Welcome to our review of Lost Words: Beyond the page, a game that is both endearing as well as amazing!
2D Adventure Platforming. Navigate beautiful 2D worlds set inside a young girl’s diary by walking on the words and using them as tools to solve different puzzles.
Traverse an emotionally moving narrative by renowned games writer Rhianna Pratchett as the player makes decisions which shape the events that take place in Estoria. Discover the watercolor world presented in the pages of the diary as well as the vibrant fantasy world of Estoria.
Innovative Gameplay. Harness words to alter the environment to create a safe passage for the protagonist in an entirely unique and refreshing style of platforming. Gather firefly collectibles scattered across the lands of Estoria for an additional challenge.
Award-Winning Gameplay. Winner of over a dozen accolades including Best Indie Game, Best Casual Game & Most Original Game at Game Connection Paris, Special Selection Indie Award at Reboot Develop and UKIE’s UK Game of the Show at Gamescom.
Lost Words: Beyond the page might be the best thing I played this year and I know it is still early February when I write this!
A 2D platformer where words are used to create the double story that is unfolding, one in the real world and one in the storyline that our main hero is making for her gran. All while the game itself takes its form depending on what side of the game you are in.
Watercolor being used for the real world, where you are a drawn character that uses the words to move around the pages of a diary. You activate all sorts of short animations as you walk across them, from new lines to advance the story to have to move words in place to shape the story. This part of the game will leave you misty-eyed and it is one of the best stories I have played in a very long time.
The story world is like a real game in design and while it is incredibly easy, with no deaths for example, there is just a really easy approach to puzzles which makes the game available to all ages. Even the youngest among us could enjoy this game easily.
A smart yet simple platformer where you are the master of the fireflies, their keeper so to speak. The fireflies allow you to use words that hold powers to your advantage. Break will allow you to break blocks that are in your path, Repair allowing you to fix things that are broken, and so on.
This approach is so refreshing and while it can be a little confusing at first, the twin-stick approach might not make perfect sense, one stick handling the firefly and the other for your own movement. What I did very much enjoy is how simple and easy the game is, but still nothing too easy that it becomes annoying.
There are some downsides too, sadly enough. You can not go back into a previous level for the collectibles, which I would have liked. The fact that you can not die really, can make you careless and just try out random things, though I can see how this is an upside for others?
Now for the Stadia side, as this is not a very taxing game on the visuals, I clearly had no issues with the streaming side, but I have to say, this is the first time I had a Stadia game crash on me… Instantly restarting and picking up just around 2 screens prior to where it went down, but still surprising to see.
In conclusion, this game is amazing. I want more of it and can not wait for it to hopefully one day have a successor. If this game had been played last year, I would have probably called it my game of the year, despite only around 5 hours worth of gameplay, but what a game it was!
