Lost At Sea

Puzzle game/Walking Simulator with very good graphics and optimized well. I would have chosen a different and more engaging soundtrack. Simple but not intuitive puzzles at first glance. Good duration +3/6h. Base price perhaps slightly high, but I recommend it on sale. My rating 7/10

I'm normally a sucker for indie walking simulators and able to overlook their flaws, but I couldn't get past the tonal dissonance in this one. You're supposed to be feeling melancholy and reflective, but what you feel instead is frustration and mounting rage. It is so annoying to be faced with obtuse puzzles you need to fumble your way through to progress – when you can even reach them. Because after walking halfway across the island to reach the puzzle, suddenly the #%!$ing [i]Ineffable Sadness[/i] comes and smothers you and you wake up back where you started. Why?! Just to make the game longer and more tedious? The game takes up to three hours to complete when it should really take about one. Aspects of the game are nice but ultimately I have to rate it a nope nope nopety nope nope.

Let's start with the good: The island you'll spend roughly three hours exploring looks very pretty, with a bloom-heavy lighting model giving a surreal dreamlike atmosphere. The narrative is also very heartfelt, and feels personal to the game's developers. My experience was also very bug-free. The Bad: The puzzles can be super obtuse to the point where I'm not even sure how I solved one or two of them, I just kinda fumbled around until I managed to progress. That sort of brute force method of mine also shouldn't be possible. I also really hated the black cloud thing that attacks you periodically throughout the island. Why make a pretty looking island that the player wants to, and needs to, explore if only every two or three minutes the smoke monster from Lost appears and tries to kill(?) you. Another annoyance is when you reach a new puzzle-hub area, finding all the doodads can be a bit of a frustrating experience. Why doesn't your compass just point you in the direction of them? It does for everything else, but not here. Conclusion: It looks nice, and the story feels genuine, but it also doesn't really have enough to grab on to, to be really memorable. The puzzles aren't very challenging, and are sometimes just not well thought out, and to make matters worse there is an annoying enemy that just wastes your time. There is more style than substance here, unfortunately. Details: Time played: 2.6 hrs 100% completion Steam Deck: Doesn't play on Steam Deck

I was extremely bored as I slowly wandered across the empty island. I found some musical chairs mini game, but it dragged on for way too long and was so boring to finish that by the end of it I knew there was no way I could play any longer. Not to mention I had already struggled to even start playing the game as my mouse refused to work on the main menu and I had to use arrow keys to navigate it. Even then it was a struggle to get the game to actually start... If you liked this review, check out my [url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/28344664/]Steam Curation page![/url]

Lost At Sea is a good exploration game on a tropical and mysterious island with mini-games and above all a very beautiful narration about the moving story of Anna through the different steps of her life. The graphics are nice and the ambiant is cozy. I recommend it!!! 💗💗💗

Продолжаю поиск хороших малоизвестных инди проектов, но этот явно не из таких. Музыка-пойдет Графика-пойдет Оптимизация- такая себе Сюжет- посредственная печаль на печали Геймплей- бродить по острову и проходить мини-игры (некоторые так и вовсе повторяются по куче раз) Покупал вместе с "The Fabled Woogs" и "White Shadows" и если пройдя их мне вполне не было жаль потраченных денег, то пройдя эту игру, стало прям реально жаль (хотя зная ценник какой нибудь Смуты и СМУТное качество, эта игра уже на ее фоне не такая плохая). И при этом концепт игры даже может и в какой то мере интересен, но его надо в корне менять,он должен быть куда более разнообразней, лишен лишних действий (в лице монстров и бегатни по острову) и т.д В общем оценка 3-4/10 (эх и во что я только играю.....)

I really like the idea of this game and the story line but the lack of tutorial explanation and minigames/quests that don't make any sense made this game a really difficult and frustrating experience, forcing you to look up tutorial playthroughs. The overly bright and saturated colors make this game hard to look at and terrain navigation is inconsistent and sometimes outright difficult. The concepts behind the game are really interesting but the execution is lacking :( I get that the lack of tutorial is supposed to enhance the aspect of puzzle and uncovering memories but it's just frustrating when you're trying to figure out what you'er supposed to be doing at the beginning of the game. A hint button if you're stuck or just any explanation to some of the minigames/quests would also be helpful so that players aren't forced to look up a playthrough which might be out of order and whatnot, which takes away from the experience of exploring the island and memories yourself.

overall alright.

A Mixed Experience of Emotion and Gameplay Lost at Sea tackles heavy themes such as loss, death, aging, and dementia, offering an emotionally charged narrative. Unfortunately, the game only partially succeeds in delivering a fulfilling experience, leaving me with mixed feelings. The Positives: Touching narrative: The idea of collecting mementos from different stages of life works well to convey themes of memory, loss, and personal growth. The protagonist's emotional journey can resonate with players, invoking empathy and reflection. Visual presentation: The game does a good job visually, with a solid atmosphere that complements the introspective nature of the story. The environment feels immersive and fitting for the melancholic tone. The Drawbacks: Gameplay falls flat: The search for mementos is not driven by puzzles but rather by simple action and reaction mechanics, which don’t add much depth. There are no real challenges, and it quickly becomes monotonous. The shadow mechanic feels redundant: The element where a shadow captures the protagonist and respawns her at a checkpoint offers little impact. Without consequences or a stealth system, this mechanic feels disconnected from the rest of the game, offering little to no value to the experience. It’s an element that metaphorically fits the island setting but feels like it “drifts in the sand” narratively. Fragmented narrative: While the game addresses significant emotional topics, the individual episodes feel disconnected. The transitions between the different life stages aren’t as smooth as they could be, leading to a slightly disjointed experience. The game’s story feels like it’s scattered, rather than flowing cohesively from one moment to the next. Conclusion: Lost at Sea offers an intriguing emotional premise but ultimately falls short in execution. The lack of meaningful gameplay, the repetitive memento-hunting mechanic, and the fragmented narrative prevent the game from being as impactful as it could have been. While the story is heartfelt, the gameplay and structure leave much to be desired. It’s a short game that may appeal to those seeking a brief emotional experience, but for a more immersive and engaging journey, it doesn’t quite deliver. Rating: 3/5 stars For those interested in the themes of loss and memory, Lost at Sea could be worth a try, but it’s best experienced on sale. A deeper, more cohesive gameplay experience could elevate this emotional journey in a future iteration.

Meh. I usually love weird and buggy games, but this one just aint it. 7/10 for effort - 3/10 for implementation