Hello people!
This time things went in a different way: I was browsing itch.io when I found an interesting looking rpgmaker2003 game I've never seen before! This game is (obviously) called Ghost Lantern, and later I found that it was available also on rpgmaker.net, so why not trying and reviewing it? By the way as the developer wrote the version here is not updated, so I downloaded the last one from HERE.

In this game we play as Azrael... or how you want to name our alter-ego, a reaper (one of these undeads armed with a scyte and wearing a tattered dark hooded cloak) and god helper. The game starts with a Game Over screen that then fades to a black-and-white world in which we are walking through a desolate land. Yes, Azrael is dead in walks in the afterlife. But soon she arrives to the "8 bit-heaven" looking to for a way out, that can be granted only by the Sky God, IF he'll be inmpressed!


YAY! Subquest done! Gimme gimme something cool please!

And now begins this adventure inside a surreal world with religious overtones where we have to complete bizarre tasks like battling a demon-owl to recover a feather to give to a girl that needs it to escape. Or "focusing" the God. This is done by allineating its image on the lower right side of the screen to the identical statues (the Buddha ripped from the Nobotoke Village of Metal Max 2). Tapping the action (Z) button several times we get the head that must be taken to the house behind the temple and place the head there. And this has to be done for every statue.

Now, the game give clear objectives (like entering the "partially invisible" temple) but navigating this world is confusing and there are actually three ways to move: one is simply walking, the other is interacting/possessing one of the blue humanoids that can walk over water (water that has EYES! Oh yes, the rivers have eyes here!) and interacting/possessing the white shroud creature (looks almost like a negative version of our character) that can fly, BUT can land only on black platforms. Oh and there are many places to visit from houses to a sort of multi-level mall with shop, you can find people that will buy your items and a bodyguard that can join your party (and there is also a character that can disband the party)... for a price! Money is mainly earned spending the points you will get during your mission, and you can upgrade your scyte or buy new skills, a couple can also be obtained performing a subquest. Remember to save often (from the menu) because thatìs the only thing that's free in this game!


Oh sorry, I believed these upgrades were a little cheaper!

All of this is pretty much confusing, also because after making some actions you may find that other reapers that normally ignored you became aggressive. Oh yes, this is not an easy game at all... easy to understand, I mean! It's weird and obscure, luckily the main page gives some directions but still it's not a simple world that you can explore easily! Instead it's quite intricate and confusing, even if not really big at all!

Now, the confusion is mainly due to the trippy graphics: it's a mish-mash of different assets and bright colors, there are effects like transparencies, screen shaking and other annoyances, not to mention that when you move a head your charset will be obscured. On the other hand the facesets are pretty good, in my opinion! Black and white but expressive and well made, they contrast with all the rest of the game. There are some passability errors, but I'm not really sure if these are errors or if it done on purpouse to confuse more the player. I mean, the game states that this is the "8 bit heaven" so it is mage of fragments of old videogame sprites... makes sense! Music is an irritating repetitive tune in various versions (slower or accelerated), but the good aspect is that seems to be totally original. I do not remember much else of note about sounds.


Yeah right! Like it's easy walking around with this head, without even an idea of the exact location where I've to place it!

Final Verdict
Ghost Lantern isn't a player friendly game at all! I mean, the page (both here and in itch.io) explain how the game works, because you will find no real indication of what you're supposed to do. Navigating the map is pretty hard, also we start with almost no money and the attacks often miss... I am quite sure that these difficulties and the cryptic execution may discourage many players after walking around without going anywhere. It's also a hard game because other reapers are pretty strong and when a giant head obscures our path is difficult to avoid them, and when walking on a passage of a single tile it's both impossible and annoying!