Lightmatter similar games & best alternatives

Lightmatter - Trailer
Lightmatter - lightmatter_1.avif
Lightmatter - lightmatter_2.avif
Lightmatter - lightmatter_3.avif
Lightmatter - lightmatter_4.avif
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Lightmatter

PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox One • 2020

Should you play it?

A first-person puzzler where shadows kill you. Watch your step or be swallowed by the darkness.

What works

  • Engaging and clever puzzles
  • Unique light and shadow mechanics
  • Strong voice acting and humor
  • Atmospheric visual style
  • Well-paced difficulty curve

Things to keep in mind

  • Short game length
  • Some technical issues and crashes
  • Final platforming section divisive
  • Limited puzzle variety
  • Heavy portal references may feel derivative

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • Timelie

  • The Entropy Centre

  • Soul Axiom

  • Cybernetic Fault

  • Deliver Us The Moon

  • Portal

Less survival-focused

Games that feels like Lightmatter but with less survival pressure

  • Agent A: A puzzle in disguise

  • COCOON

  • The Turing Test

  • Moncage

  • PERFECT ANGLE: The puzzle game based on optical illusions

  • Iris.Fall

Choose your own criteria ->

Similarity map

How to use the graph

Similarity map

Each dot is a game placed from its motivation profile relative to this page’s game. Direction shows which motivation differs most; distance along that axis shows how large the gap is.

  • Purple star: this page’s game at the centre — everything is relative to it.
  • Direction: each axis is a main motivational difference vs this game (e.g. more / less competitive).
  • Distance on an axis: how large that difference is (ring scales show +/− points).
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot to preview that game in the panel on the right; click to keep that comparison.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom.

How to read the map This is a polar difference map: direction = which motivation differs, and distance = how much (same units as the sidebar deltas).

Lightmatter: Broadly representative of its motivational profile, with a few distinct shifts. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Expression, Fellowship, Cooperation, Leadership. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Relaxation. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Violence, Value.

Last update: 03/08/2026