Play game
The Last Lightkeeper's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Gameplay / Fun / Engagement | #32 | 2.521 | 3.000 |
| Theme | #37 | 2.871 | 3.417 |
| Audio / Sound Design | #41 | 2.170 | 2.583 |
| Overall | #41 | 2.450 | 2.917 |
| Art Style / Visuals | #47 | 2.240 | 2.667 |
Ranked from 12 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
How does your game fit the theme?
The Last Lightkeeper takes place entirely within ONE ROOM - a dark chamber where the player is trapped with shadow creatures. The entire gameplay experience unfolds in this single confined space, creating an intense atmosphere of claustrophobia and tension.
Rather than escaping the room, players must survive within it for 2 minutes by managing a weakening lantern light. The single-room constraint transforms a simple space into a dynamic battleground where every corner matters, light radius becomes territory, and positioning is survival. The room itself becomes a character - intimate yet oppressive, familiar yet dangerous.
Devlog
Easter Egg Challenge
Easter Eggs
A hidden pixel in a corner of the room. Touching it reveals a ghost NPC who says: 'Even one room can feel infinite in the dark.' Grants temporary max light for 2 seconds
Game Engine
Self-made & used stuff
Have you joined a game jam before?
Roughly how much time did you spend developing? (in hours)
25-30
Anything else you'd like to share about your game or development process?
The Last Lightkeeper was designed to create maximum tension within minimal space. The ONE ROOM theme inspired us to focus on light mechanics as the core gameplay loop - your lantern is both your shield and your lifeline, constantly draining and forcing difficult decisions.
We wanted to prove that constraint breeds creativity: by limiting the player to a single room, every design choice became more meaningful. Enemy AI, fuel pickups, and light management all work together to make one room feel like an entire game world.
Special attention was given to atmosphere and audio to amplify the claustrophobic experience. The confined space transforms from safe to terrifying as your light dims.
This was a great learning experience in focused game design
Are you entering the "Best 3D Model Design with UModeler X" optional prize?
Leave a comment
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Comments
Cute art!
Nice mini game! More enemy variety and keyboard controls would make it even better. Well done!
Really cool little survival game, and i loved how the core mechanic of fueling the light was implemented. Simple but effective. It was a bit on the easier side, but great for a jam. I could complete on the third attempt. The music and sound effects were great, i especially loved how the track changed to a different one if the light ran out- good eye for detail and it added to the immersion.
The art was good overall, but having a triangle for the fuel seemed a bit out of place haha. The theme also fit very nicely, giving a claustrophobic feeling of being trapped in a room with monsters.
Overall a nice entry and i had fun playing it, congrats :)
Good game running away from the ghosts
I had a lot of fun in my playthrough, the game mechanics have some real depth to them, nice job!! Having the lantern push the ghosts away was a great design choice for 2 reasons imo: it added to the tension when light was running low, and it gave the player extra motivation to keep looking for more fuel. I think both the player and the enemies had a good speed, it forced you to keep moving but it always felt like I could escape to safety with some clever movement. It felt a little like a 2d cod zombies where I had to manipulate the ghosts into one pack to lead them around the room safely. I would recommend adding WASD and/or arrow key controls too, as using the mouse worked well enough but felt a bit off from the traditional way of controlling a 2d top down character.
The individual sprites/assets all look nice enough, but together they do not fit together very well. The background, player, and ghosts all have noticeably different pixel densities and the colors do not complement each other too well. I think trying to make sure that the pixel density is consistent and the color scheme (can be touched up if need be) is complementary across all assets will help the overall aesthetic of your game a ton. The assets were used well in terms of level layout though, I felt like there was a good balance of open space and more risky confined areas. The changing radius of the lantern lighting effect is really cool too.
I appreciated having a pause button for a game jam, it was a nice bit of quality of life. Sometimes the z-sorting of the ghost sprites goes a little crazy and looks like a visual glitch with all the sprites getting shuffled around. The easter egg was a fun surprise and the lava lamp sprite looks super cool. Overall, I think you have a pretty fun core gameplay loop and the lantern mechanic is a cool twist. Some more cohesive visuals would take it to the next level. Keep up the good work!!
Thank you so much for the detailed feedback it really means a lot! I’m glad to hear you had fun with the gameplay loop. The lantern mechanic was something I really hoped would add both tension and strategy, so it’s awesome to hear that it landed the way I intended. Your comparison to COD Zombies made my day that “kite the horde” feeling was definitely an inspiration!
You’re absolutely right about the controls; adding WASD/arrow key movement is high on my list and should make the whole experience feel more natural. And thank you for the insight on the art direction. Consistent pixel density and a more unified color palette are things I’ve been wanting to tighten up, and your breakdown helps reinforce where to focus those improvements.
I also appreciate you pointing out the z-sorting issues that one has been tricky, but I’ll be working on smoothing it out. Really happy you found and enjoyed the easter egg too!
Overall, thanks again for taking the time to write all this out. Feedback like yours helps a ton and keeps me motivated to keep polishing the game. I’m glad you enjoyed it, and I hope the next update feels even better!
Hey there! This is a super cool short game that I really enjoyed playing! Really gave me Re4r vibes with the lantern.
The game core loop is pretty simple and enjoyable. I loved the ambience music and the small detail when your light runs out you hear these voices which adds a spook factor to the game. I would prefer WASD controls but surprisingly the mouse control wasn't that bad and felt nice to use.
The art of the game was super nice and felt neat! Great job on designing the pixel art of the game, loved the vibe.
Maybe one point of improvement was probably the lack of variety of ghosts as they all did the same thing and after the first 10 seconds of the wave it was pretty easy to survive, but this is just the nit picky details and that's probably something for after the game jam because honestly this is a superb entry and genuinely enjoyed it a lot.
Thank you so much for playing and for leaving such a thoughtful comment! I’m really glad you enjoyed it getting RE4R vibes from the lantern is a huge compliment and exactly the kind of atmosphere I was hoping to capture.
I’m happy the core loop felt fun and that the ambience landed well! The whispers when the light goes out were a last-minute addition, so it’s great to hear they added to the experience. And yep WASD controls are definitely something I plan to add post-jam. I’m relieved the mouse controls still felt okay in the meantime!
Really appreciate the kind words about the art too that means a lot.
You’re totally right about the ghost variety as well. More enemy types, patterns, and behaviors would definitely help the game stay challenging past the opening moments. That’s something I’d like to expand on once the jam version is locked in.
Thanks again for the feedback and for taking the time to write all this out. Super glad you enjoyed the game!