Hollow Lantern

Hollow Lantern is the game we keep recommending to people who say mobile games have no atmosphere. You play a wanderer exploring crumbling ruins with only a flickering lantern, and the game trusts you to figure things out without hand-holding.

Exploration is the heart of it. There's light platforming and gentle puzzle-solving, but mostly it's about noticing things — a strange marking, a draft from a hidden passage. We found ourselves genuinely delighted when a shortcut we'd overlooked finally opened up.

The story is told through environment and fragments rather than long cutscenes, which suits the mood. It's quiet, a little melancholy, and completely absorbing on a dark train ride home.

What we liked

• Rich atmosphere and clever level design
• Puzzles that reward observation
• Storytelling through exploration