Lost Cartridge - Cold Read

This is an amazing game. Games like this make me excited to play indie horror games. Everything, from the story to the puzzles to the controls was fun. I got scared quite a few times in a nice way. It was interesting to seek out the bad endings on purpose. I wish I didn't have to replay the game again to get the other two endings, but if I wasn't such a stickler for not looking things up, I could have played in a way to get them easier. Anyway, this developer is special and I am excited for more games by them.

I'm morally obligated to recommend any game with an optional sexy bunny outfit.

"Lost Cartridge - Cold Read" is a pixelated top-down horror-adventure, where you play the laden student "Mitch" trapped in a haunted library during a snowstorm. A consequential albeit sometimes "amateurish" and buggy/glitchy experience that is nonetheless excessively graphic, visceral and earnest in its premise and a great bow to a time where media was created just for the sake of it. (remember the old times of RPG-Maker created content) A schlocky and entertaining tale of teenage- / early-adult-angst that also taps into the more sincere and darker narration. I played "Lily's Well" from the same developer before and this one (while not being a free game) surpasses it. Great title, and I loved the nod to early chat-programs that were popular around the 2000's!

I liked this game! I think I have some qualms about the requirements for getting the other endings - but, otherwise, I enjoyed the story, design, writing, and audio design/music in this game. I might end up playing it again in future years to experience the other endings (which is a good sign that I enjoyed your game!). I was impressed by how many items were interactable (i.e., had written text to read) and got a few chuckles from some of the descriptions. I'll play more by this dev in the future, for sure! :)

After the great experience with Lilly's Well, our expectations were met with another great game!

Great game. Highly recommend. If you enjoy being chased through a horror library by a bunch of creepy monsters that are simulatneously freaks of nature and damn near impossible to hide from, this is the game for you. (I'm exaggerating when I say you can't hide from the monsters. You can hide or run from most of them. It's just that you shouldn't pick a hiding place that is within 3 rooms of the one where you were spotted. I recommend the room with the giant teddy bear almost every time). You are also encouraged to find numerous unique ways to die, and that is something I also enjoy.

nunca mais eu entro numa biblioteca

Maybe I just expected too much from this game. Before it, I played Lily’s Well, and I absolutely loved that one: the story really hit me, I was motivated to unlock the true ending, and everything you did there felt logical and well thought out. This game, unfortunately, feels like it’s missing all of that. The story doesn’t pull you in, and it’s hard to care about the characters at all — with the exception of Caroline, maybe. On top of that, some of the visual choices are just strange. For example, when it starts snowing, the effect is so harsh it actually strains your eyes. But the weirdest part is how much attention is given to the protagonist’s deaths. It feels like the artist is genuinely enjoying lingering on them. In Lily’s Well, there were disturbing moments and deaths too, but they were scary in a meaningful, appropriate way. Here, you get dozens of different mutilated corpses and death scenes, all drawn with almost loving detail — and it quickly becomes uncomfortable rather than effective. The puzzles aren’t engaging either. Most of the time it’s just “guess which item goes where.” Often, logical uses for items don’t work, and the protagonist doesn’t comment on failed attempts in any interesting way, unlike in Lily’s Well, where the main character’s reactions added a lot of clarity. The locations are also way too large and empty. In Lily’s Well they felt more compact, intimate, and cozy. Here you’re forced to run back and forth across huge, barren areas far too often. Chase sequences quickly turn into routine. They’re not challenging — just repetitive and boring. Overall, the game didn’t live up to my expectations. It’s not terrible, but it feels pretty mediocre as a whole.

good game, weirdly felt nostalgic in a way

Regret buying it. The dev's other games are much better. Nothing in it that would make it either interesting or not confusing