Lighthouse: The Dark Being

aka: Lighthouse: A Criatura das Trevas, Lighthouse: Das Dunkle Wesen, Lighthouse: Il Faro, Lighthouse: Las fuerzas de las tinieblas
Moby ID: 266
Windows Specs
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Description official descriptions

In this game, the player controls a writer who had just moved into a cottage located on the coastal area of the state Oregon. Near the cottage is a lighthouse, inhabited by the eccentric Dr. Jeremiah Krick and his daughter Amanda. One day, glancing out of the window, the hero(ine) notices that the lighthouse has been struck by lightning. Dr. Krick has also left an unclear message on the answering machine, imploring the protagonist to come as soon as possible. Upon arriving at the lighthouse, the protagonist finds out that its inhabitants have been kidnapped by a mysterious being, and transported into a parallel universe. A strange new world must be explored, and its mysteries solved, in order to bring back Dr. Krick and his daughter...

Lighthouse: The Dark Being is a first-person adventure game conceived in the vein of Myst. Locations are represented as pre-rendered still screens. Interaction with the environment is performed with a simple single-cursor, point-and-click interface. Similarly to Myst, the puzzles are notable for their difficulty, and are logic- rather than inventory-based, consisting of careful observation, clue-gathering, and manipulation of the environments.

Spellings

  • מגדלור - היצור האפל - Hebrew spelling

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Credits (DOS version)

82 People (77 developers, 5 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 69% (based on 24 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.5 out of 5 (based on 67 ratings with 7 reviews)

It was interesting because I had never played this type of game before!

The Good
I agree with most, the music is superb.. the graphics were great especially the cut scenes! I loved the magical box for some reason! I thought it was extra special!

The Bad
The voices were ok.. for the baby, the creature... the girl in the life-support machine, and the way she twitched was cool (you gotta have a few twitches twitches to be what she' s been through, right???), but the NO voice was very impersonal for the writer whom you become.. didn't have inner thoughts, much less a voice! the professor's voice was nice, but when you finally see him toward the end of the game, he looks shockingly nothing like a inventor type... his voice did NOT fit his looks! I was looking for more of an Einstein, or Mark Twain look (looks like a pro-wrestler, or basketball player!), very disappointed in this character! then he just tells you to go home! where's the celebration-- the cake and ice cream!:(! after all you saved their lives!

The Bottom Line
Get one if you don't mind doing things over and over until you find a clue to a future, or past puzzle! and I'm sort of glad I have one in my collection! but I did purchase it at Savers for a whole dollar!:o! (saw one ad on the net for $16.95??), it took me 3 weeks to get through it, and I drastically needed help in 2 critical places, where little information is given! the newer version(s), and the down loading patches allow lighting up the cursor when over a critical place, but that's all I could tell any patches did for the game!

Windows · by jeri dakota (2) · 2002

Has a certain charm, but...

The Good
Wanted to try what's the difference between ordering a game from an online store, or directly from a developer. Surprise, surprise, Sierra even supported my country on their site, kudos for that, no doubt. Yeah, those were the times, paid $10 bucks for the game, and another $35 for the shipping, lol, only had the next day shipping option, lol. Still, the fact itself makes this game that more precious to me.

I'm totally in love with 3rd-person point-and-click graphic adventures, or at least there definitely was a time when I was, but couldn't stand any 1st-person one after my dreadful experience with Myst game. This game elevated my trust and lowered the fear, but it still proved this perspective makes the games that much harder.

The atmosphere was totally amazing, and the graphic was truly great. What few characters there were present left a solid impression and no need for any more. Ambient sound was cool, much on par with short themes they used for Gabriel Knight games. The game starts rather interesting and the whole setting was great. Then, of course, the fantasy takes the upper hand in all this and the more you progress, the less fun the game looks like, especially story-wise. From totally suspenseful and igniting plot to silly idiotic conclusion.

It's fantastic that game literally doesn't let you get stuck, there is solution to every doing, you can undo it one way or another, there are many ways to achieve same goals, although if you slip past the easy ones, you'll really have to think hard to find an alternate solution to your problem.

The Bad
Well, generally I never seek for things that I don't like in the game unless they present themselves up to the point of becoming frustrating and irritable. Since it's been a while, can't think of any except perhaps that this game, much alike many other 1-st person adventures, can be just as hard. And of course, to ruin such a fine story premise by going nowhere near brilliance is a real shame.

The Bottom Line
It has a fine covers ;) Probably one of the best looking design, right after ever so beautiful "Of Light and Darkness". For those who like 1st-person frame stepping adventures, this is no short of a delicacy, but I couldn't never understand how come such adventures can ever be so great until I played "Blackstone Chronicles".

Like certain Sierra's games from that period, game can be played under Windows' window which is great as you can do some stuff around, like browse online, then play a bit, then type something, then play again, and so on. Could be a bit more fun if the image wasn't consistent with its own resolution leaving black frame on higher ones than the one it's been using.

Windows · by MAT (240759) · 2012

This was a real thrill of adventure

The Good
I thought that this was an excellent game at it's time. From the very first scene in your house, the atmosphere got scary and really draws you in.(considering i was only 10 when i first played it :)) The interface is quite good, while you can pick up some objects (or use, move) them with ease. The graphics are excellent with great animation and detail. The locations and puzzles are exquisite. The plot is great as well. Many endings are fun as well.

The Bad
Some of the puzzles are incredibly hard and challenging (hours and hours of thinking). Limited amounts of objects to use.

The Bottom Line
If you like freaky movies and a bit of logic, this game is for your taste. A well done game from Sierra. (although many will need a walkthrough for this)

Windows · by Zsolt Pardi (6) · 2000

[ View all 7 player reviews ]

Trivia

Puzzles

There is a puzzle in Lighthouse that requires the player to open a safe by inputting the appropriate numbers via a combination dial. The deceivingly simple puzzle became such a plight to the players, that Sierra, the Developer, released the solution to the safe-combination puzzle on their web site. Honesty has never been so appreciated.

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by RKL.

Windows 3.x added by MAT. Macintosh added by Belboz.

Additional contributors: Trixter, Rebound Boy, Jeanne, Ghost Pirate, D P, Albert Wesker, Duduzets, Patrick Bregger, Ingsoc.

Game added September 6, 1999. Last modified January 23, 2024.