Puzzle video games need to strike a fragile steadiness. On the one hand, a sport that’s too straightforward isn’t going to be thrilling. A difficult puzzle is nearly like a boss battle, and we need to put our abilities to the take a look at. Alternatively, if each puzzle is difficult, then it may be a turn-off. Fortunately, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes efficiently finds the fitting steadiness.
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes Overview on Nintendo Change
The sport begins with the unnamed protagonist being invited to a resort for an artwork exhibit. As she arrives, it rapidly turns into clear that issues aren’t proper. There’s a corpse within the courtyard, the one different visitor is an previous lady sharing her room, and the supervisor has a behavior of showing out of nowhere and disappearing simply as rapidly.
The resort itself is probably the most pervasive puzzle of all. Merely getting from Level A to Level B is an effort at instances. Most of the puzzles have been tough, however that simply led to better satisfaction once I labored them out. The non-linear design meant that if I discovered myself caught on a selected puzzle, I may simply step away and discover one other path I’d discovered. Whereas these paths usually led to a tough puzzle themselves, I usually discovered a brand new online game to debug, or an merchandise or clue I’d want elsewhere.
The genius of the puzzles is how deceptively easy they usually have been, whereas additionally enjoying on our expectations. You may need a clean keypad the place you realize the code already, however a poster close by reveals the association of the numbers is totally different than you’d anticipate. Elsewhere, you’ll have to make use of letter blocks to finish phrases, however being attentive to the fonts will reveal that the M is a sideways E. Most of the puzzles reward experimentation, and it’s usually value contemplating even probably the most obscure trains of thought.
Whereas many video games provides you with a close-up of one thing you look at, right here you’ll often solely get some textual content, which helps the setting itself really feel extra built-in than in lots of different puzzle video games. I hardly ever felt like I may simply use the notes, and even a few of the recurring puzzles had a unique technique for every one. Debugging one online game meant speaking to an NPC a couple of instances, one other would possibly require strolling by a false wall after which taking a couple of paths in the fitting order. You by no means really feel like you might have all of the solutions, as every new puzzle brings new challenges.
In fact, there’s extra to a sport than simply the puzzles. The presentation of Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is retro in one of the best ways doable. It performs like an old-school survival horror sport, albeit with out the fight. Within the sections the place you debug video video games that is taken as much as eleven, with old-school tank controls.
The visible design echoes the retro gameplay. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes’ graphics are decidedly old-school, and the in-game online game segments are much more retro nonetheless. The place the graphics excel is of their imaginative and prescient. The environments are largely monochrome, albeit with pops of pink, pink, or very sometimes inexperienced. Some areas invert the colour scheme to otherworldly impact. Others take it a step additional, with one notably surreal maze shattering the display like glass.
The entire sport appears like an avant-garde movie. The form of film the place drunken friars gamble with holy relics, or ceremonial dinner company discover themselves unwilling to depart. This isn’t the form of sport the place the whole lot is defined, and the narrative itself is simply one other puzzle.
Now, for the negatives. Among the puzzles are punishingly tough, and whereas I all the time felt that there was area to maneuver ahead, discovering that path might be tough. The map may have used some work and clearer labeling, as I usually discovered myself wandering round looking for the fitting door to unlock.
On the Change, the sport does away with a chosen interplay button, with any buttons doing the job. This meant I usually discovered myself interacting with one thing once I merely wished to open the menu. It’s not an enormous drawback, nevertheless it’s additionally not one I anticipated to face. Lowering the interplay to at least one button would have gone a great distance towards making the sport really feel extra streamlined.
![Lorelei and the Laser Eyes standing in front of a broken window](https://twinfinite.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Lorelei-1.jpg?resize=991%2C557)
My greatest grievance was the events the place you’re chased by a floating determine. Whereas that is telegraphed prematurely, it isn’t doable to save lots of as soon as he seems. Being caught means a recurring puzzle the place you’ll have to memorize a scene and reply a randomly chosen query. It isn’t all the time doable to get to a save level earlier than he seems, and getting it mistaken means sport over. I grew to dread these moments, particularly if I’d simply completed a debugging phase. Whereas they match thematically, this didn’t essentially really feel like a sport that benefitted from sport over screens.
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes isn’t an ideal sport. It isn’t a sport for everybody, and even followers of puzzle video games just like the Zero Escape collection would possibly discover that this isn’t to their style. In a world stuffed with Michael Bays, that is Luis Bunuel. It’s a sport created with a definite imaginative and prescient that isn’t out to please everybody. This isn’t a sport that cares about being preferred by everybody: it cares about being cherished by a smaller group. It’s a puzzle field the place any narrative is nearly an afterthought. It’s there when you dig into it, however the better satisfaction comes from discovering a manner ahead.
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes isn’t an ideal sport. It isn’t a sport for everybody, and even followers of puzzle video games just like the Zero Escape collection would possibly discover that this isn’t their tastes. In a world stuffed with Michael Bay, that is Luis Bunuel. It’s a sport created with a definite imaginative and prescient that isn’t out to please everybody. This is not a sport that cares about being preferred by everybody: it cares about being cherished by a smaller group. It’s a puzzle field the place any narrative is nearly an afterthought. It’s there, when you dig into it, however the better satisfaction comes from discovering a manner ahead.
Execs
- Intricately designed puzzles
- Stunning visuals
- Satisfying challenges
Cons
- The controls might be higher
- Irritating on the spot loss of life mechanics
- Complicated map structure
A duplicate of this sport was supplied by the writer for overview. Reviewed on Nintendo Change, Home windows.