Review for Candle: the power of the flame. Game for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Steam, the video game was released on 26/07/2018
In the videogame world there have always been those products that, rather than focus everything on frenetic gameplay, veer and go against the tide, presenting themselves as real fairy tales to be experienced during the adventure. Candle: The Power of the Flame di Teku Studios is the prime example.
The gods created and destroyed the world four times before obtaining the spontaneous birth of life: from the formation of water to the emergence of the mainland, from plant life to evolution into sentient creatures. With pleasure the deities watch their creatures evolve and progress, accumulating wisdom, experience and happiness. Unfortunately, even these creatures, which have only the anthropomorphic form in common with man being, in fact, a vegetal evolution of life, have the same characteristics under the emotional aspect.
So greed, wickedness and violence do not take long to appear. The angry gods, seeing this evil behavior, then decide to intervene in a brutal way and bring the divine punishment of fire into the world.
After this well thought out but psychologically interesting opening, the adventure of Candle: The Power of the Flame comes to life, and sees our protagonist, the elder's favorite, venture out in search of his master, kidnapped at night by a tribe of savages - the Wakcha - who want to sacrifice him to the gods.
Teku, this is the name of our little protagonist, has interesting skills and a shrewd mind, which will be necessary for him to continue with cunning given the total absence of offensive skills. Armed therefore with ingenuity and the possibility of using fire, he sets out in pursuit of the bad guys to save his master.
Candle: The Power of the Flame is basically an environmental puzzle game with a medium / high difficulty level. Unlike many other puzzle games, in the course of the adventure we will not be asked to tackle one puzzle at a time but we will be faced with a series of situations, linked and consequent to each other. Often we will have to retrace our steps once we have the objects to use correctly and with imagination, and what apparently seemed a puzzle without solution turns out to be simple once we have the right components.
The use of objects through the inventory is also very creative: a branch in the shape of a hand can be used for example to cast a shadow on the wall that is terrifying and capable of scaring the Wakcha. In fact, Teku absolutely cannot face enemies directly, on pain of a quick death.
The gameplay, as in any self-respecting puzzle game, is reduced to the bone: it is a matter of simply interacting with the collected objects and with the surrounding environment. Teku can only walk, swim, run and jump, but if necessary he is able to light a candle in his hand and use it to create flashes of light or interact with the surrounding structures. Despite the simple gameplay, the adventure is pleasant and well narrated, involving the player in what is in fact a splendid and magnificently orchestrated fairy tale.
To help this fabulous process we find settings, scenarios, characters and objects beautifully drawn in watercolor to then be digitized and transposed into Candle: The Power of the Flame. The work done is magnificent to the eye and leaves you speechless on the small screen to almost scream a miracle on the HD at home. Everything has life and moves with a fluidity and harmony that, thanks to the watercolor tables, blends with the colors, creating a world that is perfectly suited to the concept of a fairy tale and above all of a work of art. The soundtrack and sounds are harmonious and suitable for the context, and therefore go to frame a videogame experience, as satisfying as it is relaxing.
Not all that glitters is gold, and some smudges on the side of the gameplay, combined with the trial and error policy increasingly present in this genre, mean that from time to time you find yourself without knowing what to do going back and forth between the schemes in the hope of enlightenment. Furthermore, it is not always easy to guess what are the objects and environments with which to interact, since everything has been designed with the same care and precision, and this leads the player, for example, to spend some time without realizing that the solution is there. handy. Deactivating a death trap, for example, cost us a lot of effort before we realized that one of the lianas in the landscape was actually the easy solution and that it was enough to hang on to be able to go further.
It is not a big problem to tell the truth but in the age in which there are walkthroughs for any type of game on YouTube, the temptation to go and consult them becomes strong, especially for the new generation of gamers marked by the sign of "everything and immediately". The advice that we feel we can give you and take all the time you need to face this splendid fairy tale and to sharpen your sight and wit.
Candle: The Power of the Flame is a splendid title, excellently made both under the graphic aspect, with magnificent watercolors, and under the playful aspect, with a balanced and exciting gameplay, albeit with some smudges which however do not undermine the usability of the final product. Ultimately, Candle: The Power of the Flame is a videogame experience close to art, with a fairytale imprint that conquers the player from the very beginning.
► Candle: the power of the flame is a Puzzle-type game developed by Teku Studios and published by Merge Games for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Steam, the video game was released on 26/07/2018
