Hollow Lantern

Hollow Lantern is a quiet, atmospheric adventure where you explore a string of abandoned coastal buildings, solving small environmental puzzles and piecing together what happened to the people who left. It leans on mood more than action, and it earns the comparison to a good short story.

The controls are a virtual stick and a single context button, and the game is smart about only showing the button when there's actually something to do. That keeps the screen clean and the world uncluttered.

I played most of it in two long evening sessions and the pacing held up. It never overstays its welcome, and the ending landed in a way few mobile games manage. Battery use was moderate thanks to the hand-painted, low-motion art.

What we liked

• Strong, melancholy atmosphere
• Clean one-button interaction
• Respects your time with tight pacing