Lights Off Director’s Cut is a Remake of the Horror Game ‘Lights Off’, which I reviewed last year on this blog (https://gamereviewnation.blogspot.com/2024/11/normal-0-21-false-false-false-de-x-none.html). The game got slightly extended and changed up a bit, but to a large degree remains the same.
The visual engine of the remake doesn’t seem to be the same as in the original Lights Off, but unless you look at them side by side, they look nearly identical. Perhaps the developer could have done more to increase the visual fidelity of the remake while still keeping the spooky atmosphere.
I do however like the new decor of the house where the player lives. The spacing between the objects is much better and the house now looks like a place, where somebody is actually living. There are now also 7 instead of 5 light switches and a small additional bathroom area. That being said, my point of critique, that there weren’t enough gameplay elements outside of the light switches, like a TV you could turn on, or a book you could read, still remains valid. These implementations would just go a long way into adding more immersion.
The Director’s cut also brought in a new sprint function. I am not entirely sure what to think of it. The walking speed of the original game was really slow. So on the one side, it’s a nice convenience feature. On the other side however, it can reduce the horror feeling a little bit, especially since the house is a relatively small area of play.
Let’s now also talk in more detail about some of the other differences between the Director’s Cut and the original, which means that SPOILERS will be included in the next section:
The first 3 days play out pretty much identical between both versions. On the first day nothing happens, which I like, since it helps to show a continuous increase in Horror suspense and eases the player into the game. On the second day a light switch will turn back on, while on day 3 you will hear some ominous noises in the background. Day 4 shows the first big difference. While you in the original just hear some creepy noises and footsteps while falling asleep, you actually wake up in the remake and investigate those noises. This is also the first visual confrontation for the player with the monster. On the fifth day players can spot it again in the bathroom. In the original game however the fifth day was the photo day, while that has now been removed to the sixth day in the Director’s Cut. The photo sequence plays out differently in both versions. While in the original you have to take random photos in the darkness till you manage to spot the monster 3 times, you now have to take photos as soon as the monster randomly appears in the remake. Both approaches make sense and I honestly don’t know which one I prefer. Before I forget to mention it, but the confrontations with the monster on day 4+5 have one big problem: invisible walls! The monster will not disappear when you approach it and you will instead be blocked by an invisible barrier. This was extremely immersive breaking for me, which is a shame, since the horror atmosphere and the psychological element is the main feature of the Lights Off games. This could have easily been solved by either making the monster disappear as soon as the player approaches, or just letting the player be killed if he gets too close. A shame, since I otherwise like the idea of having the monster actively creeping around in the background in the remake. The original game ends on the 6th day with the player being killed by the monster in his sleep. I thought this was a great ending, but unfortunately with a lackluster execution. Instead of actually seeing the player’s death, we just hear really creepy suffocating noises, which didn’t really fit in. In the Director’s Cut the game ends on the 7th day with a ritual. This is a cool idea, but I am unfortunately once again not a fan of the execution. The ritual just consists of the player running between light bolts, while randomly one light switch turns on. This would have been okay for 20-30 seconds, but this rather dull gameplay carries on for more than 2 mins. I however do appreciate that the game got multiple different endings, which are all just determined by your behaviour on the last day.
Result:
I played both the original and the Director’s Cut last year and was initially a bit underwhelmed by the remake. After replaying both this year, I actually believe that the Director’s Cut is the better version. That being said, some elements have become better, others became worse and a lot are just different. Mostly however the game is nearly the same. If you didn’t like the original Lights Off, than the Director’s Cut is unlikely to convince you otherwise. If you enjoyed the original, than the new take is certainly worth a try. I really like the relatable premise of these games to turn all the lights off in the middle of the night, while you are alone at your place. For me the Director’s Cut is a slight improvement, that however didn’t fix all of the original’s weakspots and even introduced some new ones of their own. For fans of psychological horror it should be worth a try, especially since it’s a free game. I do however wonder what the developer could have achieved, if he took longer than just one week to remake the game.
6/10
