As someone who isn’t normally impressed by point and click puzzle games, I can honestly say I wasn’t expecting to love Lost in Play as much as I do.
I was immediately drawn to Lost in Play’s impressive artwork. Right from the start the hand-drawn cartoon style drew my in, and wanting to see what would come next had me glued to my Nintendo Switch for hours.
Over the years I’ve seen some imaginative games, but nothing compares to this, looking inside the mind of children, who let’s face it, has much better imaginations than any of us leading to some impressively creative gameplay.
The first few minutes of Lost in Play serves as a brief introduction, showing offering a glimpse of the craziness to come, while settling you in with a minor puzzle to get used to the controls.
I have to be honest, I wasn’t expecting to be having a mad hatter style tea party with a duck, frog and a gnome in the first few minutes of the game, but I’m happy that I did.
Of course, there is so much more to Lost in Play than just fantastic art, but right from the start it was enough to grip me into the game.
Lost in Play follows the story of two siblings, Toto and Gal, who’s imagination fuels the whacky adventures and puzzles that you stumble across in Lost in Play.
Lost in Puzzles
Being a family-friendly puzzle game, I had expected to fly through the puzzles with ease. Thankfully that’s not the case in Lost in Play. In fact, even with unlimited hints at my disposal I found myself struggling with many of the games 30+ difficult puzzles.
The problem with puzzle games is it can be hard to strike the right balance. If puzzles are too hard it can be infuriating, but if they are too easy then there is no challenge at all.
Lost in Play have managed to find the right balance, and even manages to offer hints without holding your hand and telling you exactly how to win.
They’ve managed to find the right ingredients here to make a perfectly enjoyable puzzle experience, without becoming too overwhelming or even annoying.
Summary
Lost in Play is an imaginative delight that I hadn’t expected to enjoy half as much as I am, striking the perfect balance between nonsensical imagination and well-thought out puzzles.
While the game does offer tips and guidance, you can choose how much help you want, without it ruining the game for you. Even when you seek help, the game doesn’t hold your hand, it simply offers a small clue.
Navigating through the world has been made simple, with every interaction clearly marked, making it easy to identify clickable actions, instead of randomly having to point and click everywhere like many other point and click adventure games I have played in the past.
Drawing inspiration from classics such as Gravity Falls, Hilda, and Over the Garden Wall, the developers of Lost in Play has created a magical life filled with fun and imagination that most couldn’t even think of in their wildest dreams.
