The game uses a basic point-and-click interface to move the player around and manipulate the game world, which is presented entirely through static pre-rendered images. As the player moves the cursor around the screen it can change into different styles depending on the situation; neutral cursor (no interaction is possible), an arrow (the player can move in the direction indicated), a finger (indicating an item with which the player can directly interact), a wrench (the player must use an inventory item to initiate interaction), a magnifying glass (an area which can be examined in more detail), backwards arrow (the player can move backwards whilst facing the same direction; i.e. they do not have to turn around).
Much of the gameplay is based around solving puzzles. However, unlike most modern adventure games, Lights Out does not keep note of any information or clues acquired by the player (for example, notes found by the player are not entered into the inventory, and journal entries read by the player are not recorded in any way). This forces the player to keep track of every clue and detail themselves. If the player wishes to recheck a journal entry, they must find the journal and re-read it.
Plot
The game begins on April 28, 1912 with the arrival in Trewarthan, Cornwall, of Benjamin Parker, a cartographer who has been commissioned by a local doctor, Robert Demarion, to map the shifting sands beneath the water along the coast. Upon arriving, Parker notices a lighthouse on a nearby island not marked on any map. On his first night in the village, he dreams of a metal container flying through space.
The next morning, in Demarion's house, he learns Demarion discovered a cave beneath the lighthouse, in which he heard "a pulse, like the devil's heartbeat," and saw light patterns appear on the walls. Later that night, Demarion tells Parker the island is called Fetch Rock, and the lighthouse has a reputation for being haunted. He also explains that several hours previously, a ship passed by the lighthouse and found it in darkness. Demarion is afraid something has happened to the three lighthouse keepers (Oliver Drake, Robert Shaw and James Woolfe), and asks Parker to go there to investigate.
In the lighthouse, Parker encounters the voice of Shaw, who tells him Drake has turned into a demon, and although he and Woolfe tried to hide, Drake was able to find them. Parker also discovers an unsent letter written by Woolfe to his fiancé, in which he tells her he thinks Drake is possessed, as he has seen him turn into a blinding light and whisper the name "Malakai". Shaw and Woolfe planned to leave the next day (April 29), but the letter ends with Woolfe seeing a light underneath their door. Parker also finds a letter from Demarion to Drake written several weeks previously. In the letter, Demarion tells Drake he has hired Parker and plans on sending him to the lighthouse.
In Drake's journal, Parker learns Drake had also been dreaming of the metal object flying through space; "The fire burns across the sky as the comet plunges into the sea. The water boils with rage and hate. He is furious. He is alone, confused and afraid. Like a lost child, he is scared of the loss of guidance, and fears for his young mind." Of Shaw and Woolfe, he writes "they must be taken, and broken, and washed away. Take them from this place, and down to sea, wash them away." Drake says that when Parker arrives on the island, it will be "time for the final Dark Fall," and claims his "master" owns the island but desperately wants to leave.
Parker finds the cave mentioned by Demarion, but when he enters, he sees a strange light and his surroundings change. He emerges on Fetch Rock in 2004. The lighthouse is now a visitor center, although it has recently closed because of several "incidents". Inside, Parker finds a book which explains that when the three keepers disappeared, Parker was blamed for their murder, as it was believed he killed them and then committed suicide. The chief witness in the case was Demarion, who claimed to have seen Parker heading to the lighthouse the night of the disappearance. Parker also finds correspondence from Polly White, a ghost hunter, who is convinced she is the reincarnation of Woolfe, and wants to come to the island to investigate. During regression hypnosis therapy, she claims there are four "presences" in the lighthouse, but the fourth presence "doesn't exist in our time." She claims Drake "lost his soul" after accidentally "releasing the darkness" in the basement. However, Parker encounters the spirit of Woolfe, who tells him he tricked Polly into coming because he thought she could help him and Shaw escape their entrapment. He now realises he was wrong to do so, and advises Parker to save himself and Polly.
Parker returns to 1912, and encounters Shaw's spirit, who tells him "Malakai is all around us." Parker is transported to 2090 B.C. where he encounters the voice of Malakai, who tells him many have tried to understand him, including "the Drake creature" and "the Magnus creature," but none have succeeded. In the cave on the island, Parker finds the metal object both himself and Drake dreamt about, the words "#4 D.E.O.S. Malakai" written on it, and a computer terminal accessible on its side.
