Wasteland Horror Radio: Episode 2 - The Lighthouse

This is the second part of a horror anthology series, presented by a ghoul in a wasteland. Although the premise is different this time around, the gameplay and mechanics remain largely unchanged. I already went through those aspects extensively in my review of the first part, so this time I’ll focus on what’s new, including some welcome quality of life features that were missing before.

The story begins with a quick trip into the past, where a girl finds herself next to a dark, empty, and abandoned lighthouse. She has lost her handkerchief, so she has to search the area and find her way around with nothing but a lantern. Things do not end well for her, and the game then jumps forward one century. We meet another girl who has taken a dare to explore the lighthouse, which is now believed to be haunted.

Darkness is much more prominent this time, so thankfully, you have a lighter that recharges after you turn it off for a moment. Without it, finding anything would be nearly impossible, as there are no other sources of light apart from what comes through the windows from outside and lanterns you light.

The lighthouse has since been restored and now looks more like a museum, with various notes scattered around that tell the history of the building and the legend surrounding it. You can read them while looking around. Readability has also been improved compared to the first part. Notes, newspapers, and other readable materials now use a much clearer font and plain text, making them considerably easier to read.

As is often the case with games like this, there are no waypoints or objective markers. Instead, you discover things you can interact with by getting close, looking at them, and waiting for a button prompt to appear. The most welcome new feature is the ability to press a button and remind yourself of your current objective. It tells you exactly what you are supposed to do, which is a useful addition. The lighthouse itself is fairly small, so there is not much opportunity to get lost anyway. The only real annoyance is the slow walking speed.

The biggest change in pace and overall experience comes in the third chapter, which takes place underneath the lighthouse, where a hidden secret awaits. The location is considerably larger, and you finally gain the ability to run, which becomes important because you need to search for several skulls scattered throughout the area.

The skulls are essentially the only real puzzle in the game, and they are not particularly difficult to find as long as you take a screenshot of the hand drawn map. It shows the exact locations of everything you need to find, making the puzzle fairly straightforward. There is also a ghost roaming around the area, but fortunately, it is restricted to a small section and can be avoided without much trouble. Even if you do get caught, you simply respawn nearby as if nothing happened.

Overall, it takes around an hour and a half to finish, making it a much more polished and improved entry in the series compared to the first part. The character dialogue is not particularly rich, and the option to switch to a third person view feels like it exists mainly so you can admire the main character’s outfit, which is pretty wild. Still, the game avoids the annoying enemies and aimless wandering that can make these types of horror games frustrating.