Golden Light

I tried to throw the axe at an vending machine that was running at me.
I pressed H and I hit myself in the head with the axe. Then I tried F and I ate the axe,
10/10 game

Golden Light is a strange, creepy, and very unique roguelike.
The game hooks you with its absurd atmosphere: fleshy hallways, living objects, bizarre monsters, and the constant feeling that everything around you is alive and watching. Levels are procedurally generated, so every run feels unpredictable — sometimes funny, sometimes genuinely scary.
What I really liked is that the game doesn’t hold your hand: you discover the rules yourself and learn how to use the environment and weapons in creative ways. Even glitches here somehow feel like part of the style. The soundtrack fits perfectly with the madness on screen.
That said, it’s not a game for everyone. It can feel chaotic, a bit clunky at times, and if you’re not into surreal “meatcore” aesthetics, this will probably be too much.
Overall, it’s a great horror roguelike for players looking for something unconventional that isn’t afraid to break the rules.

I've spent a lot of time playing Golden Light (my Steam playtime is a bit misleading since half of the time was offline while I was traveling or without internet access). I've explored its world, met its monsters, talked to some, eaten others, and acted as both friend and foe to the ubiquitous Gut. But, I am not sure I can adequately describe Golden Light. Yes, it is a first-person survival horror action/stealth game with randomly generated dungeons, a persistent overworld, and roguelike elements. That description may lead you to believe you have played games like Golden Light. Let me assure you that you have not.

You know how people describe the modern Doom games as playable Heavy Metal albums? This game is a playable weirdcore/traumacore playlist. It's like playing a nightmare born of liminal space horror and Backrooms wikis, complete with the flailing, imprecise movement and dark, blurred vision.

Golden Light is one of the most effective survival horror titles I have ever played at inducing near-constant dread, which is all the more astounding when nothing much in the game is actually that scary. Instead, the anxiety comes from the dark, surreal ambiance of the dungeons, the esoteric soundscape, and never knowing if that pile of books is actually a monster in disguise.

While the horror is effective, what really captivates me about Golden Light is the surreal world it constucts. For all of the dread in the dungeons, the levels really are not dead set on killing the player (pun intended): the Gut -the world in which all of the events in the game take place- is sentient, and somewhat callous, but does not hate the player (unless the player is in turn violent and cruel). Even the individual denizens of the Gut are a mixed bag. Sure, some want to prey upon the player, but some are indifferent unless provoked. Some can even be friendly. The fascinating thing about Golden Light is that it presents an ecosystem, just not one that takes time to understand.

There is a story to Golden Light. Something about a struggling writer. And a woman. Maybe the woman left the struggling writer. Maybe she died. Maybe he killed her. Maybe he turned into a dog. Maybe the woman never existed and it's all a hallucination. I don't put spoilers here because the game doesn't actually tell you a story, in fact the Gut sternly refuses to let the player think the experiences of the gut are about anything, at all. Golden Light refuses to be straightforwardly interpretable, preferring to let its bizarre locales and denizens be their own meaning, or have none at all. If I were more pretentious I would compare Golden Light to the Dao De Jing, and if I spend any more time thinking about it I might start to earnestly believe that comparison to be apt.

I don't know if Golden Light is a good video game, but I know that I am glad that I experienced it. It is not for everyone. Golden Light probably is not for you, but I am not sure if that matters. Golden Light was not for me, either, and look how that went.

Trying to find a sense in our life | KAMGUSTA's MINI REVIEW
In it's way, it's art. An absurd, weird, gross, horrific and original 3D first person rogue-like horror. First runs can feel senseless, but little by little most of the game world will make sense. The graphics are a little better than on the screenshots; nice art style; musics and audio effects are spot on. If you like the genre or the idea, you won't be disappointed. Prepare for a sick ride!
Best played with keyboard & mouse
Recommended buy price: 10$
Score: 7/10

Confusing at first, masterpiece at the end. You'll start questioning what the **** you have just downloaded and started to play, you'll finish feeling the pain that the protagonist felt living in the flesh one of the most painful experiences that someone can face in this life.
This was probably the most uncanny and most unconventional way to tell a story that I've ever seen.
The easy mode was hard enough for me, but when you get the grip of things and understand how the mementos and guns work, you can pretty beat all the bosses very easily.
Don't search for anythnig about this game online, its worth it living the experience by itself
9/10

wtf did i snort before playing this

I don't understand anything going on here, but it's cool

I would have never expected Golden Light to be such an Artistic game before going into it.
I had seen elements of the game and it's bizzare nature beforehand, however i've never really been in contact with any of it's story or the more abstract ideas of its world.
It was explained to me as "A dungeon crawler where you eat your weapons because they're made of meat".

I had no idea the world was flesh, and the perception of that same flesh.


Golden Light is one of those games that tells a story that is highly influenced by the point of view you're given. As you go through the game it is almost natural to ask yourself if "this is really happening" Or "if it's all in the head", You do not go more than a minute free of what the game wants to show you, elements that make you doubt the insanity of the journey you've been going on.

Golden light is not abstract, everything is smudged to be something else, every part of the game, every idea, every wall, every enemy, and even the story. But it is not without sense or reason.
And it's important to say that it both makes sense and doesn't at the same time.

But the most commendable thing with this game is that you are the recipient of emotions, to the point where you stop knowing if a game mechanic is clunky due to poor polishing, or if it was meant to be this clunky so that you feel the way that you do.
This is often felt in scenes aswell, you lose any idea of conventional game devlopment, you can't guess when the game is loading, and if a scene is supposed to stall for this long.


As you play the game, it connects to your brain in a way your rarely see.
Emotions are being given, images and symbols form connections inbetween your neurons and you are in a way, part of the meat that the game is talking about.


This part has spoilers:
The ending of the game is bittersweet to say the least, but it puts a lot of your adventure in perspective, things now make more sense. And yet it also makes your realise that you can relate to the main character in a way, through emotions, even if you can't feel the exact same biological way... if your brain has an opinion, and emotions regarding this subject, you've connected to the game more than you would have realised


Anyways, i love this game, it is beautiful, stylized, and the gameplay is clunky but its unique in that way.
If this review sounded insane to you, then you kinda get the vibe of the game.

Feel free to leave a comment and yap about what you think!