Weave your own version of a fantastical tapestry in Lost Words: Beyond the Page, an immersive storytelling game embedded within a 2D platformer. From developer Sketchbook Games and publisher Modus Games, Lost Words: Beyond the Page has garnered buzz at various game conventions since 2016 for its innovative conceptual gameplay alongside its writing credits from Rhianna Pratchett (daughter of prolific fantasy-novelist, Terry Pratchett). It will release April 6, 2021 for the Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and Google Stadia for $14.99 USD.
How to Play
In short, Lost Words: Beyond the Page bridges the gap between visual and written narrative. Players follow the story of a young woman through journal recollections, linking together an autobiographical account of her grandma’s illness with a correlated fantasy story. Gameplay consists of simple 2D platforming with a few unique wrinkles.
Principally, the use of words to manifest magic exists both in the journal-world and the fantasy-world. Jump from the margins of the text to keywords in the journal-world to activate the magic of words, and more literally in the fantasy-world players copy-paste command words like “Break”, “Rise”, or “Repair” from your magical codex to influence the surrounding environment.
Reminiscent of Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea saga, the connection between magic, words, and memory renders meaning in powerful ways. Not only does the player experience the written text of making mom tea in her grief, but they get to actually make the tea by mixing the words “water”, “milk” and “teabag”. Many games try to brandish new ideas within developed spaces like storytelling or platformers, but Lost Words: Beyond the Page achieves where others fail.
How it Plays
Amidst a crowded field of immersive storytelling indie games, Lost Words: Beyond the Page stands out for its clarity of narrative and risk-taking. On their own, the platforming puzzles and the narrative twists are not risky but the power of magical words within both certainly are.
Never did I feel challenged when it came to getting across the screen or figuring out the simple puzzles, but I did run into positive strife when it came to narrative decision-making. I was ready to just sit back and enjoy the narrative’s ride, but I was pleasantly surprised when some of the core narrative decisions were up to me; choosing the protagonists names and outfit, the history of some of the environment, and even the main emotional thrust for the whole fantasy adventure. Here, Lost Words: Beyond the Page gains a level of replayability unavailable to many storytelling games, because I do want to play again and choose the other narrative options to see how it changes.
All in all, the pace of play between platforming and storytelling keeps engaging and varied content flowing well for the roughly 4-hour experience. While the gameplay and writing are satisfying, the artistry steals the show. Time and time again I would find myself in awe of the immersive quality of the visuals and audio. Estoria quickly became a world in which I would love to get lost.
Conclusion
Lost Words: Beyond the Page can reach a wide audience–from kids who want an easy-playing story to gaming veterans looking to catch a breath of fresh air. Simple but clear, strong but humble, Lost Words: Beyond the Page hits a sweet spot and charms throughout.
Score: 9.5/10
Check Out the Lost Words: Beyond the Page Trailer:
For more information, please visit: https://modusgames.com/
Nintendo Switch Review
Recent Michigan State University grad and current Game Studies researcher who plays fantasy RPG's to escape, Smash to compete, and Stardew to chill. Also have a +1 to rage/toxicity resistance due to the many hours sunk into WoW, R6, and LoL.
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