REVIEW: Ayasa: Shadows of Silence (2026 Video Game) - on PlayStation 5

Review by Jon Donnis

Ayasa: Shadows of Silence is a dark, surreal puzzle-platformer with an impressive visual style, an eerie atmosphere and a world that immediately sparks curiosity. Drawing comparisons with Little Nightmares III and Inside, it combines environmental puzzles, platforming and exploration with a story told through imagery, music and character movements. Unfortunately, while the presentation is often excellent, the gameplay is let down by poor controls, technical problems and some incredibly frustrating platforming. There is a good game buried somewhere beneath these problems, but finding it requires considerably more patience than it should.

The adventure takes place in the Inverted World, a once-balanced place where light and shadow existed in harmony under the watchful presence of Tas, the Absolute. Following a devastating war, darkness has spread across six symbolic lands representing Faith, Hope, Love, Greed, Indifference and Betrayal. Playing as Ayasa, you must explore these corrupted environments in search of the remnants of Tas's light. Your actions and how you treat the world around you can also influence the outcome of your journey.

There is no spoken dialogue, with the story unfolding through surreal imagery, character movements and environmental storytelling. I actually like this approach. It encourages you to pay attention to your surroundings and piece together what is happening rather than having everything explained. The strange creatures and unusual environments also maintain a sense of mystery, making exploration one of the more enjoyable aspects of the game.

Visually, Ayasa is easily at its strongest. The graphics are very good, with imaginative environments, distinctive character designs and a wonderfully unsettling atmosphere. The restrained colour palette works particularly well, while the use of light and shadow gives each location its own identity. There are some genuinely impressive scenes, and I regularly found myself appreciating the creativity behind the world design.

The soundtrack and sound effects deserve similar praise. The music complements the surroundings beautifully, while the various environmental noises help create an unsettling atmosphere. Combined with the visual presentation, they give the game a distinctive personality that makes exploring its strange world genuinely appealing.

Gameplay combines platforming, environmental puzzles and stealth, with light playing an important role in revealing paths, activating machinery and overcoming obstacles. As you progress through Faith, Hope and Love, you unlock additional abilities that introduce new ways to interact with the environment. These powers are a welcome addition, providing some variety and allowing you to approach certain obstacles differently.

Unfortunately, the actual gameplay is where my enjoyment starts to fall apart.

The biggest problem is the jumping mechanics. There is a noticeable delay between pressing the jump button and Ayasa actually responding. It might only be a fraction of a second, but when attempting precision jumps, that delay feels like an eternity. Platforming requires accurate timing and responsive controls. Unfortunately, neither is particularly reliable here.

What makes this especially frustrating is that the problem has reportedly existed in the PC version for at least six months. To see the same issue carried over into the PlayStation 5 release is simply unacceptable. This isn't a minor technical annoyance that occasionally gets in the way. It affects the very foundations of the gameplay and regularly turns otherwise straightforward sections into exercises in frustration.

The camera makes matters worse. Angles frequently make it difficult to judge distances and positioning, while character movement and collision detection lack the precision needed for a platformer. There were several occasions when repeated failures felt less like mistakes on my part and more like the game simply wasn't responding as it should.

Other problems include technical glitches, inconsistent stealth encounters and puzzles or interactions that don't always provide enough guidance. Loading times are another irritation, particularly when repeated deaths force you to sit through them again. When the controls are already making progress unnecessarily difficult, having to wait before attempting the same section again does little to improve the experience.

And that is what makes Ayasa so disappointing. I genuinely enjoyed exploring its strange environments, appreciated the visual design and found the soundtrack particularly effective. The developers have created an intriguing world that deserves to be explored, but too often I found myself fighting the controls rather than enjoying the adventure.

Games such as Little Nightmares III and Inside demonstrate what can be achieved with this style of atmospheric puzzle-platforming. Ayasa has similar ambitions, but it lacks the polish, responsive controls and technical consistency needed to deliver the same level of enjoyment.

Ultimately, Ayasa: Shadows of Silence feels like a game that should still be in beta testing on PC rather than receiving a full console release in its current condition. I would genuinely like to revisit it in a year's time to see whether the developers have addressed the problems, because the visual presentation and underlying concept deserve a better game. However, given how long some of these issues have apparently persisted on PC, I am not particularly confident that meaningful improvements will arrive.

