Lost Ember is a new adventure game released just this year by Mooneye Studios, but is already making a mark on the gaming community. The game is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also offers its own world and lore, alongside paced character building and game play advancements. Naturally, it has been earning high ratings from gamers, enjoying the game no matter the system used to play. Lost Ember is currently playable on PlayStation 4, GOG, and Steam for $29.99 / £25.99 / €29.99. A Nintendo Switch version will follow in the months to come along with a few select Virtual Reality systems as well.
As someone who is currently experiencing Lost Ember via Steam, the idea of this game in Virtual Reality is very exciting. Lost Ember has amazing scenery and music, which together create an incredibly relaxing atmosphere in contrast to the heavy and negative themes being revealed in the story as you play. The game even includes functions for the player to do mundane activities like eating and resting. Lost Ember is very quiet, with occasional interjections from the main character’s companion, but mostly utilizing sounds reminiscent of nature and magic. Nature is an important part of the story in this game, which explains why so much attention and detail went into designing the animals and greenery. The areas are also very open and spacious, and the player can explore the world itself, interacting with animals and nature without having to advance the story.
Lost Ember does a good job of world building by giving clear bits of expedition explaining the positions of the characters in their universe, the functions of objects, and terms to know throughout the game (i.e. Yanren, Yanran spirits, Machu’ruku, Embers, etc.), when you uncover a memory. The society and afterlife in Lost Ember are both similar and different from our own, giving the player something familiar enough to understand but unfamiliar enough to inspire them to explore further into the game. The story of the game is very accurately described as an emotional journey, where the player experiences the ups and downs of self discovery through their character. The story explores serious topics like politics and social order while the player enjoys light-hearted music, game play, and scenery. Characterization is done very well. For a relatively short game, it did not take long for me as the player to become invested in the characters and desire to uncover more about them, just as the game had intended.
While the presentation of the story and the art of the game are definitely the best parts of Lost Ember in my opinion, there are some notable aspects of the game play that made the game more fun. One particularly enjoyable feature is referred to as “soul wondering” in the world of the game; the feature allows the player to take the form of different animals when needed to complete small obstacles in the game. All of the animals are very nicely designed and offer a different kind of game play for the player. However, as mentioned before, the game’s settings are very spacious and can become confusing rather than liberating for novice game players. I found that the game can lag a lot in Steam and this can make it a lot more difficult than it should be, so be sure to have excellent Wi-Fi if you choose to play PC as well. However, you do have a companion throughout the game that acts as a guide, though he will only remind you of your objective rather than show you directly. Nonetheless, there are clear markings to lead the player to destinations so long as they find the correct animal to get them there.
Score: 9/10
Check Out the Lost Ember Trailer:
For more information, please visit: https://www.lostember.com/
Steam Review
I am an aspiring writer particularly interested in helping write video game storylines and scripts. I prefer games that aim to strike a balance between compelling stories with character development and fun and immersive gameplay. Some of my favorite games include Until Dawn, Detroit Become Human, and both the Call of Duty and Resident Evil game series.
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