Intro
Video games are a special medium. They have the power to not only tell great stories but invite the player in and encourage us to look inward at our own stories. Lost in Play is one of those special games that shines a light on the power of imagination, and reminds us of the joy and whimsy of play.
Gameplay
Lost in Play is a title created with a point-and-click style of puzzle solving in mind. You spend time helping brother and sister Toto and Gal explore a new world, solve puzzles, and find their way back home. The game is divided into several episodes, with each episode having its own core objective or mechanic at its heart. Each episode is distinct and unique and as the narrative reaches its conclusion the puzzles are deep, satisfying, and fair.
A discussion of the gameplay would be incomplete without mentioning the smile on my face throughout the entire journey. It’s one thing to have puzzles that are thoughtful and intuitive– the sign of a great experience lies in the consistency between the puzzles and their presentation. It’s not just as simple as “place the triangle in the triangle shaped slot”, the game finds absurdly creative ways to solve puzzles that make sense in the context of the world and the imagination of the main characters. To illuminate secret text you’ve got to capture an underwater luminescent creature, to convince a random hand in a bush to trade its rubber duck away you must order it a pizza that exactly matches its preferences– these little moments are dotted all throughout the experience and make solving puzzles and progressing each episode a joy.
Gameplay is very accessible as well. There are no time limits and an unlimited access to hints and helpful features that will help gamers of any age work their way through each challenge. The hints don’t give away the answers completely, but rather encourage the player to move in the right direction.
Presentation
Presentation in both visual and audio design are where Lost in Play shines the brightest. It is obvious when a developer pours their heart and soul into their product, and Lost in Play is full of charm and thoughtful design that makes the game feel like a cozy sweater. Every piece of the hand drawn art style is enchanting, even down to the loading screens and small effects like colorful lighting and skyboxes.
The designs for the main cast and side characters are delightful and share the quirks of each character by showing you rather than using a dialogue box to explain their personality. On that topic– there are no dialogue boxes present throughout the experience. Characters speak to each other with a bizarre language that feels fun to try and mimic, I found myself echoing their odd lines from time to time!
The design of the environments is varied and really fits with the theme of imagination that Lost in Play is going for. I couldn’t help but smile each time a new scene began, and the experience of playing this made me nostalgic for the days when I would explore the neighborhood with my own sister– creating our own adventures and letting our imagination run free. The way the developers have created a captivating game that captures the feeling of a child’s imagination is something to be celebrated, and in each replay of the episodes I noticed a new thing to love each time.
Conclusion
Lost in Play is a wonderful experience from start to finish. The creative puzzles, imaginative designs and wonderful world feel like pure joy captured in software. Engaging puzzles and consistently brilliant presentation are two of the greatest wins of Lost in Play. Here the journey is meant to be part of the reward, and each time I pick up my Switch I am more than tempted to hop back in, recapture some of that whimsy, and go on that journey once again.
Thank you to Joystick Ventures for the review code, and check out Happy Juice Games’ Website for more information on Lost in Play! Here is a link to the eShop to purchase this wonderful title.
