A platform game about fear and reliance

Beacon is a platform game made in 48 hours for the Ludum Dare competition. It begins with you waking up after falling into a dark cave, as a floating beacon attracts your attention.

As you are lost, you have to follow after the beacon as it travels through the caverns. There are the usual dangers, like spikes and bottomless pits and they are all made harder by being hidden in the darkness except when the light passes. Fall behind, and you’ll die lost so keeping up with the light is important. Sometimes the light takes routes you can’t, so you have to try alternatives, and meet the light seconds later.

While it features 8-bit style graphics, Beacon is really atmospheric, and the constant threat of darkness makes it tense and a little scary. There are points where you have to make leaps in the dark, and sometimes you can’t see why you died! Thankfully you only ever have to repeat the room you die in, not start from the beginning. There are no saves, so if you shut Beacon down, you’ll have to start from the beginning again.

Beacon is a quirky little platform game, which plays well, and should provide a challenge without being totally frustrating!