Introduction

I don’t think gamers truly understand the need for indie games. They aren’t just a small-time developer’s attempt at becoming rich and famous. Indie games allow game developers to produce quality games that can inspire bigger studios or maybe lead to franchises that aren’t just the titans we know in the triple-A gaming world. That’s why I’m always down as a gamer/reviewer to play a new indie game and why I took interest in Retrace the Light by developer Xiaming Game. A 2.5D action-adventure title, Retrace the Light almost reminds me of games like Transistor or Hyper Light Drifter and those are two titles I can’t praise enough. Is this light-bending title the next big indie darling to shine on the game scene, or does this light only give a candle-like glow in the indie world? Time to find out in my review of Retrace the Light!

Gameplay

In Retrace the Light you assume the role of Decem, an enforcer who ends up needing to use a simulation machine to help repair them after a mission went south. Using the Meta Mirror Project, Decem will rebuild Mirrormazes that are fractured human consciousness needing to be fixed. What happened to Decem and what does it mean to be an enforcer? These will be the questions that guide you on your light-filled action-adventure.

Retrace the Light is a mix of combat and puzzle-solving. Decem has the power of Retrace, which allows our enforcer to create light trails and then teleport to where said trail began. Quite quickly it becomes evident that the Retrace ability isn’t just a gimmick but the core theme behind Retrace the Light. You will need to use this power to combat enemies by creating paths to avoid their attacks and flank them, as well as solve timed puzzles that seem otherwise impossible without it. I really enjoyed Retrace powers and, as you go further in, you can combine it with other abilities too.

You have to quickly master your core abilities in Retrace the Light. Decem has a light attack and heavy attack to start off with, but as you progress through the story and fight various bosses or complete objectives, you gain new main skills and secondary ones that you can level up. The skill tree is quite robust, making it never an easy thought on what to level up, but equally every power-up helps Decem become a stronger fighter and can really save your behind when the fights become challenging. You can even train in the main hub—more on that in a second—where you can alter your abilities/skills and see how they would fare in a training ground. Retrace the Light has some rather robust in-game systems I don’t see even in bigger produced games. Quite impressive, to say the least!

When you aren’t fighting various machine-like entities, you’ll be exploring and that comes in two flavors. When in the Mirrormazes, Decem can find various goodies that will help make their mission simpler and numerous puzzles that, while never too complex, can sometimes get your brain to work a bit. As someone who likes smart puzzle designs in games—not obtuse ones that seem based on random searching or hitting just the right spot—Retrace the Light is very competent in the puzzle department even if it becomes a bit obvious what every puzzle needs you to do to overcome it. That’s even including the various powers you gain that change the light trail as you go.

After surviving a level—most wrap up after a boss fight—you then explore the strange world within the Meta Mirror Project. Here you’ll meet other enforcers who will help Decem in various ways like giving you more story information or allowing you to alter your main combat abilities. The Meta Mirror is mostly a hub for in-between mission content, but I loved how strange and beautiful this location was. It is obvious it is within a machine/simulation, but there’s depth to this odd landscape and as you progress through Retrace the Light, mysteries will be unveiled slowly.

Graphics

Retrace the Light pulsates with strong art designs and unique character/enemy models. I really loved the hand-drawn portrait pictures for the characters and even more loved the environments that seem both futuristic and dreamlike. Visually, Retrace the Light is gorgeous and I was never worried the next area I’d enter or the next boss wouldn’t be as impressive as the last. There’s also a nice diverse set of locations to explore and visit, keeping the visuals from ever becoming repetitive—always a much-appreciated concept for an indie game!

Sound

Solid sound design is how to best sum up Retrace the Light. The OST is a nice mix of various melodies both calming and whimsical. When the battles begin, the music escalates to match and it keeps the pace in turn. I did also like there’s a bit of voice work—not much—which at first seems a bit odd to not have the main cast voiced, but as you continue in our enforcer’s tale, you’ll see why voice acting is a choice, not a necessity, and removing it most of the time works well. Overall, Retrace the Light has a solid OST and some great sounds that show there was some love choosing what to put into this game.

Story

As a sci-fi buff, I will always say the genre can be quite repetitive at times. Trapped in a digital world, exploring a future-themed society, etc… these are just a few of the overly used constructs in games and sci-fi stories. Retrace the Light has some clichés thrown in, but often I was caught off guard with this tale. Even when I began to think I understood what was happening, there would be subtle red herrings thrown in to make me wonder if I was wrong possibly. The story consistently evolves to create a sense of unknown but equally reward gamers who like to explore and theory craft. You can read hidden lore drops and engage in conversations with the cast to discover more of the world, but even then, I’d be lying if I said I knew what was happening on the onset. I began to realize what was finally occurring as I pieced together the various scenes—especially the ones that almost feel like real-world cutscenes—but even then Retrace the Light has a good story that is sci-fi-orientated with a tinge of mystery and future themes implanted for good measure.

Overall Impression

Chinese developer Xiaming Game I think has made a spectacular game here and I hope the gaming community takes notice. Retrace the Light is one of the better indie games I played this year with fun action-adventure gameplay. Rarely did I ever feel Retrace the Light could have done something better and that shocked me a bit as a reviewer. Easily worth the low price of $17.99—though it is on sale currently for a few dollars less—Retrace the Light is amazing and extremely fun.

Conclusion

Retrace the Light might be one of my top three favorite indie games of the year to be completely honest. That’s a surprising thing too, seeing as how I’ve played quite a decent amount of indie titles this 2025 gaming year and yet games like Retrace the Light pop up showing there’s never an end to splendid indie darlings. Developer Xiaming Game and publisher GlintForge need some love and hopefully this review gives them that. Retrace the Light is excellent and shows even smaller developers can create giant impressive games like this one!

—Aaron