Played the demo only, so I'll leave this unrated.
Gotta say though, I don't remember the last time I had so many bugs in a game lol
Gotta say though, I don't remember the last time I had so many bugs in a game lol
Was drawn in by the hook of this being a postal worker simulator, only to be trojan-horsed into another Netflix-brained drama. A Life Is Strange-like that has you driving around a poorly-disguised and thoroughly-sterilised simulacrum of Twin Peaks (this was made by a Dutch dev team - why not show us NL's country life instead of leaning on a well-worn setting?).
You're relatively un-fussed by any of the day-to-day concerns that would no doubt come with delivering the post in a secure and timely manner, and there are so many missed opportunities for fun little gameplay pieces - the truck doesn't take damage, you can't break the speed limit, the parcels don't arrive late, you don't have to dodge dogs - any of these little things could have injected a small sprinkling of spice into it, but the game is only really interested in telling its story. I think I wanted it to be Shin Paperboy.
I get that it's nice, sure, and there are people who really do want a depressurised and bloodless GTA driving/walking game; but without anything really driving (lol) the experience, this is basically just a series of Walking Dead-style dialogue encounters split up with a cuddly coddling truck-driver experience. Nothing ever matters, which seems to kinda contradict the game's nascent notions of changing your life. Dialogue options only seem to be there to move the chatter along most of the time, and characters often react in the ways the developers wanted them to react, rather than the ways you hoped or expected they would. The different ending options are a perfect example of this, but as the game only really has its story going for it, I won't spoil the bizarre surprises here.
The romance options are exactly what we've all come to expect from indie games at this point - utterly toothless and sexless stuff that makes the 40-something main characters behave like preschoolers holding hands on a trip to the park. You can't have a single city gal discover her first kiss is now a huge sexy lumberjack and have it only lead to a nice hug. Come on now! It's about time one of these games played out with all the debauchery of a greasy pulp paperback like A Stranger In Her Bed or whatever.
My postman sometimes come up the stairs of our building mid-joint roll, banging crap metal out of his phone speakers and huffily hurling anything marked FRAGILE onto a rough approximation of our doorstep. Now that's the delivery guy game I wanna be playing. Lemme dropkick an Amazon parcel and shag some lonely lady after I break her windows with a Hello Fresh box.
You're relatively un-fussed by any of the day-to-day concerns that would no doubt come with delivering the post in a secure and timely manner, and there are so many missed opportunities for fun little gameplay pieces - the truck doesn't take damage, you can't break the speed limit, the parcels don't arrive late, you don't have to dodge dogs - any of these little things could have injected a small sprinkling of spice into it, but the game is only really interested in telling its story. I think I wanted it to be Shin Paperboy.
I get that it's nice, sure, and there are people who really do want a depressurised and bloodless GTA driving/walking game; but without anything really driving (lol) the experience, this is basically just a series of Walking Dead-style dialogue encounters split up with a cuddly coddling truck-driver experience. Nothing ever matters, which seems to kinda contradict the game's nascent notions of changing your life. Dialogue options only seem to be there to move the chatter along most of the time, and characters often react in the ways the developers wanted them to react, rather than the ways you hoped or expected they would. The different ending options are a perfect example of this, but as the game only really has its story going for it, I won't spoil the bizarre surprises here.
The romance options are exactly what we've all come to expect from indie games at this point - utterly toothless and sexless stuff that makes the 40-something main characters behave like preschoolers holding hands on a trip to the park. You can't have a single city gal discover her first kiss is now a huge sexy lumberjack and have it only lead to a nice hug. Come on now! It's about time one of these games played out with all the debauchery of a greasy pulp paperback like A Stranger In Her Bed or whatever.
My postman sometimes come up the stairs of our building mid-joint roll, banging crap metal out of his phone speakers and huffily hurling anything marked FRAGILE onto a rough approximation of our doorstep. Now that's the delivery guy game I wanna be playing. Lemme dropkick an Amazon parcel and shag some lonely lady after I break her windows with a Hello Fresh box.
In Lake you play as a mail carrier Meredith taking a break from her computer job in the big city to deliver mail in her rural Oregon hometown for a couple of weeks in September 1986. The good parts of the game include the scenery and music. If you love the PNW setting of games like Life is Strange then you will feel at home here. The licensed music was also well chosen, I just wish there was more of a selection. For a game about delivering mail, it doesn't really have much mechanics around that. There's no timer and you don't have to worry about things like gas or damage to the vehicle and there are no dogs to avoid. It's mostly a matter of going to a location on the map, and going up to the door or mailbox and clicking A. In some ways it was nice that it was low stress, but the van wasn't that fun to control, so the driving part was not really that engaging.
