Thanks, Light. Puts a Brilliant Twist on Puzzle Games With Light-Based Physics

If you enjoy independent indie game coverage, consider supporting Indie-Games.eu on Patreon. It helps keep the site independent.

South Korean indie developer Lightersgames and publisher Game Source Entertainment have announced Thanks, Light., an upcoming first-person puzzle adventure that introduces a mechanic built around manipulating light and dimensionality. The game is scheduled to launch in September 2026 for PC via Steam and PlayStation 5, with a Nintendo Switch 2 version planned for a later date.

At the heart of Thanks, Light. is a gameplay system that allows you to transform flat 2D silhouettes into fully physical 3D objects simply by shining a flashlight on them. Once illuminated, these objects gain mass, collision and gravity, becoming part of the environment. Removing the light reverses the process, flattening them back into two-dimensional shapes that players can pass through or manipulate in new ways.

As the adventure progresses, the puzzles become increasingly complex by introducing mirrors that duplicate light beams, lenses capable of resizing objects and mechanics that allow different forms to merge together. These systems combine across more than 60 handcrafted puzzles spread throughout three chapters, offering an estimated six hours or more of gameplay.

The story unfolds in a mysterious liminal world created by an enigmatic figure known only as the Administrator. While solving puzzles, players gradually uncover hidden details about the strange architecture and the unseen entities inhabiting this surreal environment.

The game’s inventive mechanics have already drawn comparisons to puzzle titles such as Portal, The Talos Principle, Superliminal and Viewfinder. It has also earned praise from Jeep Barnett, one of the developers behind Portal, who highlighted the strength of its core mechanics and their ability to support creative interactions with distant objects.