Cyberpunk 2077, especially the new Phantom Liberty expansion, has that wonderfully neon-soaked, sleazy, lived-in aesthetic that really makes Night City pop. You mix that with the ultra-tough platforming combat of Dead Cells, a hint of the boss fights from Dark Souls, and a maybe a touch of Hotline Miami and anime classic Akira, and you get Dark Light, a beautiful Metroidvania that’s racking up great Steam reviews, and is available right now at a decent discount.
Dark Light has a delicious premise. In a bleak but breathtaking cyberpunk dystopia, something called the Dark Void has begun to spread over the planet, gradually birthing horrific, supernatural monsters. Armed with guns, swords, stylish armor, and special abilities, your mission is to defeat the myriad horrors of the Dark Void and seal it forever. Developer Mirari and Co. calls Dark Light a soulslike – if you’ve beaten all of FromSoftware’s ultra challenging series and want one of the most unique games like Dark Souls, this is for you.
Timing, dodging, and parrying are all essential if you want to succeed, and you can enhance all your abilities and traits as you go. There are more than 100 ‘Cyberware’ variants that you can use to customize your build, and you can join factions that unlock additional skills and quests. It plays great, but above all, Dark Light stands out for its visuals and style. Wonderfully detailed pixel art, graceful animations, and colorful mood lighting make Dark Light absolute shine.
With more than 400 user reviews, Dark Light is already rated ‘mostly positive’ on Steam. If you want to check it out, it’s currently available at a 10% discount, knocking it down from $16.99 / £14.29 to $11.89 / £10.
Alternatively, you might want to try some of the other best indie games, or maybe the best platform games available right now on PC.