Hey all. Small team here (two coders, two pixel artists, and we've got a music person lined up though we're not there yet), been sitting on this project for a while and figured I'd finally talk about it somewhere instead of just in our own heads.
It's called Frozen Light. The short version: you're playing as the shadow of a kid who used to be a lamplighter in an amusement park that shut down a long time ago. He had forgotten what sunlight even looks like at this point. Gameplay wise it's close to Super Meat Boy or Celeste, short levels, you die instantly, you respawn instantly, no punishment for dying a hundred times. But instead of spikes killing you, it's light. Spotlights, laser eyes on old animatronics, flashes going off on stage. Touch it once and you're back at the checkpoint, no big deal, try again.
There's no direct combat, no punching or shooting anything. But that doesn't mean enemies are just obstacles to avoid, you can still deal with them, just not head on. Push a crate into something, hook onto a far corner to yank a small enemy off its spot, dash through at the right moment to knock something out of position. It's all just the normal toolkit (the box pushing, the shadow hook, the dash) repurposed as offense when you need it. So instead of fighting your way through, you're using shadows and momentum to shut enemies down. Kind of plays like bullet hell in reverse too, you're not dodging projectiles so much as managing where the dark spots are.
Honestly the vibe is the part we care about most. Faded pastel colors, rusted carousels that are somehow still spinning on dead motors, animatronics frozen mid bow like someone paused the world. Old posters bleached out from years of light. It's melancholy more than anything, like a fairy tale that's been left outside too long. When you die it's just a little click, like a lamp switching off.
Still pretty early, no demo yet. Right now we're heads down on the mechanics, mostly the shadow diving and the box pushing puzzles, plus laying out the five areas of the park. If anyone's got questions about the design or the lore stuff I'm happy to talk, and if you want to follow along or chat with the team we've got a Discord too!
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