For now, I cannot recommend Ayasa without significant reservations. It has the atmosphere, creativity and visual identity to be something special, but the poor controls and technical problems constantly undermine those strengths. Fix the jumping mechanics, improve the overall responsiveness and address the loading times, and I would happily reconsider my score. Until then, this is a disappointing experience that falls well short of its potential.

I score Ayasa: Shadows of Silence a disappointing 6 out of 10

Out Now on PS5

https://store.playstation.com/en-ca/concept/10018080

REVIEW: Bright Lights of Svetlov (2026 Video Game) - on PlayStation 5

Review by Jon Donnis

There is something strangely compelling about Bright Lights of Svetlov. On paper, a slow paced first person narrative game about an ordinary Soviet family living through the mid 1980s does not exactly sound thrilling. There are no grand action sequences, no complex puzzles, and no real sense of danger hanging over every moment. Yet somehow, this short PlayStation 5 experience manages to quietly pull you into its world and keep you there until the final credits roll.

Set in a fictional industrial town somewhere in the Soviet Union, the game focuses on the daily routines and struggles of a working class family trying to get by. The setting itself is one of the game’s biggest strengths. The drab apartment blocks, faded interiors, repetitive life, and constant sense of exhaustion all feel carefully observed. Bright Lights of Svetlov does not romanticise the era, but it also avoids turning everything into misery for the sake of drama. Instead, it presents a grounded snapshot of ordinary people carrying on with life as best they can.

The atmosphere is excellent throughout. From the muted visuals to the understated sound design, the game captures a very particular mood. There is a lingering sense of weariness hanging over almost every interaction, but it never feels exaggerated or cartoonishly bleak. The Russian voice acting helps enormously here. Even if you are relying on subtitles, the performances add authenticity and emotional weight to scenes that could otherwise have fallen flat.

Gameplay is extremely minimalistic, and whether that works for you will depend entirely on your tolerance for narrative focused walking simulators. Most of your time is spent completing everyday tasks. Cooking meals, tidying rooms, fixing household problems, and preparing for family gatherings become the core mechanics. There is no challenge to these activities in the traditional gaming sense, but that is clearly intentional. The slow pace forces you to exist within the family’s routine rather than simply observing it from a distance.

At times, the deliberate pacing can feel a little too slow. Some players will absolutely bounce off the experience after the first hour, especially those expecting deeper gameplay systems or meaningful interaction beyond simple chores. Bright Lights of Svetlov asks for patience, and occasionally it tests that patience more than necessary. Certain sequences drag slightly, and there are moments where the game risks becoming repetitive.

Still, what keeps the experience engaging is the narrative itself. The story unfolds quietly across a series of chapters, gradually revealing tensions within the household and the emotional burden carried by each family member. Dialogue is sparse, but that restraint works in the game’s favour. Characters rarely deliver dramatic speeches or emotional outbursts. Instead, much of the storytelling comes through silence and the atmosphere within the apartment itself.

What surprised me most was how emotionally effective the game becomes by the end. Small moments of warmth cut through the bleakness in believable ways. Awkward moments and little acts of kindness give the characters humanity beyond their hardships. It stops the experience from feeling relentlessly miserable and gives the story genuine emotional texture.

Then there is the ending twist, which genuinely caught me off guard. Without spoiling anything, it adds an entirely new perspective to events and left me thinking about the game long after it finished. It is not a massive shocking blockbuster reveal, but it is clever, thoughtful, and meaningful enough to elevate the entire experience.

Bright Lights of Svetlov is not a game for everyone. Players looking for action, challenge, or fast paced gameplay will probably find it dull. But if you enjoy slower narrative driven experiences that focus on atmosphere, character, and emotional realism, there is something quietly memorable here.

I went into the game expecting to dislike it. Mundane life in the Soviet Union hardly sounds like an exciting premise for a video game, yet I ended up sticking with it from beginning to end. Partly because I wanted the Platinum Trophy on PS5, admittedly, but mainly because I became invested in the story and the world the developers created.

Bright Lights of Svetlov is a short but thoughtful narrative experience that succeeds through emotional authenticity and atmosphere rather than gameplay innovation. It will not appeal to everyone, but for the right audience it offers something surprisingly absorbing.

I score Bright Lights of Svetlov a solid 7 out of 10.

Out Now on PlayStation 

https://store.playstation.com/en-gb/product/EP1661-PPSA06641_00-SYPS5BRIGHTLIGHT