Welcome to the Firefly task force, here's how to survive your first day on the job

Lost Light is the newest survival shooter developed and published by NetEase. You're tasked to join the Firefly force, a group of people trying to survive in the brutal post-apocalyptic world of Lost Light while uncovering the secrets behind the exclusion zone. It's a dog-eat-dog-world out there, and it's up to you to come out on top in a life where you're likely to find a gun pointing at your back before finding allies. Lost Light focuses on realistic gameplay and detailed firearms customization, similar to what you'd find in PUBG Mobile and PUBG: New State.

You might be looking forward to testing your favorite new gaming controller, but like most mobile shooters, this game doesn't offer built-in controller support. However, this doesn't mean the game isn't satisfying to play once you get the hang of the controls, which is precisely why we've built this beginner's guide to help you get your feet wet. We'll teach you how to get started by providing a basic rundown on the game's modes, with some helpful tips and tricks to get you through your first batch of missions/matches.

Select between a male and female operator. You can customize your character, though the options are limited to your face and hairstyle.

Choose a nickname and input a reference code (if applicable). Once you're done, sit back and enjoy the opening cinematic!

The initial mission teaches you the basic controls; you move your character with the left virtual joy-con and shoot by tapping the bullet button on the right side of the screen. Be advised that during this tutorial mission, you're on a timer! Otherwise, the mission repeats if you don't complete all the objectives before the timer reaches 0.

Follow the green lines and tap on the objectives. Once you've searched the objective, tap to pick up items. Tap on doors to open and close.

Tap on the zoom button to switch to first-person view (aim down sights) when your gun is fully loaded, or tap on the reload button to reload manually, which takes a second to finish. You can use hip fire, which keeps your character in the third-person view. See the two gifs comparing first-person to third-person.

Note: You can change your button mapping by tapping on the gear icon once you're in the shelter.

To loot bodies, you'll have to perform a finishing move. Tap on the body to collect their loot.

Your goal is to grab the wrench and reach the extraction point, which completes the tutorial, sending you towards the shelter. Welcome to the main lobby for the game!

Every facility is accessed by walking around the shelter; this is where you perform upgrades, modify weapons, recover your health, access the shop, and choose a mode/mission.

Heidi's main mission: In your primary story mission, Heidi will have specific objectives you need to complete. You'll find a variety of missions and smaller tasks through Heidi.

Judas' main mission: Like your main story missions, follow the objectives to complete Judas' missions.

Abigail's main mission: More objective-based missions to complete, just like your other missions found on the board, but expect to unlock most of Abigail's missions after reaching higher levels.

Avril's bounty: Your source for weekly and daily quests where you acquire experience and stash boxes as rewards.

Ranked (Deathmatch): You're tasked to collect as many battle cards as possible by defeating enemy players, salvaging supplies, then extracting from the zone (after fulfilling the battle card conditions).

Custom lobby: Join or create custom matches intended for other players. Your main source of organized multiplayer content.

Outside the survival PvPvE modes, Lost Light delivers on weapon customization, almost to the point where the options are a bit overwhelming during the early game. However, it's much better to have more options to work with than not enough; it gives you complete control over your gameplay by introducing a custom loadout and access to firearm upgrade options, so you don't have to settle with randomized loot you find on missions. Lost Light isn't just a visually pleasing experience; the mission objectives put your survival skills to the test by forcing you to make tactical decisions and follow through with a plan of action. Lost Light might be a decent alternative to your usual survival shooter and battle royale experiences, which is why we've included the Play Store widget below.

Faith writes guides, how-tos, and roundups on the latest Android games and apps for Android Police. You’ll find her writing about the newest free-to-play game to hit Android, or compiling explainer guides on popular social networking apps like Twitch and Discord. Her area of expertise is in action RPGs and gacha games, but will play and study the occasional competitive shooter. Before joining Android Police, Faith studied Chemistry and graduated with an honors specialization in Chemistry in 2016; leading her to spending many hours toiling around the lab during her time spent as an undergraduate, eventually developing her analytical mindset to dissect and dissemble information and data to arrive at an answer. Her favorite pastime was writing reports, presentations, tutorials, and literature reviews, which led to her pursuing a career in writing after completing a graduate certificate in technical writing. Faith’s first Android phone was Samsung Galaxy Note II in 2012, giving her a taste of how a small piece of powerful hardware can open anyone up to endless opportunities for your favorite hobbies. She’s also been a gamer for over 20 years, starting with Super Mario Bros. on the NES; she has owned over 15 devices for gaming ranging from handhelds to consoles. Now with her analytical mindset, passion for writing, and core identity as a gamer, she can finally chase her dreams as a technical writer and gaming journalist. Nowadays, you’ll find Faith studying spreadsheets and assembling data to theorycraft new teams and builds for Genshin Impact. You’ll also see her trying to dig deep to discover Android gaming’s most hidden gems.