Letter Lost

very fun and challenging dark horror game.

Okay, So I am going to revise my previous review and wish there was a way remain neutral so know my recommendation is "No... FOR NOW." The Devs have fixed several game breaking bugs since my last review, including the one that soft locked me (Amon, dude, I know you are forgetful but please remember to come by the post office and see me.) as well as fixed a few other things that were game breaking. The issue is that there is still some minor save soft locking problems. Now, these are not ignored and in both discussions and discord they are working on them but they want to put out larger fixes instead of a bunch of smaller ones, which I suppose I can understand for time and ease on their part. Either way, the game is good and the devs are trying to fix things so hold this in your follow and check back. It seems that Kharnym is simply a bit fussy about who it's letting have the new postmaster position.

I bought this game on a whim because it looked neat and I've gotta say I am blown away genuinely one of the most thoughtful games I have played in a long time. I fount myself taking notes of everything that looked odd in the game and most of the time it comes back later to help plus the devs are super nice and understanding

this game makes me feel like im living in Nightvale, big fan.

Recommended | 30 hrs on record Amazing game. A+. It absolutely ate. I haven't liked a game this much in a long time, and 30 hours in I'm still not done with it. The best part is the people who come through the post office. You get to know them, their habits, their problems, the small things that change depending on what you've done. The vibes, the characters, the subtle shifts between runs. It all hits. And then you play it again. Save different people. Make different choices. Then go again, and again, and again, until there is nothing left for you but this post office.

I really wanted to like this game. I'm a huge fan of games where you're just doing a job, and I love weird psychological elements. The aesthetic and feel of the game is great, too. This game is just poorly executed. There are a bunch of game-breaking and QOL bugs, but that's surprisingly not my biggest problem with it. The major problem I have is that it feels lazy. You "reset" every week, but nothing actually resets except for NPCs acting like they don't know who you are, so if they were trying to go for a roguelike or -lite game they failed. You have unique rules each day (ex RTSing all the mail for a region) but they get pretty repetitive and feel pointless and bloaty. There doesn't really feel like there's much of a plot. One of the puzzles doesn't even do anything when you complete it (could be a bug but idk). The goal of the game is clearly to escape the post office, but you can go several weeks without receiving any new information or furthering the plot at all. It feels like a half-finished early access game despite being a full release. It looks like this is the dev's first game, and I'm very supportive of indie developers, but this just isn't very good. I'm also a bit irritated with the vibe of the game in general. The major points of inspiration for the game are clearly HP Lovecraft's work and the podcast Welcome to Night Vale. One of the regions is called Wistvale, and the emblem is a giant eye. The radio broadcasts are clearly attempting to mimic Night Vale's coverage of bizarre events, and much of the dialogue is poorly written. It's ok to draw inspiration from other works, but it shouldn't be as blatantly obvious as it is in this game. It all feels like "Ooh, isn't all of this so WeEiIRrDD??? Everything is WEEIIRRDD!" without having an actual purpose. Overall it's a ham-fisted attempt at both whimsy and horror. It feels like the devs got lost in their own sauce and forgot what they were doing. almost 5 hours in I literally said out loud "What's the point? What am I even doing?" and exited game. Overall the game has a lot of potential, but it needs A LOT of work before I would even consider it to be worth the 20 bucks I paid for it. Fix the bugs and tighten up your plot. This should have been an EA release. AAA games get flamed for full-releasing a half-finished game; indie studios cannot afford to make that misstep.

I must be UTTERLY stupid or these puzzles are so convoluted it is crazy. Five hours in and almost zero progress. I tried to look up so many guides to no avail. If you are very good and patient, maybe? But for a normal person? no

I've logged probably too many hours on this game, and with good reason! The world is delightfully spooky and strange, the puzzles are challenging without being frustrating, the characters are interesting, the art is gorgeous, and the mystery itself is well-written and engaging. Sorting letters also scratches a particular itch in my brain. If you have that itch and enjoy atmospheric horror, mysteries, puzzles, and existential dread, Letter Lost is for you. There are multiple endings to all the main story beats and I've started over with a new save multiple times just to see what other outcomes I can unlock. Letter Lost is a game that not only allows the player to get real weird with it, but actively encourages them to do so. If you want to toe the line and be the best little postal worker Kharnym has ever seen, you can do that. You can also be an absolute goblin and spend your days throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks, and because you're stuck in a time-loop, you can do both! "But the bugs!" Yes, Letter Lost is still in development to a degree, and there have been some kinks to work out. I don't often write game reviews, but what pushed me over the edge to write this one is how fantastic the development team has been and continues to be. They're responsive and receptive to feedback, and every update they've pushed out since I started playing has made the game better. I feel confident that Letter Lost and its players are in good hands, and it's a genuine pleasure to be part of the little community they've created.

I played this game first as a demo, and then right away on launch. In the first 6 weeks of the game, the devs have made dogged progress on listening to player feedback in catching bugs, updating story clarification, and general overall game quality. This is a stellar indie game that I played 30 hours of at launch. There are many ways to play. You can play as a true postal worker, working hard to make it through your stack of letters and packages. Or, you can be a puzzle hound and work through discovering myriad secrets throughout the post office and your lodgings. Just don't work any overtime, whatever playstyle you decide! This is a game with multiple endings and multiple branches based on the decisions you make. Other than the unfortunate fact that you have to grind through your upgrade book every time you restart a game, the game is very replayable as you can change decisions that you make with characters to unlock new story outcomes. The music is great, the radio audio theatre is great, and the secrets are satisfying and rewarding. This is one of the only games I've ever spent time in the forums with, discussing secrets and tips with other players. For a game made by a tiny team of talented people, this is highly recommended.

Letter Lost makes being a minimum wager worker fun! ...spooky? scary? spooky scary fun? I truly enjoy that core gameplay loop (work sim) as well as the deep storytelling/mysteries/puzzles within. It's amazing what this small studio has pulled off and how beautiful and cozy (or terrifying) the game feels. The writing, story lines, characters, art, voices, music, etc. all feel so thoughtful and well designed. I highly recommend you give it a try, and long enough of a try that you get to <̴̪̐r̸̒ͅe̸̡̥͐d̶͓́͗a̶̳͝c̸̫͙̈́́t̴͚͚̄e̷̖͂̏ḍ̵̇>̶̱̺̓! Required Steam disclosure: I contributed to the game as a software developer/Unity engineer, but not as an employee and I have not received compensation at the time of writing this review. Don't be fooled by the 2.9 hours, my play time is a lot lot lot higher, just via demo/dev testing!