Candleman is a beautiful 3D platformer journey of a little candle that wants to shine as bright as a lighthouse. There are 12 chapters, each featuring different mechanics over few stages. Each has its own distinct ambiance & theme revolving around various sources of light. To name just a few, you'll be seeing glowing dust, luminescent flowers, lanterns, fireworks, flames, light bulbs, etc.

The game is not overly difficult, and its main gimmick is that you can only light up your little candle protagonist in quick bursts, as you're allowed to burn a total of 10 seconds throughout a single stage before you melt completely. You also have 10 lives per stage (that I never ran out of), and a checkpoint usually around the the middle or before more difficult section, to make things even more forgiving. For extra challenge you can try to locate and light up all the candles scattered throughout. And after you finish the game, a beat-the-timer mode unlocks, which is also pretty lenient on how fast you have to be in order to make it.

Overall, it was such a pretty and delightful experience. :)

Written after completing the game with 8.7 hours played & 19 of 19 (100%) achievements earned.

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Rating
6.5 ⭐⭐⭐

Candleman The Complete Journey is a puzzle platformer where you utilize bursts of light in a darkened arena. You are a little candle 🕯️ trying to find his way along a dangerous path to enlightenment. A lighthouse in the distance is the wonder you are trying to reach. The ultimate candle?
You have ten lives to navigate yourself through a maze of darkness. Only your candle provides enough light to see. You can use your candle in small bursts to gain your bearings. Altogether you have ten seconds of constant light. Once that ten seconds runs out your wax has been depleted and you die and return to the start of the level. Each chapter has a number of levels, and on each level there are a different amount of candles to collect. It is not necessary to collect each candle however. The goal is to reach the end of the level; Collecting candles is for achievement hunters. Roughly half way through each level will be a large candle which saves your progress ensuring any further deaths will respawn you there.

Gameplay: 🕹️
The game mechanics are easy enough to grasp. You are a little candle that waddles around in a strangely alluring manner. Maybe I have a fetish, I don’t know. You can move in all directions as well as being able to jump and have the ability to burn your candle. Burning your candle creates light and reduces your size also. The size of your candle does not matter (I’ve heard that somewhere before) but if you over-use the burn feature the wax will melt and you will die after accumulating 10 seconds of burning time. This creates a level of excitement in itself as I have often stumbled over the finishing line with no more than a drip of wax left. It is difficult to judge the exact moment your wax will run out. The colour of the screen does change to black and white as the wax is running low but after that point it is guess work as to how long you have left.

Sometimes the arena is completely black. At all times you can see the candle but unless you quickly use a burst of light you won’t know which way you are going. Burning your candle drips wax which you can often see in the dark, so if you do die, and you will lots of times, the wax can act as a guide for future runs. Each chapter is different and introduces a new game mechanic into the mix. For example, things to expect are rolling barrels, see-saws to reach high places, blowing winds to carry you further distances and deadly flowers that appear suddenly when light is shone on them. The puzzles range in difficulty. Sometimes I would breeze through them and other times I did get stuck and had to refer to walkthroughs. The puzzles I have encountered so far are mainly pressing buttons in a certain order or moving objects to jump on. I have only reached level 4 at the moment so I am sure there are harder puzzles to come.

The levels start off easy and gradually get more difficult. By level four the frustration levels were sky high. The game can be very annoying as you slip off a leaf or fall down a crevice you didn’t see. Once you are dead you are returned to the start of the level to navigate the same obstacles again; Something I found a bit tiresome. If, however, you get roughly half way through the level, you will find a large candle that acts as a respawn point for further deaths. This is always a welcome sight. Personally, I would have enjoyed the game a lot more if there wasn’t a respawn point and you continued from where you died. I understand that this would make the game easier but you could have less lives to balance this out. I just got a bit fed up with repeating myself over and over again.

The controls were good and sturdy. The pace at which the candle moves is spot on and directionally changes are smooth. At no point did I blame the copious amount of deaths on the controls, although on a few occasions I did slide off leaves when I was standing still and walk off vines in the dark when I thought I shouldn’t have.

A few reviewers have commented on motion sickness. I often get motion sickness but I did not experience this in the game. The camera angles do change, but not constantly, and when they do change it is usually for your benefit.

There are twelve chapters in all and a varying number of levels within these chapters. There is no time limit to complete the level.

Once the story is completed, a new time challenge feature is unlocked where you have to complete the level within a certain amount of time.

Story:
There isn’t much of a story to talk about really. It’s a gentle and minimal story which is revealed very slowly after each level. After you complete a level you will receive one line of descriptive text to forward the story. For example, “The path became laden with leaves.” This usually is a pre-cursor to the next level. Obviously, there is going to be a lot of leaves in the next level. After you complete all levels within the chapter, you are rewarded with a very brief video clip which gives a bit more information about the candles quest. There is a small amount of voice narration in these clips along with a graphical sequence which sets up the next chapter.

Even though the story was short and minimal it had a charm to it and I was interested to see how the candle progressed.

