Light Fall is a stark 2D platformer where you control the platforms

In Light Fall, an upcoming 2D platformer from Canadian developer Bishop Games, the world has gone dark and your only friend is grumpy old owl named Stryx. That is, if you don't count the controllable 'shadow core' that is both your constant companion and the center of the game's platforming.

Light Fall's vast, minimalist worlds feature gaps and chasms and plenty of other things to jump over, but levels are more freeform than in most platformers because the majority of the platforms are placed by you, the nameless player character. By summoning and placing the shadow core, you can create floors to jump off and walls to run up, operate ancient machinery or open paths by blocking lasers or projectiles.

The shadow core sounds like a fun addition to 2D platforming, and if it's as flexible as it seems, it could enable players to create some ingenious paths as they compete in the built-in speedrun ladders.

"Revisit the world of Numbra and experience exclusive levels where the difficulty has been drastically increased," its Steam page says. "Compete with players worldwide and compare your fastest times with theirs on the online leaderboard."

Light Fall will release in March of 2018. For now, have a look at some of its bleak yet beautiful environments.

Austin freelanced for PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree, and has been a full-time writer at PC Gamer's sister publication GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize that his position as a staff writer is just a cover-up for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a focus on news, the occasional feature, and as much Genshin Impact as he can get away with.