A Mind-Bending Puzzle Adventure
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, a 2024 puzzle game, is developed by Simogo and published by Annapurna Interactive. Released on May 16, 2024, it is available on Windows and Nintendo Switch. This game exemplifies how smaller companies can create brilliant, original games despite the mainstream industry’s focus on shareholder value.
Simogo, known for the eerie Year Walk and the groundbreaking Device 6, has crafted another highly stylized puzzler. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is one of the most compelling mystery games in recent years.
The game’s setup is classic adventure territory. A woman is invited to an abandoned hotel in Syracuse, Italy, by an eccentric artist needing her support for a revolutionary project. However, the hotel hides many secrets. The player must uncover what happened to the family that owned it through various puzzles, hidden passages, and secret rooms. The narrative is told through multilayered strands that players must unravel in a non-linear fashion.
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes : Engaging and Intricate Puzzles
Combining elements of Resident Evil and The Room series, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is a vast puzzle box. Each room contains clues and questions that tantalize players with the promise of new revelations. For example, if you can’t solve a picture clue involving strange red paintings, you can try unlocking a safe or inspecting a statue missing a key component. The answers require logic, memory, and knowledge of Roman numerals, zodiac signs, and strobogrammatic numbers.
The game’s noirish visuals complement its story, filled with sinister characters and forlorn heiresses. The expressionistic, almost monochrome visuals, with dizzying camera angles, turn rooms into crooked funhouse rides. Shadows jut into each scene like daggers, creating an atmosphere of uncertainty. Time is a major theme, with key dates in the family’s history reappearing as history folds in on itself.
Immersive and Challenging Gameplay
Players are advised to keep a notebook and pen handy. Instructions are minimal, and clues must be gathered and re-examined. The narrative and structure are oblique, involving tasks like analyzing CCTV footage and consulting a shadowy fortune teller. Ghosts wander the halls, and the fourth wall is broken spectacularly at times. Note-taking is essential, and mapping out the environment is a pleasurable challenge that harkens back to the era of Scott Adams, Lucasfilm, and Sierra On-Line.
The game’s puzzles, eerie visuals, and elusive story are intrinsic to the experience. It subtly questions the nature of creativity and play, eventually taking a breathtakingly meta turn reminiscent of Kojima’s tricks in the Metal Gear Solid series. It also explores the troubled relationship between art and commerce, making it a timely concern for the video game industry.
Visual and Atmospheric Brilliance in Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
The game’s visual design perfectly matches its noirish feel, with expressionistic, almost monochrome visuals and dizzying camera angles. Shadows and light play a significant role, enhancing the game’s mysterious and eerie atmosphere. The setting spans different time periods, adding layers to the story that players must piece together.
A Must-Play Puzzle Game
Simogo has made a name for itself as one of the best mobile game developers, consistently releasing critically acclaimed, award-winning games. Although primarily known for mobile games, Simogo’s latest effort, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, is available only on PC and Switch. It is arguably Simogo’s best work yet.
The game is a mind-bending puzzle about a woman exploring an old hotel. Like Resident Evil, progression involves solving interconnected puzzles. Players must collect playing card-themed keys to unlock certain doors. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes combines the best elements of Resident Evil and Professor Layton, with challenging puzzles that require logic, knowledge of zodiac signs, ancient Greek alphabet, and moon patterns.
Conclusion
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes will captivate puzzle game fans. Its non-linear structure ensures players rarely hit serious roadblocks, as they can always tackle another puzzle. The Mental Notes section in the pause menu helps keep track of important items and areas. However, one important item’s absence from the Mental Notes can cause frustration. Despite minor issues like menu navigation, the game is an incredible experience with over 150 puzzles to solve.
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is a must-play puzzle game, offering more than 25 hours of engaging gameplay. It features intriguing side content, like mini-games themed after Simogo’s older titles and optional memories for 100% completion. The game’s puzzles, eerie visuals, and elusive story make it one of the best in the genre. Simogo has once again raised the bar, delivering a game that is both challenging and deeply satisfying.
Explore more puzzle games on our Puzzle Games page.Check out our review of Year Walk by Simogo.