Sound: 🎵
There’s no music as such throughout the game. There is an ambient noise in the background which creates atmosphere. For example, in the leafed area there are noises of a forest and creatures. The FX sounds were nicely down from the sound of the little candle feet walking, to the sound it makes when you light a candle. The sound effects were nice and added atmosphere and depth to the gameplay.

Graphics: 📺
The graphics are nice and suit the games ambience. Even though you spend a lot of the time in the dark, when you light your candle this can awaken all sorts of plant life and light up luminous fauna. This is pretty to watch. The candle is nicely animated from the dripping wax to the cute way he walks (have I already mentioned that?)

I’m a bit torn between liking and hating this game. It can be unbelievable frustrating down to the nature of navigating obstacles in the dark. However, I think the developers have got the balance right between light and dark. You are given just enough light to stumble through the levels.

There is definitely an overwhelming urge to give the level one more go, even if it is after you have gone downstairs to make a cup of tea and calm down. I just wish you didn’t have to repeat the first half of the level over and over again until you reach the spawn point. Unfortunately, this marred the experience for me. I haven’t given up on this game yet but I think it is best played in short bursts as long sessions can leave you frustrated.

Pros: 👍
Charming ambience to the game including the cute candle
Nice sound effects
Solid controls and movement
Original idea and good use of light and dark

Cons: 👎
Frustrating and annoying at times
Too much repetitiveness caused by restarting levels after death

I loved this game and as you can see by my time, I really had to persevere to complete it. Candleman is a delightful, moderate platformer with difficult bits, much easier to play with a controller. I was on a keyboard, and being very clumsy and poorly co-ordinated, I died so many times it wasn't funny.
Janner66 has already given a comprehensive review on the mechanics of the game. I agree that it can become repetitive if you have to play a section multiple times before you succeed. In some areas you have to be very precise and that can be rage inducing!!
The story is about a little candle who realises he has been blessed with a decent pair of pins and is able to move around. A nearby lighthouse becomes his hero because he wants to shine like him. So off he waddles to the lighthouse traversing many different environments. There are 12 chapters and each chapter is a different environment, ranging from a ship, a forest, the lighthouse and along the way you use various sources of light to illuminate your path.
The candle itself has only 10 seconds of light, so you use it sparsely to light your way and to light other candles you need to discover. Some of the mechanics are quite enchanting with using flowers as a path being my favourite. A nice touch was the clinking of his feet on different surfaces....and the groan when you died!
There is one boss fight and I found it really jarred with me! It completely killed the atmosphere which was previously gentle and peaceful. It is a long and difficult fight and took me ages to beat.
I came to realise that story was about each one of us as human beings. Instead of shining our light in our unique way, we want to be like others. Comparison is the thief of joy and that is what happened to Candleman. He wanted to be like the lighthouse and was doomed to failure. When we fail, we become depressed and lose hope.
As Candleman discovered, when we do things collectively, we can create something beautiful. So let your little light shine out with joy and get rid of the damp squibs in your life! Our journey of self-discovery never ceases.
Highly recommend. 8/10

Candleman: The Complete Journey isn’t aimed at people looking for challenge. While it does have a few tricks up its sleeve, it’s a casual platformer that does a lot with few means. Its biggest plus is that of introducing a different focus with each chapter without making it difficult to catch on to what must be done. This makes it so that even when it employs the use of tried and tested platforming elements, new chapters still feel fresh. Its levels are short, but there are some good 6-7 hours of gameplay in it (possibly more if you go for the completionist approach). It’s true that the protagonist’s most unique feature isn’t used to its full potential and warming up to the little candle is difficult until later in the game. Be that as it may, Candleman: The Complete Journey is a more sedate experience which takes players through a beautiful, well-paced and relaxing journey. Full Review[www.noobfeed.com].

A nice story let down by the clunky 3D platforming. The movement and jumping felt unresponsive, like wading in custard. The camera angles and the nature of these types of 3D platformers meant it was often difficult to judge jumps and navigate threats, making it frustrating at times. For me, the pacing was really odd. It all builds up to this big moment but after that is finished, there are still around 3 chapters left. The ending is sweet though,

It's by no means terrible, but I can't recommend it.

A friend recommended this to me after they saw the screenshots- telling me it looks similiar to Inside and Little Nightmares.

I got it during the sale. 11$ seemed expensive at first- but if it was as good as those other games it would be fair.

So after finishing it and getting all the achievements too- I can say I'm satisfied.

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It consists of 3d platforming and solving simple puzzles- it is often dark so you have to light up your candle and the ones you find in the level. The candle only burns for 10 seconds and you get 10 lives per level.

None of the levels or puzzles are frustrating or overly difficult- the 10 seconds of burn time you get is more than enough in all levels. I also never ran out of the 10 lives it gives you per level. The checkpoints are plenty and forgiving.