The main focus of the game is primarily around Meredith's relationships with the people in the town and here it fares a little better. Some of the characters were fun like Kay and the cat lady, I just wish it didn't force relationships on you. In my mind I was playing as a person looking for a vacation, but the game really tries to push you to pick a character to settle down with and stay in the town, which didn't make sense to me. I was especially put off from having to deliver mail six days a week. It must be something about Americans being overworked, but I'm not going to take a job that makes me work weekends if I can avoid it.
All in all it was enjoyable, but didn't live up to the probably unreasonable expectations I had set. If you are interested in playing it I would wait since the version I played had a lot of glitches. 3.5/5
The main focus of the game is primarily around Meredith's relationships with the people in the town and here it fares a little better. Some of the characters were fun like Kay and the cat lady, I just wish it didn't force relationships on you. In my mind I was playing as a person looking for a vacation, but the game really tries to push you to pick a character to settle down with and stay in the town, which didn't make sense to me. I was especially put off from having to deliver mail six days a week. It must be something about Americans being overworked, but I'm not going to take a job that makes me work weekends if I can avoid it.
All in all it was enjoyable, but didn't live up to the probably unreasonable expectations I had set. If you are interested in playing it I would wait since the version I played had a lot of glitches. 3.5/5
Night in the Woods, Three Fourths Home, Firewatch, Eliza... En algún momento de los últimos años ha surgido una tendencia en el panorama independiente como resultado de lo que yo entiendo es un cambio en la sociedad, que viene a reflejar (al menos en Occidente, entre los considerados millennials e incluso X tardíos) una brecha generacional profunda entre los adultos jóvenes de ahora y sus (nuestros) mayores. Estos videojuegos que cito y a los que seguro pueden sumarse otros que no recuerdo o no he jugado tienen en común el abordar una etapa de transición vital. Centrados en períodos de pausa (del trabajo, los estudios o una relación), nos sitúan en tiempos muertos de la vida de sus protagonistas y cuentan historias de jóvenes perdidos en busca de un camino que guíe su futuro. Mae de Night in the Woods y Kelly de Three Fourths Home vuelven a casa de sus padres tras una etapa universitaria fallida, deprimidas e inseguras de cómo encauzar sus vidas a continuación; Henry de Firewatch adquiere un trabajo de guardabosques como escapatoria a su situación conyugal, que tarde o temprano deberá afrontar; Evelyn de Eliza deja su trabajo y empieza otro como entretiempo mientras decide hacia dónde orientar su futuro. Y a ellos se une ahora Lake, quizá el título que más directamente aborde el tema de la transición.
Lake da comienzo con el primer día de vacaciones de Meredith, desarrolladora de un software diseñado para ayudar a organizar tu vida, que decide volver a su pueblo natal 22 años después. Una vez allí, en sus botas, ocuparemos un empleo temporal como repartidores del servicio postal. El juego se desarrolla durante nuestras dos semanas de estancia, con las rutinas laborales pertinentes, y termina dándonos a elegir cómo continuar nuestra vida.
La cosa va así: día a día, entre entrega y entrega, vamos tomando contacto con la gente del lugar, viejos conocidos y caras nuevas por igual, y charlando con ellos se nos presentan oportunidades de acercamiento. Tal vez nos pidan un favor o nos inviten a alguna parte, y de nosotros dependerá (hablándoles con mayor o menor amabilidad, interesándonos o no por sus asuntos, aceptando o rechazando sus invitaciones y favores) el estrechar lazos y descubrir qué ha sido de sus vidas. Nuestra mejor amiga de la adolescencia, por ejemplo, rehizo su vida en el pueblo después de fracasar en sus estudios y tuvo que salir adelante tras el fallecimiento de un familiar trabajando en su establecimiento. También está Lori, una adolescente cansada de estar sola en el pueblo que se debate entre permanecer en el taller de su padre o independizarse para poder viajar fuera y entrar en contacto con más gente. O Robert, un leñador solitario incapaz de superar la ruptura con su expareja que se mudó al pueblo para huir de viejos recuerdos. En mitad de la rutina, del repetitivo día a día, la realidad de los vaivenes de la vida reflejada a través de aquellos a quienes conocemos. Cambios, unos bruscos y otros imperceptibles hasta pasados largos años. Y como telón de fondo el lago. Siempre ahí, impasible, inmutable, como contraste al flujo de la vida humana, que a veces puede resultarnos repetitiva o estancada pero que a su lado evidencia su efimeridad y permanente estado de cambio. El regreso a Providence Oaks es a la vez un retorno al pasado y una constatación de que este ya no existe (y de que la vida no se para con nosotros). Porque el entorno, nuestro alrededor, es prácticamente el mismo, pareciera que todo sigue igual, pero es al mirar atrás cuando nos percatamos del tiempo transcurrido. Sí, el tiempo y vuela, se nos escapa sin que nos demos cuenta. El lago es el mismo ahora que cuando te emborrachaste de adolescente y vomitaste frente a él, quien no es la misma persona eres tú. Cierras los ojos, los abres y no ha cambiado nada. Salvo tú.
