Happy Juice Games released Lost in Play on the Nintendo Switch the other week. Lost in Play is the first solo game from the Tel Aviv-based studio. It has many of the hallmarks of a golden-age point-and-click adventure – a stunning cartoon style, humorously animated characters throughout, item-based puzzles, and 2D scenes to marvel over. And it’s fair to say that it ticks a lot of boxes.
Lost in Play is a journey through childhood imagination. You play as a brother and sister duo on an adventure to find their way back home. Going between reality and fantasy, the siblings explore the enchanted forest of a horned beast, start a rebellion in a goblin village, and help a team of frogs free a sword from a stone.
Get Lost in Play in… Lost of Play
Sigh. Yeah, I went there with that tagline. Lame joke, I know.
Having played many pixel art games recently, it’s time to play something a bit different. This is a game that looks straight out of a cartoon and being the man-child that I am, that got my interest. I’m also a fan of puzzle games, so I thought that Lost in Play had the potential to be great fun. And thankfully, I was right!
The Game
Playing as a brother and sister, the game goes through many stages. From their imaginations to the real world – although even that still uses aspects of their imagination. It creates a pretty wild experience that gives the game a lot of character.
I knew early on that this would be a game I’d enjoy. That exact moment? Shining a touch under the bed and seeing that the potential monster was your cat licking its anus. That was a proper LOL moment, and that’s when I knew this game would not be like I thought it would be.
Puzzles are not just the same idea over and over in a different environment. Every level has its own novelty aspect. The puzzles increase in complexity throughout and are mixed with some incredible animations. On top of the main puzzles, there are regular breaks for little games, which are just as fun and challenging. A monster-escaping one near the beginning quickly went from “this is easy” to “damn, this’ll need a minute or two of thinking”. And for an added mechanic, since you’re using a controller, there are brief button-based activities like pumping a power gauge to a certain level.
Although the word-free gameplay and funny animations are very kid-friendly, some trickier mini-games will even have grown-ups scratching their heads. The difficulty curve is impressively smooth and creeps up on you unexpectedly. It’s that level of complexity interspersed throughout that I enjoy. A moment of thinking and then back to some simple fun before you’re surprised once more by a head-scratcher.
There is a tips option which also has ranges. Sometimes it’s super helpful. Other times, though, it’s such a slight clue that you still might not be able to get it. Whatever you have to do, though, your actions will almost always be clear to you. The characters you encounter will also make sure to tell you what items they expect you to fetch for them. It’s just a case of finding them and how you can get that item.
Look & Sound
Lost in Play is, quite simply, a beautiful game. The cartoon-style graphics are incredible and so much fun. There’s something on every screen that is whimsical. If it’s not a background piece, it’s a character’s reaction. It’s not overly done, but it’s done enough that you can enjoy every set piece.
The art style is where the game really shines. It’s a style that drew me in and kept me playing. I enjoyed other aspects a lot, but seeing what the next level would look like and what was to come certainly helped too. The style transforms your gameplay into an immersive experience. It makes you feel like a child again, sitting in front of the TV watching your favourite cartoon. It’s absolutely fantastic.
The music is alright. It compliments the game well. I’m not one for music in games, generally, but there was nothing that offended my precious ears.
There’s no recognisable language from the characters either, it’s all just a babble of nonsense sounds which in itself is pretty funny. Even when you aren’t sure what to do, you get moments like one of the characters looking out of the screen at you and just talking gibberish, like that will help you. It made me laugh any time that happened.
Length & Replayability
There are around 5 hours of gameplay on offer. There are 15 episodes to work through, showcasing the incredible talent of the artists working on this game.
As for replayability, there are no collectables, so once you’re done, you’re done. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t go back and replay it just for fun. That’s what gaming is about, right? Having fun. And Lost in Play is undoubtedly fun. It’s one of those that, once you complete, you can start again from the beginning much later on and act like you’re experiencing it for the first time. No one would know otherwise. That’s just between you and your Switch.
Conclusions
Lost in Play’s story is as wholesome as it gets. It shows a great sibling relationship where they’ll work together, occasionally get annoyed with each other, and ultimately have fun together. It’s a feel-good story with eccentric environments, characters and mini-games. It’s a blast to play. And it’s just an outstanding puzzle adventure that anyone can play.
The art design is fantastic. The puzzles are varied while offering a bit of a challenge. And it is just a wholesome story. I would recommend this to anyone who wants something light-hearted and fun. Whether it’s alone or with a family member – at one point, my girlfriend sat next to me and enjoyed helping me out with some puzzles. I didn’t ask her to, but I wasn’t mad and actually added to the enjoyment as she mentioned one or two things I hadn’t thought of.
Finally, I have to mention the art style again. It’s what grabbed my attention initially, and it’s absolutely gorgeous. Seriously, props to those that worked on it because they’ve made a special game.
I score Lost in Play a perfect 10/10. One of the best games I’ve played this year!
A code was kindly provided for us to review this.