Hollow Lantern

Hollow Lantern is quieter than most mobile games and better for it. You play a lamplighter walking through a half-abandoned town, lighting lamps, solving small environmental puzzles, and piecing together what happened here from notes and objects.

There's no combat and no timer. You wander, you tap things, you connect clues. The atmosphere does the heavy lifting — the art is hand-drawn and a little melancholy, and the sound design makes empty streets feel alive.

It's a short game, maybe four hours, but it left an impression. The puzzles never got so hard I wanted to look up a solution, which for me is the sweet spot in an adventure game.

What we liked

• Gorgeous hand-drawn, moody world
• Gentle puzzles that never frustrate
• A short, complete story with no padding