Tenebra is a 2021 homebrew puzzle game in which the protagonist must escape 31 different rooms all shrouded in darkness. Unlucky for the protagonist, he's afraid of the dark and refuses to walk into any areas not lit up. This TAS makes light work of the NES port of this game, and solves all rooms in as little time as possible.
Game objectives
- Emulator used: Bizhawk 2.11.1
- Aims for fastest completion
Comments
The defining feature of Tenebra is that you are only allowed to move within areas with light. The two light sources present in this game are torches which can be picked up and carried around; some torches have a smaller light radius which can be increased with oil puddles; and braziers, which are stationary lamps dotted around some levels though some are found on rails which can be pushed on rails; some braziers need to be touched by torches to be lit in the first place. These form the basis of every level which are then built upon by a series of obstacles in each level:
- Cracks in walls - You can freely move through these cracks as long as you are not holding a torch.
- Locked doors - Require keys
- Light sensors - Some levels have locked gates with the key being light sensors. These need to be lit up to unlock the gates
- Broken rails - Sections of rail a brazier can't be moved past. Can be fixed with a hammer
Almost every level was well-designed enough that there was always only ever one solution that could be broken down into steps based on the next item you need to get, and so most of the run is just trying to find the optimal path from point to point that takes the least walking and least actions. Throughout the whole game I was constantly testing for places where I could skip over any steps but every level is meticulously designed to prevent this almost everywhere. The only level where I was able to skip anything was in level 24 where fixing the broken rail wasn't necessary so I could skip getting the hammer and save a few seconds.
There's not a whole lot to comment on regarding movement. The player moves in 6 frame intervals and torches can be picked up on the frame the player moves onto a torch's square to avoid stopping. Unlit braziers have to walked into for an extra step to get lit which are the only times the player ever has to stop for a move. The rest of the run involves the player running around pretty much non-stop and solving the puzzles in as streamlined a way as I could work out.