From Lex to Rex

[b]From Lex to Rex has a number of enjoyable aspects, but this medieval gastronomic adventure could have used a little more time in the oven[/b]. IN SHORT: I enjoyed my time with From Lex to Rex, and if you are into adventure games, you might enjoy yourself, too! There's a lot to like about this game. Unfortunately, there's a also a pretty severe lack of polish. While I tend to be pretty forgiving with the indies that I gravitate to, as I fully understand how challenging game dev is, there's also a level of quality that I expect from a commercial title, and this one comes up a little shy of that benchmark. I don't relish giving this game a thumbs-down, and will absolutely change this review in the future if some of the issues are addressed. This game is a comedic pixel-art point-and-click adventure which follows our hero, Lex, a starving peasant who breaks into a castle with the dual goals of A) committing regicide and B) filling his stomach. Once inside the castle, though, a number of hijinks ensue. We encounter vengeful sorceress princesses, frog princes, dimwitted guards, and lots of cases of prince-and-the-pauperish cases of mistaken identity. It's Procession to Calvary meets Viktor: A Steampunk Adventure by way of Monkey Island. However, unlike these games, From Lex to Rex is purely linear - [b]There's no wandering about, no backtracking, and each room is its own self-contained puzzle[/b], similar to Samorost or Gobliiins. [b]The game's strongest aspects[/b] are the art, which lovely and retro, and animations, which have received lots of care and attention. The background music, a selection of public-domain classical works, also feel like they fit the game well. There are definitely some fun humorous moments and scenes in the game, as well, that might be worth your time. The puzzles are fine, though perhaps a tad illogical, and there are a few pixel hunts. This isn't serious. [b]However, there are a number of issues that definitely should really have been ironed out prior to release.[/b] [list] [*]The writing - the game was not written in English - in fact, when you first load the game, it will be in Spanish, and you must select English from the options - and the translation is definitely iffy. The main idea of the jokes definitely comes across, but there are a large number of misspellings, grammatical errors, oddly worded sentences, and just plain old mistranslations (example: instead of asking for directions, you ask for "indications"). There's also a small bit of text that was missed in the translation, so some lines or hotspots will randomly be in Spanish if you play the English version. [*]Text glitches - While playing the game, I sometimes had dialogues cutting themself off at the edge of the screen or overlapping each other. Some text boxes appear in the wrong spot, as though Lex can throw his voice like a ventriloquist. [*]Hotspot and inventory inconsistency - Some item combinations and inventory interactions provide feedback when attempted, but many do not, without much rhyme or reason. One item, a candle, is picked up in the third scene but used later in the game. While it is present in your inventory in most scenes, there is at least one scene where you don't have it with you, but then it shows back up in the next scene. I encountered a bug where my inventory disappeared outright, necessitaitng a reload. I also had my mouse cursor disappear on me a few times as well. [*]The save/load system - or lack thereof. There is no way to save your progress in the game. Instead, there's a pre-defined load menu which lets you start playing from the beginning of any one of the game's 16 scenes, even if you haven't gotten that far in the game yet. [/list] From Lex to Rex winds up being an entertaining experience, but it's definitely pretty rough around the edges. I think all of the issues I mentioned above, however, are fixable things. I will absolutely amend my review if some effort is made to iron out these unfortunate wrinkles. Meanwhile, if you're willing to take a gamble on an indie that has a good bit going for it despite the rough edges, you might really like with this one.

This is a traditional point-and-click adventure that could have been a recommendation if not for a few flaws. The translation to English was weird and full of little mistakes. It sometimes felt as if I lost some of the intended humor or meaning. You progress one scene at a time (size of one screen, rarely two) and you're stuck there until you solve everything. I didn't particularly like it, but it's considered a feature. The problem is that you have to deal with a combination of pixel hunting (hotspots barely visible or lost in the background) and non-sensical solutions, the so-called "moon logic". One example being the whole sequence with the prince. Not all the time but too often. Realizing the game didn't play "fair", I eventually ended up trying every item on every hotspot when I was stuck. I know there's a "difficult" tag and a warning about pixel hunting on the store page, but that doesn't excuse poor adventure design that should have stayed in the past. It was not all bad, though. Some puzzles were clever, such as the portals in the tailor room. I know this is subjective, I usually like pixel art, but here, I often found it unsightly, if not ugly. I'm not sure if it was because of the chosen clashing colors, the big pixels and/or visual design of the components. If one thinks me too severe, consider I've been playing graphic adventures since King's Quest I, including all Lucasarts games, and I love the genre. If the English translation of the game was revised by a professional translator (or native English speaker) and if a hotspot indicator was implemented, it wouldn't fix everything, but I might be kinder to From Lex to Rex.

