Lost in Random Game Review
3 Step Game Review
About the Game
Released
September 10, 2021
Developer
Zoink Games
Price
US$ 29.99
(MAY VARY PER LOCATION)
Game Description
Play the odds in Lost in Random a gothic-fairy-tale-inspired action-adventure where every citizen’s fate is determined by the roll of a dice. Ruled by a wicked Queen, the kingdom of Random is divided into 6 shadowy realms where life is dictated by a cursed black dice. In this story from the award-winning Swedish game studio Zoink and penned by Eisner Award-winning Adventure Time and Marvel Comics… (continues)
Step 1: Playing Conditions
Read below the game basic characteristics. If it is something you see yourself playing, move on to Step 2: Graphics & Sound.
Gameplay Overview
Lost in Random (LR) is a blend of things.
It blends a fairy tale into a game. As the game is played, a narrator tells us the journey of Even and Dicey, a magical dice, to save her sister from an evil Queen.
It blends game genres as you may have never seen. The combat system is a mixture of ACTION and CARD AND BOARD. When fighting enemies, it feels like being in an action game and when building a deck or using cards, it feels like playing a card and board game.
Combat can be divided into 3 stages: collect crystals, throw Dicey to pick cards, and fight with the powers cards give you. As hard as can be to explain, it is really easy to understand while playing and you will have 7 game levels and various side missions to get good at it.
Step 2: Graphics & Sound
Watch 5 to 10 minutes of any video below. If you like what you see and hear, move on to Step 3: Game Evaluation.
Step 3: Game Evaluation
Build your expectations about the game by learning what it offers and how was The Partisan Spy’s experience.
USER INTERFACE
The graphics style is one of the GAME’S FOOTPRINT and has a huge part in setting the game’s tone, mood, and atmosphere. The HUD and in-game menu follow this style and also help players understand the game mechanics.
The combination of genres could have been a challenge, but the design choices made everything feel right even with the large amount of screen information.
STORY
LR is a FAIRY TALE that kids would like to listen to as a bedtime story. The story is told in cutscenes, characters’ voice-overs, and dialogue boxes. As an ADVENTURE game, a big part of the gameplay is about reading and choosing Even’s dialogue lines.
And don’t be mistaken, some conversations will influence the gameplay with clues on how to complete quests and even beating one of the bosses.
COMMUNITY POTENTIAL
PVE games usually don’t get the same attention from the gaming community as PVP games.
Content generation is LIMITED to the completion of the game, which results in a short awareness life span. Beyond that fact, LR IS A SHORT GAME with little content to be explored.
The game leaves an “open door” to a sequel and new adventures in the Kingdom of Random but for this game, don’t expect a strong and present community around it.
GAMEPLAY MOOD TRACKER
MOOD ANALYSIS
The combination of story and gameplay kept my mood between ENTERTAINED and EAGER during most of the 17 hours of gameplay. Mood spikes happened during bosses encounters and the last hours of play, reaching CAN’T STOP PLAYING IT levels. LR ends with a mood tracker average of ENTERTAINED.
GRIND FEELING
LR IS SHORT to feel any kind of grind feeling. Because of the story, every quest feels different from each other. Combat has few enemy variations but the board game modes always bring a new challenge. Last but not least, the possibility of building different card decks also allows the player to choose from various combat strategies.
LOVED THE MOST
The combat system is refreshing and is always good to play something different.
DISLIKED THE MOST
The game doesn’t allow you to travel back. If you complete a town or the entire game, you can’t play it again, unless you start a new save.
EVALUATION SUMMARY
Not just a blend of things and genres, Lost in Random is a mixture of feelings.
How much one hour of gameplay is worth?
One dollar?
Five bucks?
I think 99% of us would say it depends on each one’s likings of a game. But how to ratio likings vs hours vs money?! And how to add free-to-play games to that equation?
Lost in Random is not free-to-play and can be 100% completed in approximately 15 hours. THE GAME DELIVERS EVERYTHING YOU CAN EXPECT. It draws you into the story and every game element fits perfectly to each other. As good as the game can be, it can also be considered short at the cost of US$29.99.
How will you know?
I can answer this question with another question: what’s the size of your pocket?
Choices & Advice
DON’T BUY IT
IF YOU DON’T LIKE MIXED GENRE GAMES.
WAIT TO BUY
IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE THAT 12 TO 18 HOURS OF GAMEPLAY IS WORTH US$30.00.
BUY NOW
IF US$1.66-2.50 PER GAMEPLAY HOUR IS AT YOUR PRICE POINT.
GAME LIFETIME
THE GAME CAN BE FULLY COMPLETED IN 12 TO 18 HOURS.
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