A pesar de estas palabras y de mi fuerte apego a la propuesta, no creo que Lake sea un videojuego particularmente conseguido. El planteamiento se antoja redondo, pero ejecuta mediante situaciones y diálogos superficiales. Esperé y esperé a que el juego fuese más allá del chit-chat y el small talk, imploré por intimidad y conexión, pero nada apareció. Todo estaba ahí: las personas, sus intereses y pasados, las desgracias y esperanzas. Y, sin embargo, nada eclosiona, nada resuena. Nuestras interacciones con los demás se quedan en intercambios coloquiales, lo que tal vez sume en realismo pero definitivamente resta en interés, y las pocas veces que se dan conversaciones personales se pasa por encima de los acontecimientos. Si no se ahonda, si la vulnerabilidad brilla por su ausencia, ¿cómo voy a involucrarme emocionalmente?
Durante la noche del último día de vacaciones, nuestra mejor amiga interpreta una canción en directo, un tema compuesto por ella misma tras su reciente decisión de retomar la música, su aparcada gran pasión. Es el clímax del relato, potenciado por el más emotivo de todas las artes. Pero el pretendido éxtasis emocional no provoca nada, y ahí es cuando uno se percata ya del todo, sin medias tintas, de lo que ha echado en falta durante las pasadas horas. No es que Lake haga algo mal, sino que, sencillamente, no llega a. El título fracasa a la hora de involucrarnos emocionalmente con el pueblo, con su gente, lo que hace que la decisión final hacia la que nos conduce el juego no tenga apenas calado. Desde un punto de vista argumental, una elección vital; para el jugador (mi caso, al menos), una decisión como otra cualquiera. Como resultado, termino apreciando Lake por lo que intenta pero no tanto disfrutándolo por lo que finalmente es.
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Se nos ha planteado un mundo de libertad y oportunidades, hemos crecido en un entorno donde ya desde niños fantaseábamos con qué queríamos ser de mayores. Mientras tanto, por la tele, veíamos sueños cumplidos e historias de éxito. Y ya de adultos, claro, el castillo de naipes se vino abajo. Pertenecemos a las primeras generaciones de la desilusión, de crecer para que la realidad nos dé un tortazo y luego a ver cómo lo encajamos. De ahí todos estos títulos introspectivos de tiempos muertos y baches vitales. "Qué quiero hacer con mi vida", "qué futuro me espera", "cómo puedo ser feliz". Y, tal y como están las cosas, me parece a mí que seguirán apareciendo.
Lake da comienzo con el primer día de vacaciones de Meredith, desarrolladora de un software diseñado para ayudar a organizar tu vida, que decide volver a su pueblo natal 22 años después. Una vez allí, en sus botas, ocuparemos un empleo temporal como repartidores del servicio postal. El juego se desarrolla durante nuestras dos semanas de estancia, con las rutinas laborales pertinentes, y termina dándonos a elegir cómo continuar nuestra vida.
La cosa va así: día a día, entre entrega y entrega, vamos tomando contacto con la gente del lugar, viejos conocidos y caras nuevas por igual, y charlando con ellos se nos presentan oportunidades de acercamiento. Tal vez nos pidan un favor o nos inviten a alguna parte, y de nosotros dependerá (hablándoles con mayor o menor amabilidad, interesándonos o no por sus asuntos, aceptando o rechazando sus invitaciones y favores) el estrechar lazos y descubrir qué ha sido de sus vidas. Nuestra mejor amiga de la adolescencia, por ejemplo, rehizo su vida en el pueblo después de fracasar en sus estudios y tuvo que salir adelante tras el fallecimiento de un familiar trabajando en su establecimiento. También está Lori, una adolescente cansada de estar sola en el pueblo que se debate entre permanecer en el taller de su padre o independizarse para poder viajar fuera y entrar en contacto con más gente. O Robert, un leñador solitario incapaz de superar la ruptura con su expareja que se mudó al pueblo para huir de viejos recuerdos. En mitad de la rutina, del repetitivo día a día, la realidad de los vaivenes de la vida reflejada a través de aquellos a quienes conocemos. Cambios, unos bruscos y otros imperceptibles hasta pasados largos años. Y como telón de fondo el lago. Siempre ahí, impasible, inmutable, como contraste al flujo de la vida humana, que a veces puede resultarnos repetitiva o estancada pero que a su lado evidencia su efimeridad y permanente estado de cambio. El regreso a Providence Oaks es a la vez un retorno al pasado y una constatación de que este ya no existe (y de que la vida no se para con nosotros). Porque el entorno, nuestro alrededor, es prácticamente el mismo, pareciera que todo sigue igual, pero es al mirar atrás cuando nos percatamos del tiempo transcurrido. Sí, el tiempo y vuela, se nos escapa sin que nos demos cuenta. El lago es el mismo ahora que cuando te emborrachaste de adolescente y vomitaste frente a él, quien no es la misma persona eres tú. Cierras los ojos, los abres y no ha cambiado nada. Salvo tú.
