Hollow Lantern

Hollow Lantern is slow in the best way. You play a lamplighter wandering an empty town at night, lighting lamps and slowly uncovering what happened to everyone who lived there. There's no combat, no timers, just you, a map, and a lot of small mysteries to piece together.

The puzzles are environmental and gentle. Most are about noticing details, a cracked window here, a note tucked behind a painting there. The game trusts you to pay attention, and the payoff when a sequence clicks is lovely. I played most of it in bed with headphones on, and the ambient audio design is a huge part of the mood.

It's short, maybe four hours, but it stuck with me longer than games three times its length. If you want something atmospheric for a quiet weekend, this is an easy recommendation.

What we liked

• Beautiful, moody atmosphere
• Puzzles that respect your intelligence
• A short, memorable story