A Light in the Gloam

The flame on the hill has burned since before the town had a name.

It has to be fed, and feeding it is what the Lanternguard is really for.

Eleven days ago your mother went down into the Deepworks to feed it, with the Princess walking behind her as witness. Nobody came back up. The flame is down a hand's width, which it has never done before. And a man who hides from the light has made the King an offer: he has the Captain and the Princess, they are both alive, and he gives them back on the day Hearthold lets the flame go out.

Nobody else is left who can hold a lantern, so it's you, with a recruit's lantern, your mother's knife, which isn't a very good one, and the key to the Deepworks.Go down, fight, come back up, save, shop, sleep, and go down again

That is the whole loop, and it gets harder as you go down, not more complicated.

Ten floors, one square at a time. You see it in first person and turn in four directions, with no free camera. Mazes are the same every playthrough, so you'll know exactly what to expect next time.

Turn-based fights for a party of three. You have 30 spells and we have 43 monsters, and eight of the nine bosses have a mechanic you need to figure out, not just more HP.

The walk back up is part of the game. You can only save in town. Going back to town with a full bag and a hurt party counts as a win, and knowing when to go back is most of the game.

The map only fills in where you've walked, unless you find that floor's survey. You can also pin the doors you couldn't open and come back for them later.

Your lantern learns new skills: wading through floods, seeing through false walls and crossing shafts on a rope, and the first one also opens a flooded part of the first floor.

This game has four endings depending on what you choose at the bottom.

After you finish the game a new floor with a secret boss opens up, and NG+ keeps your levels and gear. How long the game takes depends mostly on how often you go back up to town.Options

Story Mode. The party takes 60% of normal damage. Turning it on doesn't lock or mark anything, and every ending stays open.

Reduced encounter rate. You fight less often in each corridor, and what monsters drop stays the same.

Auto-battle on one key, and battle and text speed from slow to instant.

Colourblind options that show the element of each spell and a + or - on damage numbers.

Remappable keyboard keys, screen shake off, separate music and sound volume, full gamepad control.

English and Brazilian Portuguese, both complete, and you can switch in the options menu.

A Light in the Gloam is the first game from Petersen Projects, and I made it alone as a passion project. If you find a bug or have an idea, post it in the forum and I'll answer.