Lanterns of the Hollow

Lanterns of the Hollow is a slow, gorgeous adventure that trusts you to explore. You play a lamplighter walking a foggy town at dusk, lighting lanterns and slowly piecing together why the place has gone so still. There's no combat — just puzzles, atmosphere, and a story that reveals itself in fragments.

The puzzles lean on observation. I loved that the game never spelled things out; a note left on a table three screens back suddenly made sense an hour later. Hand-drawn backgrounds and a soft ambient score do a lot of the emotional lifting.

It's short, maybe five hours, but it lingers. If you want something to play with headphones on a rainy evening, this is it.

What we liked

• Beautiful hand-drawn art
• Observation-based puzzles
• A haunting, understated story