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I got all the achievements by finding the candles in every level- they are all findable without a guide for them or any of the puzzles. There are 12 chapters and about 5 levels each. Game is finishable in +-5 hours or longer if you search for all the candles.
After finishing the game there are 'speedrun / level time' achievements to beat for every level- also very managable.

The story is minimal and secondary to the actual gameplay- there are only short cutscenes between some of the levels and every chapter.

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This is a nice little gem. 'Candleman' - although a silly name is an enjoyable 3d puzzle platformer.

It would be safe to say that it's close to the platforming of Super Mario 64. Although more relaxed and less challenging. You can play this problem free with either mouse/keyboard or controller.

Candleman is a delightful platformer with nice graphics. The lighting in this game is particularly beautiful, but it's not just for show. It's very important to the game because most of the time you'll be playing in the dark, but thankfully your limited ability to light Candleman's flame will guide your way and effect the environment around you. For example your flame can move a platform, melt sheets of ice, light a firework and many other ways you'll find out for yourself, but use the flame too much and Candleman will melt away and you'll lose your life. The object of the game is to light a certain amount of candles in each stage. Some are in obvious locations and some are well hidden. Along the way you'll encounter a checkpoint candle that will allow you to start from that point after you light it. If you're wondering how long the game is it's about 10 hours long depending how good you are at the game. Which is a good length when you consider the low price. In conslusion I had a fun time with Candleman. If you like platformers you'll enjoy this game.

This is a game where I wish Steam had a neutral option, as Candleman is a game that I didn't really like, but I also didn't hate either.

Candleman is a platformer from the top-down perspective. If you couldn't tell from the artwork, the main draw of this game is the fact that you get to play as a candle with little legs, which ties into the main gimmick of the game: light. All of the levels use darkness to hide certain aspects, and the small flame of, well, yourself, is used to illuminate everything within a certain radius. Hitting a button will allow you to burn very bright compared to the neutral state you’re always in. Your flame can interact in other ways of simply lighting up the dark, like drawing attention or activating things in the environment. However, this comes at a cost: the more you purposefully burn, the more wax melts off (you don’t melt if you don’t hit the button, just so you’re aware). If you use up all of your wax, though, it's game over. Outside of the candle gimmick, the rest of the ways to die are pretty standard: fall in a pit or take a single hit.

The levels in this game are interesting the first time, and then, for me at least, became very repetitive. Take for example, the first set of levels on the ship. Most of it is dreary, and most of it all looks the same with very little difference from level to level; it feels like one long, single level that was just split up to have more levels. There isn’t anything redeeming or significant about it, it’s just a bunch of box textures that repeat over and over. The same goes for most of the other worlds you go to during the course of the game, with the only exception I’ll give to the marsh area.

Most of the levels in this game appeared to be designed for a person that doesn’t play video games all that often, which is perfectly fine. I don’t really want to knock points against that. However, many of the levels, especially the ones in the Lost Light chapters, simply dragged on with how slow moving they are, which leads into my major gripe: just how slow this game is, and how a single mistake can really set you back in terms of time. To put it bluntly, Candleman is slow. The little candle doesn’t move fast, and neither does the environment. There are some levels where you’re stuck pushing objects, and then some where you’re riding on leaves, and it all just moves at a snail’s pace. It would be nice if there was, say, a run button. But, however, if you’re not very adapt to platformers, then this may be good fit for you.

However, still, Candleman isn’t a bad game, it’s just rather, well, uneventful. I would not recommend playing this entire game in one sitting, like I did. Instead, play some levels, and come back in a day or two. I think this is the main reason why, in the end, I didn’t quite enjoy this game. After seeing the same repeating art, and screwing up putting me back to a place where I’d have to wait a long time to redo an action (e.g. push a bottle or cross a pond), it really started to bore me.

If you’re someone who wants a platformer that isn’t really all the challenging, but has a nice atmosphere and interesting gameplay concept, then I would say to give it a go. However, if you’re a seasoned platformer, then wait for a sale, or watch a few videos before diving in to ensure it’s worth your time.

In terms of things I specifically had issues with:
* If you’re aware of the issue in Unity based games where characters slip off of edges, it applies here. Timing a jump on a ledge can be rather cumbersome if you just make it, resulting in you falling off when you shouldn’t
* Some of pits are rather hard to make out based on the camera angle, especially in places where you have to make a jump. Some levels there were sections where I wish I could move the camera to get a better idea of what I was jumping over
* At the end of a level, I wish the game showed you how much wax you made it out with (for example, showing that you had 29% of your wax remaining or something of the sort). I could see that being as another replayability feature, given that as far as I could tell, nothing during a level ever replenishes your wax amount

This game keeps you busy, some levels are easy some guess work, others are a little more challenging, but overall enjoyable. Timed speed run is a challenge, for those that like speed running. The price is very resonable. Tried and trusted mechanics and gameplay, but i give it 9/10.

[7.8/10]

with unique mechanic, you can light your own candleman to see where you are going, but careful! you only got 10 cumulative seconds of light before his wax is all melted.