Island of the Lost

Island of the Lost is a game that grew on me....the more I played the more I enjoyed it. It is a first person exploration/walking simulator game full of collectables you gather on each level. At first I found this frustrating, but I relaxed and got into the rhythm of things. There are 8 levels in total to explore. You play as a person who is shipwrecked and has become marooned on this island. Your goal is to get off the island. After your innocuous landing, you discover that the island has many secrets. These secrets are very well hidden and I came across a few Easter eggs too. You soon discover that many other sailors have fallen victim to this coast and the island is littered with their bodies, loot and notes. You come to an understanding of the struggles they endured and that getting off the island is not going to be easy. There are many booby traps and obstacles to overcome. Each level is a different environment. You go from the beach archipelago to dusty canyon mines, volcanic mushroom caves, mountain plateau (my favourite!), rocky river rapids, jungle maze, sinking swamps and finally the pirate caves. Each environment presents its individual beauty and challenges. On each level, you have to collect usually 4 lots of gold coins, 4 potion bottles, 4 crystal skulls, 4 goblets and 4 gemstones. You also need to find the resident parrot on each level, a treasure chest and map and 4 or 5 notes. Each group of 4 collectables gives you an achievement. There are 90 achievements all together and very attainable if you persevere. Game play is basic WASD and spacebar for jump. There is quite a bit of nifty platforming and you respawn where you die. One of big negatives is that there is no save on each level. You have to complete it in one sitting. I completed most levels in one hour, but guides show players doing it in 30 minutes. I tried to get as many complete sets of collectables as possible in one runthrough and then mopped up the rest in the next run. The second runthrough was much quicker and easier as you knew what to expect. However, a save would have been very welcome, because what you gained in the first run is completely lost, except the achievements. You need to have a good memory and sense of direction, especially in the swamps as it is extremely easy to get very lost. Hence the game title!! Graphics are well done and crisp and quite beautiful in some environments. I loved the water in the first level. The lack of visible animals was one thing that was missing on the island. You hear the cawing of birds or the chorus of frogs, but saw nothing. Something scurrying in your path would be believable. There were lots of beautiful butterflies and birds in the distance, but that was all. Maybe the sailors had eaten everything that moved!! The sound effects were good, especially your footsteps on wood. Music was outstanding and the cohesion of action, environment and soundtrack was excellent. I had no trouble with controls, but in my enthusiasm in exploring every nook and cranny, I often found myself stuck in a clump of crystals or trees and couldn't get out. I had to respawn and start the level again. I was not impressed!! This game is by a single developer James Stuart. Unlocked is another game of his. A great effort from James and his team. Highly recommend if you enjoy peaceful non violent games with the challenge of tracking down collectables in a beautiful environment. Not suitable for young children due to the glut of skeletons. Good value for money as it took me 13 hours to complete all achievements. 8/10

+ lovely Atmosphere + Fantastic Soundtrack + mutiple large levels with quite a lot of hidden easter eggs + one man indie game with a lot of effort and heart put into All I can say is I love it! It's perfect if you want to relax, quench your thirst for finding hidden secrets or just want to explore a beatiful designed island! :)

well i read the reviews and thought i would go for this game, looked good then see that you cant save any progress! thats a no no, easy enough game but to play and get a lot of things collected only to have it taken away once you leave the game, pretty poor i think!

Island of the Lost is a visual masterpiece. The handcrafted environments are stunning and hard to believe they made by a solo developer. The original soundtrack fits in perfectly with the exploration of the island. There are loads of secrets, collectibles, and fun pop culture references hidden throughout. After 2.5 hours I am only beginning to scratch the surface of all the collectibles and achievements in this game. The level select hub world was pretty cool as well and helped me to go back to other levels in search of collectibles that I missed. I would highly recommend the game to anyone who loves chill exploration games with gorgeous environments, solid music, and tons of collectibles and achievements.

A fun and relaxing item collecting game with beautifully crafted levels. The atmosphere is great, I love the art style, the music is nice and relaxing, the levels are fun to explore (You can even get outside the map somewhere in level 4 and explore where you're not supposed to. I won't tell you where though, can't have the dev putting an invisible wall there. He'll have to figure it out himself too if we wants to block it off) and figuring out the secrets in each level is fun as well. All in all, a very nice game to just lean back in your chair and relax with.

The only thing lost I cant seem to find is my will to live ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) If you like fetch quests in other games but the pesky combat and story and dialogue gets in the way, then look no further. For an extra challenge do some ketamine before playing and listen to some smooth jazz. ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)

This game is a perfect chill experience with beautiful graphics and an amazing level design. The right mix between chilling, enjoying the environment and adventure. I love to hunt for (secret) achievements and this game didn't disappoint! Also, it's a lot of play time for that price.

Best casual game I've seen this year. It's more involved than the demo may make it appear, with booby traps, hard to find objects, etc. There are vast areas to explore and you really get the sense of being "lost" at times. A hub is available which offers access to any level. Game controllers are supported but I wish you could redefine the keyboard/mouse controls. I also wish you could run a bit faster since the levels are so large. The visual aesthetics, level design, and music are fantastic. A no-brainer for the low cost.

Nice! The environments are great! Very relaxing!

I played for hours, made 74 screenshots and the time went super fast and I had a lot of fun!! And the music, wow it feels like you are on an adventure :D !!! and very relaxing and great game! you can't stop playing! I just want to play more but I have shores to do!! grrr This game is for ALL ages :D You should try this game! you want regret it :D if I had a power to lose my memory, i would play this over and over and over again.... but i still will.. XD haha! Beautiful game !!! :D and thank you for the note too ^^ awesome place, I love the summer vibe! :D