Lake Ridden

Really liked the style and the atmosphere!

Lake Ridden ist ein First-Person Adventure game, irgendwo zwischen "Myst" und "The Room". Allerdings ist die Puzzledichte wesentlich geringer. Die Puzzles, die sich aus der Umgebung ergeben, sind durch interessant. Jedoch kommt das Spiel nicht ohne die klassischen Verschiebe-, Memory- oder Kombinationsrätsel aus, die sich auch noch wiederholen, worauf ich gut hätte verzichten können. Ein Tagebuch, was alle relevanten Inhalte speichert, und ein Hint-System helfen manchmal. In der Geschichte geht es um ein altes Anwesen auf dem die Schwester der Protagonistin verschwunden scheint, Schnell wird klar, dass hier übernatürliche Kräfte am Werk sind. Obwohl hier es um eine Geschichte mit [spoiler]Geistern[/spoiler] geht, enthält das Spiel keinerlei Grusel- oder Schockmomente. Alle Rollen sind jedoch aus dem Off gesprochen, was es etwas schwierig macht der Geschichte zu folgen. Am Ende ist der Plot jedoch kohärent und ich sich abgeschlossen. Man sollte jedoch keine Mind-Blowing Twists erwarten. Die Umgebungen wirken zweckmäßig, jedoch nicht hässlich. Hier merkt man das Indie-Budget jedoch am meisten. Erschwert wird das Erkunden allerdings dadurch, dass viele Gegenstände interaktiv wirken, die jedoch nicht sind. Zumal in der Spieltwelt etliche Schränke herum stehen, die man zwar öffnen kann, die jedoch nichts Relevantes enthalten. Hier wäre eine etwas klarere Designsprache hilfreich gewesen. Auch etwas hinderlich sind die matschigen Kontraste der Umgebungen. Gerade die Außenbereiche versinken in blassen Braun- und Grüntönen. Der Sound enthält schöne Melodien, die sich nicht aufdrängen. Soundeffekte und Klangwelt rangiert eher auf dem Niveau "ganz okay, aber nicht herausragend". Unter dem Strich ist Lake Ridden aber ein solides Spiel für Freunde des Genres. Eine Spielzeit von ca. 7 Stunden und einem Preis zum Zeitpunkt des Kaufes von 8€ ist durchaus fair. Mit den richtigen Erwartungen bekommt man gute Unterhaltung.

Immersive, escapist, challenging and engaging,

Крайне посредственная головоломка.

Was an interesting game, but the puzzles sometimes felt unnecessary at times, would have been nice to see a bit more from this developer but they seem to have called it quits

Fantastic adventure, just a little creepy.

The first 3 hours of this game were great, and I found myself really getting into the plot. But, it got to be repetitive soon after. I also don't understand why Nora has a British accent. Nor did I understand why this game allows you to check every single drawer and cupboard when there really isn't anything to find. A real slog. Game needs some real tightening.

One of the worst story I have ever run into. I get so frustrated so I cant play it to long without doing something else. The puzzles in main "story" are often ok to good. Some are really hard and I didnt get it all logical. All the mini puzzles are crap, boring, uninteresting and just wanna make you scream and log out. The environment can be cozy some times but I find the game to dark most of the time. All crap in the world that you can interact with for no reason? Really? The devs should be ashamed! At least I only spend an euro or so... but it was not what I was hoping for - coming from an excellent game as The Painscreek Killings!

Short review: Lots of stumbling about in the dark and fog. You can light every lamp and open every drawer which is fun until it isn't. Some really great puzzles! And a mostly helpful 'hint' system. Some annoyingly repetitive puzzles. And a spooky story which is never quite fully explained. All in all, quite enjoyable! ^-^ Some can play it in 10-12 hours, it took me 15. Mostly wandering around trying to find 'the master bedroom' (which was earlier called the 'master study'), 'the wooden gate by the trees' (it looks like part of the fence) and the 'burned out building' which was actually the laundry. You're welcome. ;) --- First, graphics - gorgeous. I am a big fan of first person puzzle games, I love the feeling of being there. However, the first third was at night, and stumbling around the woods in the dark is tedious. The middle third was the day, kinda? Dusk? a kind of hazy gold. And the last third is evening in the fog. Which makes it a little difficult to admire the surroundings. However, As you get close to an object, building, or puzzle, it is rendered beautifully so you feel immersed in the game. Gameplay - I only experienced a little stutter when I came across an auto-save spot, otherwise it was pretty smooth, though the mouse sensitivity at times made the puzzles difficult to click on individual buttons or manipulate dials. There is no user Save feature, so you are at the mercy of the game. Have to leave? Be prepared to redo a few things. I have to give credit to the game devs, the Estate is magnificently designed, with 3+ floors of rooms and a courtyard of adjacent buildings, all filled with what you could realistically expect in a place so huge. Boiler, laundry, bedrooms, book cases, desks, distillery. You can light every lamp and open every cupboard and drawer which seems cool, until you open about a thousand. Unfortunately most contain junk and a teeny percentage contain critical clues. If I never have to open another drawer it will be too soon. Lamp lighting is slightly more useful, as it can help you keep track of places you have been and find your way in the gloom. I'm sure there's an achievement for lighting all the lamps, I just got bored of it. Puzzles - there was quite a variety of puzzles! I am a massive puzzle gamer and I have played oodles, good and bad. I would say this is middling. Earlier in the game the puzzles were more intuitive, and I only had to consult the 'hint' system for one in order to figure out the goal of the puzzle which was unclear. Later, they become more cryptic to the point I had to google a walkthrough because the hint system was like 'look closer' which was unhelpful. Still, the hints were good for the most part, nudging you toward figuring out the solution yourself. That said, there are some very very repetitive puzzles. The puzzle boxes. By the time I reached the end I wanted to strangle the game devs. A few less would have been fine, and the reward doesn't seem to match the frustration involved. Music - the music is calm and peaceful, except when it isn't, which sets a mood. Though there is one segment with creepy children humming as bgm and I had to turn down my speakers because it weirded me out. Story - This I'm a little torn. You play as Marie who is searching for her sister Sofia who has gone missing in the middle of the night when camping. Marie simultaneously is in the present, yet seems to be telling the story in the future ('You may wonder why I did this, at the time I was desperate to find my sister'). Then you stumble upon an estate owned by an eccentric scientist and discover that some spooky things happened back... when? The place is abandoned, in shambles. Notes are scattered about with no signatures. This happened/are happening, with no context. And the people you 'meet' are ghosts who are invisible or don't even talk to you directly. You meet a little girl (?) and a person who I thought was a girl but is actually a young woman, who may have also been psychic? That part is never explained. As is the ending. It's not an unsatisfying ending, and it does... kinda... explain what's been happening. But it leaves as many questions as answers. The unique puzzles were engaging, the story kept me curious, the graphics were immersive, and the spooky atmosphere was intriguing. If you don't mind the repetitive puzzle boxes (which slowly grow in complexity), and wandering around in the dark/fog, then you will surely count this as a highly enjoyable puzzle game.

This game is visually pleasing and the puzzles are just hard enough to use helpful in game hint system. I would highly recommend this game for anyone who enjoyed the Myst series, Call of the Sea, or HER games. I rave about it to my gamer friends all the time.