Some games try to tell stories with dialogue. After Light Fades tells one through movement.
Released on June 20 for PC, this quiet sokoban-style puzzle game reimagines the process of grief as a grid-based challenge. You’re given a single goal each level: rebuild, connect, move forward, but every action you take leaves behind a trace. Some steps vanish. Others stay just long enough to remind you you were there. It’s subtle, but it sticks with you.
You’re not given much instruction. The game trusts you to figure things out through trial, tension, and memory. That restraint works in its favor. Each level becomes a kind of emotional sketch, and the mechanics never overshadow the mood.
Created by solo developer Alexander Thumm, After Light Fades was made in Unity and designed as a personal project. Yet, it now includes a full level editor with Steam Workshop support, giving the community room to create puzzles that reflect their own stories.
If you like games that give you space to think and feel, this one is worth your time. It’s available now on Steam, with a launch discount in place.
Some puzzles are about logic.
After Light Fades however, is about learning to let go.
Edited by
Kevin Fernandes
