Hollow Lantern

Hollow Lantern is the game I've been recommending most lately. You wander a deserted coastal town at night, solving environmental puzzles with a lantern whose light reveals paths, symbols, and the occasional unsettling shape. It's atmospheric without being a horror game — more melancholy than scary.

The puzzles are the good kind: they make sense once you look closely, and the game trusts you to notice details instead of flashing hints everywhere. Tapping to move and examine feels natural, and the pacing lets you sit with a scene before moving on.

There's almost no text, and the story comes through the environment and a haunting soundtrack. It's short — maybe four hours — but it lingered with me longer than games ten times its length. Play it with headphones.

What we liked

• A gorgeous, hand-drawn night town
• Fair puzzles that respect your intelligence
• A soundtrack worth headphones