The Light Brigade

The Light Brigade is a first-person roguelite shooter in which the player descends through dark, procedurally generated levels lit only by the glow of their own lantern, which doubles as both a defensive and offensive weapon against shadow creatures hiding in the darkness that fear direct light. The combination of shooting with real firearms — which can be carried on a belt and body holsters and gradually upgraded — and manipulating light creates an unusual, tactical approach to combat, where wasting the lantern's energy is unwise, since it recharges only gradually and without it the player is left in complete darkness.

On Quest the game feels atmospheric thanks to the contrast between darkness and light, which is a key gameplay element — enemies hide beyond the lantern's reach, and the player must constantly think about where to aim the light, when to retreat into shadow, and when to risk full exposure of their position instead. The music is dark and tense, with minimalist yet distinctive motifs that reinforce the feeling of a lone advance through enemy territory, while the permadeath system and gradual unlocking of equipment, runs, and abilities give the game long-term motivation for repeated attempts at an ever deeper descent into completely unknown places.

After release the game earned praise for its original and imaginative combination of roguelite mechanics with a light-based puzzle and tense atmosphere, clearly setting it apart from ordinary VR shooters built solely on pure reflexes and aiming speed. Thanks to its well-thought-out level design, distinctive visual identity, addictive gameplay loop, and satisfying sense of progress, The Light Brigade ranks among the more interesting and less overexposed titles of its genre on the Quest platform, and even years after release it still offers one of the most tense feelings of advancing through darkness on the whole platform.

Why play it: For fans of roguelite shooters looking for an original combination of a light-based puzzle with a tense atmosphere and well-thought-out level design, setting it apart from ordinary reflex-based VR titles.