Candleman: The Complete Journey – Flame of My Heart (test)

Originally released on Xbox One, a year ago, Candleman: The Complete Journey comes out of anonymity by joining the Steam library on February 1, 2018. This platform-puzzle game from the independent studio Spotlightor Interactive features a small candle. Another successful release for Candleman? That's a question we're going to answer with this quick test!

Candleman is the story of a small candle like no other. Indeed, our luminous minded friend realizes that she is different and starts looking for a purpose in her existence. Candleman is a bit of a story that seems like nothing but could have been in The Fables of La Fontaine because there is a moral behind it. Under its simplistic and unpretentious packaging, the game gradually brings elements of reflection and we undoubtedly think of the fable The Lion and the Rat. The adventures of our two-legged wax could largely be summarized by these two lines: "We often need someone smaller than ourselves" and "Patience and length of time are more than strength or rage". For the rest, we will not reveal more, the beauty of the discovery having its importance, you will see for yourself the stakes of the game while playing!

The originality of the game is based on a very simple but particularly well exploited gameplay. Substance and form are one. Indeed, it is necessary to progress in particularly dark environments and riddled with dangerous elements. So as not to fall into a hole, drown, burn, be crushed… It will be necessary to illuminate the area in which you are and recover the candles hidden there. "Nothing too bad" you will tell me, what if I explain to you that your candle can only light up for ten seconds? Staying continuously illuminated leads tirelessly to a quick death. To progress in the level, you must know how to dose your brightness. With each use, the candle burns to become at the end only a candlestick with very little wax. The game is based on twelve chapters. Each chapter is divided into several levels. To cross the level, you have 10 lives, and they will not always be too many. To advance in the story, it is necessary to go through an area by validating as many candles as possible and especially by arriving in the blue zone, which materializes the end of the level. If unfortunately, you have lost your 10 lives, you will have to start from scratch. The game offers a check point per level, it is materialized by a larger candle, a kind of wax reserve. If you die after starting it, then you will reappear at that precise point. If you are traumatized by the difficulty of an Ori and The Blind Forest, know that there are some perilous places, but with a little practice, you follow quickly. The camera does not always help to get clean jumps, it can not be oriented. It is a shame some will say, I find for my part that it would be superfluous, most of the time, it is enough to observe and draw the right lessons to continue.  It's not a complex platformer, certainly, but Candleman is very good that way, it's not the challenge we're looking for with such a game. Not. It is creativity, bewitchment, the pleasure of discovery that prevail.

All gameplay is based on light and shadow effects. This might seem limited if Candleman did not push the idea to its maximum. Very quickly, the DNA of the chapters is built on a precise use of our candle. Thus in some chapters, the light will make it possible to move flowers, to activate platforms in a limited time, to make giant thistles grow or to drop thorny plants … A diversity that challenges. That is an ingenious idea. Nothing is left to chance, everything has been designed to answer giant puzzles: traps, moving elements, living creatures, will be as much to avoid as to use. Making your way through a world that constantly juggles between beauty and dangerousness… It is a metaphor for life. The game is not a AAA production, the fact remains that the art direction is neat and the graphics rather well managed. Some levels are really enchanting, you can't help but be contemplative, others are more oppressive and make you want to quickly run away. The music is good, it illustrates the levels according to the desired atmosphere and dynamics. The voice-over that takes care of the narration between the levels and chapters is pleasant, we find this "tale" dimension every time. The game is subtitled, I noticed one or two fantasies in the translation, but frankly nothing incomprehensible (we are far from Google translate).

The duration of the life of the game can be debated, because it will take you 4h-5h to finish and maybe 1h more to recover all the candles. Everything will depend on your agility and your willingness to bring back all the candles. Little interest? Once all the candles are gathered, you will have the right to an extra sentence that can bring to a lesser extent elements of story. Rest assured to follow the overall frame, you will only need to move forward. Moreover, the game gives us some very nice cutscenes. For 15 euros, it does not seem like theft to me. This is exactly the price we would give, there are still people to pay and we should not go too far in bad faith of too expensive prices! Adding levels to extend the playing time could end up being tiresome. I'm not particularly into short games, but it seems necessary to me sometimes, when trying video game experiments, that this is the case. Candleman is one of those experiments. I noticed some very slight slowdowns, barely noticeable and yet sometimes present, for no logical reason. Maybe ultra optimization? In any case, the frequency is low and the discomfort minimal. Finally, the end of the adventure might well divide the players, but isn't that the beauty of art?

Candleman: The Complete Journey is a small game full of panache, enchanting and dazzling. It will take you into a modern, unpretentious fable and highlight simple but well-thought-out gameplay. If you like pleasing levels, smart platformers but not very frustrating then Candleman: The Complete Journey is for you. If it is not perfect, it has very few crippling flaws and could well give you for a few hours, a rewarding video game experience.