Description
You were once a member of the Order of Celestine, guardian of the moon. Protector of secrets, of lovers, of the world left behind in the shadow of the sun. But you grew to question the world of darkness. Became resentful and bitter. Enraged at your impotence and your reflection in the light.
And so you rebelled.
For your sins, you were cast into a Realm of Shadows to make peace with your victims. Those whom you have wronged and those who have wronged you. Those whose throats you cut sweetly with the knife woven from the words of your undoing, as they begged you to make peace beneath your sovereign’s watchful gaze. Until you have done so, you must continue to reside in this penance of your own making, circling within and through.
Solo journaling games are ultimately imaginative rituals done to amuse and creatively inspire oneself. Sometimes these rituals are straightforward, boiling down to something like “use this deck of cards to imagine yourself a space explorer.” Other times these rituals are elaborate and arcane, like “using the phases of the moon, a marble maze, and a blindfold, envision yourself as an outcast assassin nun who must grapple with the damned spirits of their victims as they navigate the liminal labyrinth of the moon goddess herself,” which is roughly what’s happening in We Wander Beneath Radiant Lights.
Do not be mistaken, this 60-page zine is not a lyric game: contained within are concrete, followable instructions that comprise a game with a win state. And boy howdy, what a game. Each time you play you are tasked with a different real-world challenge of some kind: solving a marble maze, solving a riddle, going for a walk, navigating your room blindfolded. (Which challenge you face that night is determined by the phase of the moon.) Completing a challenge triggers a writing prompt, divided into black cards (mildly evil,) red cards (highly evil,) and jokers (???.) Eventually, after you have successfully made penance for your 13 named victims by completing challenges and prompts, you will end the game by confronting your god and confessing your doubts.
Beneath Radiant Lights is a horror game about escaping a hell of your own making. It is brought to baroque, luminous life through colorfully grim prose by creator Kyle Tam, and the dense, claustrophobic layout from NeonRot. This is unquestionably a singular game, with a unique setting and novel rules. While not a casual or breezy zine, players interested in horror journaling games with unique settings and tone will be richly rewarded.
- 60-page, digest size, Full color, saddle-stitch zine
- Originally created for the Below A Bad Moon Jam
- 2025 IGDN Groundbreaker Award for Best Setting
