Videogames used to be content to take their cues from action movies; Deadlight is the latest title at pains to stress that it's as indebted to Joseph Conrad as it is to James Cameron.

It may be set in a zombie-ravaged dystopia, but the game places atmosphere and intrigue over gunplay, and while the writers sometimes mistake the pretentious for the portentous, the art design proves more than capable of speaking for itself, conjuring a muted, eerily plausible post-apocalyptic Seattle.

This sense of place is the game's trump card; a 2D platformer, it draws players through a string of beautifully realised environments, ably integrating ideas and systems from a range of titles, old and new – though it arguably lacks a strong identity of its own. Nevertheless, this is a solid, stylish debut, proving that even in an era of sprawling 3D worlds a humble sidescroller can still engage.