Collecting My Thought on Candle: The Power of the Flame—Greater as Wick and Wax

Candle: The Power of the Flame is a treat for the eyes (and for the ears too). The choice of a watercolour medium created truly eye-catching set pieces for our hero Teku to roam in. However beyond that, the game was inhibited by its litany of flaws. These flaws namely came in the form of gameplay and quickly made clear that Candle: The Power of the Flame is more a showcase of visual art prowess than one of convincing and coherent gameplay.

Teku is a jungle tribesman who emerges from the ashes of his pillaged village. He embarks upon a journey to discover what lead to the destruction of his village and the capture of his tribe shaman. In his left hand, he brandishes a candle. Yes. This candle can be either lit or put out and will have differing effects on the world depending on its state. This candle must be managed when exploring dark caves, hiding from enemies and attracting or scaring away creatures. There is also a light burst power that affords the candle a few more actions when lit. The basis of all that is fair. However, the higher levels of gameplay falter in the areas of intuitiveness, skill development and, especially, consistency. This was egregiously evident when the blacksmith asked me to light his furnace before he would provide his services. However, after lighting the furnace, he still gives the same annoying spiel about needing to light the furnace first. After resetting the game multiple times, I found out it was likely not a bug but a design oversight (or even a design choice! OMG). In actuality, I was required to retrieve an artifact on top of lighting the furnace, which the blacksmith failed to mention. However in another similar situation where an NPC had required multiple things, all demands were outlined clearly. This was just one example of how the game robbed me of trust and interest.

Candle: The Power of the Flame is a tale of two games. On one hand, you have outstanding artwork which the team at Teku Studios clearly worked hard on to hand-paint and scan each scene like that. On the other, you have gameplay and storytelling that lacked consistency, both in terms of harmony and substance. Though when small aspects of gameplay are viewed individually, there are signs of promise. This all just means that unfortunately, Candle: The Power of the Flame isn't as great as the sum of its parts.

#FavouriteScene Pink sumo bath dude's entrance was quite effective comic relief.

#ForThePlaylist Monkeytown bop. Reminds me fondly of Crash Bandicoot.

#FavouriteHair The bird-lion-boar hybrid called the Dimus is about the only thing with hair in this game, but boy does it have one regal mane.

#FavouriteMechanic Jumping. Not!