a game for you.

Let Me Tell You a Tale

In Rays of the Light is first and foremost a first-person walking simulator. Usually I like to talk about the story first, but it is hard to do that with a game that has a very small story. Most of the narrative for In Rays of the Light is figuring out what is going on around you. Your character walks into a dilapidated building, and you have to walk around finding scraps of paper and a few memory locations to piece a small story together. The developer of the game Sergey Noskov has put out a game that is an interpretation of what humanity has done to the environment around them. This is actually the second game I have played from him, the other being 7th Sector, and what I like about them is they’re more about the experience for me rather than the story.

What a Sight

In Rays of the Light is beautiful to look at, I wanted to throw that out first. The environment of this game is pretty stellar. Just wandering around the buildings and looking at the walls or rundown objects is a pretty awesome experience in itself. It puts out a feeling of something ominous, but at the same time very relaxing. The best way to describe it is you feel like something is watching you and you shouldn’t be here, but at the same time you’re just being overly paranoid.

Stay a While and Listen

There are a few sections of the game that I would highly recommend that you should wear really good headphones for, because it takes a strange turn at one point and feels like a straight up hallucination. This is because the sound design is really good. The natural sounds and peaceful music set your mind at ease in some areas and others makes you feel unbelievably uncomfortable in the right mindset. In Rays of the Light does some really amazing work with world crafting and I applaud its developer for it.

Ummmm…Where Do We Go

Now let’s take a look at the bad. This game is pretty boring overall, as far as gameplay goes. It is the clearcut definition of “now what do I do?” At multiple times while playing, I became incredibly frustrated just wandering around trying to figure out what to do next. The puzzles are super convoluted and don’t really make sense. I felt like beating my head against a wall as well, due to the precise nature of what some of them want you to do.

I am a huge fan of console gaming, but there are limitations to what console controls can achieve. Sometimes super precise movements belong on a keyboard and mouse, and if you move it to console make the click detection box bigger. I honestly would have had more fun if there was a narrator telling me a story and allowing me to just walk around and explore.

In Rays of the Light is interesting, but I can’t highly recommend it to everyone. If you like strange experiences that require lots of time and patience without a guide, then this is a game for you. It is fun to look at and explore, but the overall gameplay takes away from the experience for me. When I played one of Sergey Noskov’s later games, 7th Sector, I had a much more enjoyable time. In Rays of the Light, however, it is a fun experiment in interpretive storytelling and allows a player to try and piece together and craft a story, even if it is the most long roundabout way to do it.

To hear me talk more about In Rays of the Light, be sure to check out Episode 336 of The Gaming Outsider Podcast around the 48:24 time stamp.

This review is based on an Xbox Series X copy of In Rays of the Light provided by Sometimes You via Keymailer. It is also available on PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.