Hollow Lantern

Hollow Lantern is the game I keep recommending to people who say mobile games have no soul. It's a slow, atmospheric adventure where you explore an abandoned town by lamplight, solving small environmental puzzles and piecing together what happened here.

There's almost no text and no hand-holding. You tap to move and interact, and the game trusts you to notice things. Every screen is hand-drawn and dripping with mood, and the sound design — creaking wood, distant wind — made me put my headphones in.

It's short, maybe three or four hours, and it doesn't overstay its welcome. Some puzzles lean a little obtuse, but the payoff of the ending stuck with me for days. A rare little thing worth playing.

What we liked

• Gorgeous hand-drawn art
• Puzzles that respect your intelligence
• Superb sound design