From Lex to Rex is a delightful point-and-click indie game that captures the essence of oldschool LucasArts adventures. The game successfully blends humorous storytelling with nostalgic vibes reminiscent of classic titles like Indiana Jones, Legend of Kyrandia, and Day of the Tentacle. As you embark on the protagonist's journey, you'll find yourself immersed in a charming and witty world filled with clever puzzles and engaging dialogue. The game's attention to detail and pixel art aesthetics further enhance the nostalgic experience. If you have a fondness for the golden era of point&click adventures, From Lex to Rex is a must-play that will transport you back to the heyday of LucasArts games. Now shut up and just play the game o_O

[h1]Cons:[/h1] [b]- TEXT IS WAY TOO FAST! HIGHLY suggest to add a way to change the text display duration![/b] - A little overpriced. 5-6$ Would be more suitable in my opinion [h1]Pros:[/h1] - Retro Feeling - Fun story - One Screen at a time (Avoid hard puzzles where you don't know where to go)

Hilarious it´s not a word I used to often to describe games, mostly since alot of them may be fun and provide you with a big smile, maybe even a soft chuckle, but laughing out loud? Not that regularly. This is why From Lex to Rex strike me out from the very first minutes, this game makes me laugh in a way not many can do and that should be a whole achievement on itself. This point and click adventure is clearly being inspired by the early years of the genre, mostly with the golden age of Lucas Arts and Sierra. All the types of jokes, levity towards the plot and the sense the dev was having a blast writing it all that you would expect from those titles it´s here, and then some. Sometimes you will figure out the solution of a screen but ignore it to continue failing only to see all the jokes that were prepared for you to find. But it´s not just the humor, the fantastic pixel art designs are also a true callback, not only do they look the part, but if you were to take screens of the game and show it to someone saying you found out about a never finished Lucas Art proyect you could get away with it. As for the the gameplay itself, it´s basically a screen to screen PnC adventure puzzle, there´s an inventory but you won´t be carrying tons of items from one place to the other or backtracking constantly, the game is permantly moving. It´s on the short side, that being said the price is more than fair, and there´s already a sequel made last year, so it´s a great time to dig in the first adventure of Lex, a really lovable scoundrel. If you appreciate good PnC puzzle solving and humor on games, you can´t go wrong with the amazing From Lex to Rex.

Lex to Rex is a short pixel-art point and click game. The game is made up of short 1-screen chapters with chapter selection avaialble form the start and no saves (the game only remembers what chapter you were playing last and reloading restarts the chapter). The story starts simple, but gets convoluted at roughly half point with multiple timelines/copies of the main character intersecting. The puzzles are on the harder side, but the one-room per chapter structure makes them easier to solve then in PnC games with more then one location avaialble at a time. There is a dev-made guide for all would-be achievement hunters available and 100% the game takes about 3.5h. My only technical gripe would be that dialogue from the npcs can have a color that merges with the background and gets hard to read.

Juego muy entretenido, divertido e inteligente a partes iguales. Se nota hecho con mimo y cuidado con sello de autor. Despierta esa nostalgia de la época dorada de las aventuras gráficas de point and click rindiendo su debido homenaje y a la vez teniendo un toque personal que aporta originalidad a la obra. Recomendadísimo.

Un juego muy entretenido, se nota que está hecho por alguien que sabe de narrativa y que no deja puntada sin hilo. Tiene muchos easter eggs y referencias a la cultura popular, dentro de los esquemas propios de la clásica aventura gráfica en pixel art, y haciendo uso del humor absurdo que las suele caracterizar. Los puzzles, sin ser excesivamente complicados, tienen el nivel justo de dificultad al estilo de las aventuras de antaño. En lo técnico, tiene un mérito enorme que esté hecho por una sola persona en Unity. Seguramente con el tiempo vaya puliendo algunos pequeños bugs, que no afectan a la jugabilidad. Lo recomiendo totalmente, es de esas pequeñas joyas indie que a veces te da Steam.

Una delicia de juego! Si sois fans de las aventuras gráficas de los 90 (aquellas tan estrujacerebros como divertidas), gozaréis con esta joyita!! Una historia que en principio parece sencilla pero conforme avanzas en la trama te da unas cuantas sorpresas, muchas y variadas referencias a cultura popular que casi podrían considerarse un minijuego en sí mismas, un protagonista al que querrás ayudar a conseguir su objetivo, y unos personajes secundarios que incluso podrás identificar con gente de tu entorno xD Todo ello siempre envuelto con grandes dosis de humor y cachondeo!!! Y encima a muy buen precio!! No se le puede pedir más, me parece una joyita escondida de Steam :D

From Lex to Rex es un escenario clásico adornado por la nostalgia hacia obras de una juventud vivida de manera despreocupada por los hijos de los primeros 80. Una obra que te hará pensar, pero no desesperar. Una obra que encuentra en los guiños a los referentes el permiso para terminar tributándose a sí misma. Una historia que empieza siendo vertical y termina cerrándose como un broche , dando sentido a todo lo acontecido. Muy recomendable.