What better way to kick off a new year than with a visually stunning and mentally stimulating action-platformer like Candleman: The Complete Journey. Frankly, the game took me by complete surprise, as I hadn’t heard anything about it until it was up for review, but such is the case with most indie PC games these days. I’m a sucker for eye-candy, especially when it’s used as part of the actual game design, and Candleman makes the most of vibrant, colorful graphics juxtaposed against a predominate sea of blackness creating an experience that can only be described as “illuminating”.
The premise is simple. You play a sentient candle that can walk, run, and jump around standard 3D platforming environments, all the while dreaming of being as important as his hero, the lighthouse. While somewhat linear in design, each compact level has several unlit candles scatter about, some obvious and others tucked away in the darkest corners. Your primary objective is to merely reach the end of each level and walk into the light to advance the thoughtful and emotionally narrated story, but completionists will certainly want to seek out every last candle.
To make things even more challenging most levels are cast in near-total darkness thus relying on your ability to spark a flame when needed, but igniting your wick causes your “body” to melt, and with a total burn time of ten seconds per level you really need to strategize the best times to flame-on, keeping in mind you have to ignite yourself to light those other candles. One nifty trick is that when you do die and replay your previous candle wax drippings remain, which can be a useful tool in locating ledges and platforms in the dark.
Game design gets even more devious in the later chapters when you are required to factor in clever design elements like reflections, light and shadows, and one of the most exhilarating boss fights I’ve experience in a platforming game such as this. Some of the shadow levels where shadow objects are tangible platforming elements until you flame-on and they vanish are truly inspired, not to mention sections where you must look into a mirror to see objects that are invisible in the “real world” while factoring in that your directions are reversed.
Complementing the stunning visual design is a fantastic audio package that includes a stirring score, wonderfully detailed sound effects right down to the metallic footsteps of Candleman, and a wonderfully narrated story that unfolds in the chapter-ending cutscenes. This is AAA material, ready for prime time, and for only $15 you won’t find a better platforming experience. The soundtrack is available separately and also bundled with the game at a discount.
The Complete Journey includes two DLC chapters that, while visually stunning are definitely much easier than the final chapters of the main game, and while they add tremendously to the epilogue of Candleman, should be thought of more as a cool-down period and time for reflection. Believe me; after that final boss fight with an angry lighthouse I needed a few levels to collect myself, and these final chapters filled with colorful fireworks and glowing hot air balloons were magical. 
The DLC combined with the main game took me just under ten hours, and that was with me lighting ALL the candles. For speed runners and those looking to extend their time with Candleman after the story, there are Time Challenges for each level that not only earn you achievements, but your times are also tracked on leaderboards so you can compete for the best run times.
Candleman has some great quality of life features like mid-level checkpoints as well as the ability to replay previously completed chapters for missing candles – previously found candles remain lit, so you only need find the missing ones. The game starts off simple enough but can prove extremely challenging in the final chapters as new design concepts and formidable enemies like lightbulbs and phantoms are introduced. 
Controls are excellent – I played with an Xbox controller, which was perfect for this type of game, and while keyboard is supported I can’t imagine it working that well. Your jump distance/height is based on how firm/long you press the button, which has its own learning curve, especially when you are often jumping in pitch blackness.
Candleman: The Complete Journey is easily one of the best platforming games I’ve played in years, combining the challenge and danger of Little Nightmares with the visual splendor of Ori and the Blind Forest. The concept of a living candle whose life is measured in melting wax, then forcing you to burn to see the levels and accomplish objectives is brilliant. This may be a ten hour game, but you’ll be playing it ten seconds at a time.
