The Lamplighters League Reviews

The Lamplighters League is ranked in the 48th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
5 / 10.0
Sep 28, 2023

At launch, I cannot recommend The Lamplighters League on Xbox. It runs terribly, while looking ugly, and is a broken and buggy mess. Once this game is patched up and fixed though, it’s a gem. Great gameplay, a deep meta-game, intriguing story, and one of the best videogame soundtracks I’ve ever heard will be there waiting for you (and hopefully still in Game Pass).

Read full review

GameMAG
Top Critic
5 / 10
Oct 15, 2023

The Lamplighters League is a hard sell. The technical state of the game is abysmal, and while there are many of ideas taken from across the wide genre, there is really not a lot of things The Lamplighters League can truly call their own.

Review in Russian | Read full review

6 / 10
Oct 2, 2023

The Lamplighters League doesn't quite live up to its promise and expectations. There's a fun mix of real time exploration and turn-based combat, but it's a step short of the best strategy games of the year – others like Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew have done it better. Given more time and more engaging narrative The Lamplighters League could have been great. It will have to settle for decent at best.

Read full review

Eurogamer
Top Critic
3 / 5
Oct 6, 2023

Developer Harebrained Schemes returns with an evocative and pulpy tactical adventure, where enjoyable turn-based combat just about offsets some woeful real-time stealth.

Read full review

PC Gamer
Top Critic
62 / 100
Sep 28, 2023

An over-ambitious and technically flawed tactics game that can't live up to its more accomplished influences.

Read full review

Chris Wray
Top Critic
6.5 / 10.0
Dec 17, 2023

The Lamplighters League is an interesting and ambitious, albeit flawed, tactical adventure which invokes the fantastical elements of Indiana Jones (plus you're fighting Nazi's). The blow by blow gameplay is well developed and features interesting and varied characters, in both gameplay and narrative, but is let down by a large amount of repetition. A few technical flaws also let the game down in a market where stronger competition has already done the game thing. It's a decent game, and you could have a good time with it, but one to pick up on discount.

Read full review

7 / 10.0
Jan 24, 2024

Even with its bugs and glitches, there’s still a decent game to be found in The Lamplighters League. It doesn’t quite hit the highs it could, however, so if you’re enticed by the promises of XCOM-meets-Indiana Jones, be aware that performance issues mean it’ll never quite be as good as it could be.

Read full review

7 / 10.0
Oct 4, 2023

The Lamplighters League is a solid, if a bit underwhelming XCOM-like that is digestible to newcomers to the genre, if not totally fulfilling to veterans. While the game features a strong setting and aesthetic, somewhat lackluster voice acting, poor dialogue writing, and tired genre-specific mechanics hold it back from its full potential. The game is far from a pass, however, and if the premise really excites you, you just might find it more enjoyable than I did.

Read full review

7 / 10.0
Oct 13, 2023

The Lamplighters League's approach to mixing real-time and turn-based tactical gameplay is enjoyable, and its charming misfits make banter a delight. If it can fix its technical issues, it has a chance to be a hit.

Read full review

PCGamesN
Top Critic
7 / 10
Sep 28, 2023

The Lamplighters League attempts to deviate from tradition, promoting creativity over power, but ultimately falls short. However, its simplicity puts it into the more approachable realms of turn-based tactical games and is a great choice for anyone looking to try the genre for the first time.

Read full review

Sep 28, 2023

"The ability to swap between characters at will means that it's easy to get the most from the Action Point system"

Read full review

IGN
Top Critic
7 / 10.0
Sep 28, 2023

The Lamplighters League starts slow, but its mix of squad tactics, stealth, and pulp adventure soon builds momentum thanks to excellent design of both heroes and enemies.

Read full review

7.5 / 10.0
Nov 3, 2023

It's an enjoyable turn-based strategy, but there's nothing striking about it that makes it stand out among other games in the genre.

Review in Turkish | Read full review

7.5 / 10.0
Sep 30, 2023

An engaging turn-based strategy game with fun ideas, in which you are constantly nervous because of this game's version of timers. It is difficult to get rid of the feeling that you are choosing wrong missions and make the game more complicated for yourself by making wrong decisions. The other problem is bugs, especially on Xbox, so it's better to wait a bit for updates.

Review in Russian | Read full review

7.5 / 10.0
Sep 28, 2023

If its level of challenge is your bag, you'll have a great time with The Lamplighters League. If not, then the easy charm and likable characters might justwin you over anyway.

Read full review

GAMES.CH
Top Critic
78%
Oct 9, 2023

The Lamplighter’s League may look like a chance to play out your own pulp adventure fantasy, but it turns out to be an intricate combat puzzle full of synergies and silly combos. While performance can be a bit of an issue and the story fails to leave much of an impact, the core gameplay is fun enough to keep this title memorable. It won’t deliver the instant mainstream appeal something like X-COM will have, but passionate fans of turn-based tactics shouldn’t miss this hidden (albeit slightly unpolished) gem.

Review in German | Read full review

Sep 28, 2023

The Lamplighters League is a fun turn-based strategy game that keeps things fresh with its pulpy aesthetic and characters, and a solid gameplay loop that's not afraid to dish out the consequences of your actions. While the decision to add a real-time element to missions doesn't fully pan out, it's not enough to diminish the game's best qualities.

Read full review

Sep 28, 2023

The Lamplighters League has enough meat on its bones to make it a comfortable crowd-pleaser for tactics fans, and the careful integration of its many systems couples with a smooth learning curve to make it accessible to genre newcomers. The game taps into some of the best elements of customization and management while neatly avoiding crunchiness, and the only thing that's likely to become overwhelming is the occasional drawn-out battle. Simple to pick up and satisfying to master, The Lamplighters League is a polished tactical adventure that carves out a niche with swashbuckling swagger.

Read full review

8 / 10.0
Sep 28, 2023

The Lamplighters League's stimulating turn-based battles encourage you to carefully consider your actions each turn. Use your agents unique abilities in just the right order and you can go well beyond the default number of action points, while taking down entire groups of opponents.

Read full review

8 / 10.0
Sep 28, 2023

The only other flaw to the combat of The Lamplighters League is the limited camera control. Strategic combat requires a good overview of the battlefield, and with the lack of any camera zoom or control over the viewing angle, you are stuck with a static isometric view of the fighting. You can rotate and scroll the map, but keeping track of a large map without any extra controls is cumbersome. It’s not enough to turn me away from recommending The Lamplighters League to any avid turn-based combat fan, but it is definitely a big miss.

Read full review