A pesar de estas palabras y de mi fuerte apego a la propuesta, no creo que Lake sea un videojuego particularmente conseguido. El planteamiento se antoja redondo, pero ejecuta mediante situaciones y diálogos superficiales. Esperé y esperé a que el juego fuese más allá del chit-chat y el small talk, imploré por intimidad y conexión, pero nada apareció. Todo estaba ahí: las personas, sus intereses y pasados, las desgracias y esperanzas. Y, sin embargo, nada eclosiona, nada resuena. Nuestras interacciones con los demás se quedan en intercambios coloquiales, lo que tal vez sume en realismo pero definitivamente resta en interés, y las pocas veces que se dan conversaciones personales se pasa por encima de los acontecimientos. Si no se ahonda, si la vulnerabilidad brilla por su ausencia, ¿cómo voy a involucrarme emocionalmente?
Durante la noche del último día de vacaciones, nuestra mejor amiga interpreta una canción en directo, un tema compuesto por ella misma tras su reciente decisión de retomar la música, su aparcada gran pasión. Es el clímax del relato, potenciado por el más emotivo de todas las artes. Pero el pretendido éxtasis emocional no provoca nada, y ahí es cuando uno se percata ya del todo, sin medias tintas, de lo que ha echado en falta durante las pasadas horas. No es que Lake haga algo mal, sino que, sencillamente, no llega a. El título fracasa a la hora de involucrarnos emocionalmente con el pueblo, con su gente, lo que hace que la decisión final hacia la que nos conduce el juego no tenga apenas calado. Desde un punto de vista argumental, una elección vital; para el jugador (mi caso, al menos), una decisión como otra cualquiera. Como resultado, termino apreciando Lake por lo que intenta pero no tanto disfrutándolo por lo que finalmente es.
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Se nos ha planteado un mundo de libertad y oportunidades, hemos crecido en un entorno donde ya desde niños fantaseábamos con qué queríamos ser de mayores. Mientras tanto, por la tele, veíamos sueños cumplidos e historias de éxito. Y ya de adultos, claro, el castillo de naipes se vino abajo. Pertenecemos a las primeras generaciones de la desilusión, de crecer para que la realidad nos dé un tortazo y luego a ver cómo lo encajamos. De ahí todos estos títulos introspectivos de tiempos muertos y baches vitales. "Qué quiero hacer con mi vida", "qué futuro me espera", "cómo puedo ser feliz". Y, tal y como están las cosas, me parece a mí que seguirán apareciendo.
A Hallmark movie in a video game.
Lake has a warm and cozy opening and first hour or two. A simple premise but enough to lure you in until you get grabbed by the charm of the town and the characters. A couple things kept me from coming back, primarily the controls and the performance. But Lakes story grows soporific and the gameplay unsurprisingly repetitive.
Lake is an incredibly quaint game with a wonderful premise and a narrative that has plenty to experience during the two weeks you take up the position as mail carrier in Providence Oaks.
The premise itself is great: being a mailwoman in a small Oregon town opens itself up to a lot opportunity to dig into the setting and the people around you. Its funny because, despite the small town location, there's plenty to do given all of the mail stops you do on a daily basis and all of the people you meet. You learn about residents of your old hometown, both new and old, and slowly become reacquainted to a simple, easy life. Meeting various characters, learning about plights of the town, and spending time with people, going about small storylines that intertwine with various characters and different things to do is a lot of fun, and I was really looking forward to seeing what each day would bring.
I'm personally a sucker for slice of life type stories, and Lake really hits it well, with an overarching plotline of figuring out what you want to do by the time the two weeks are up all while you're growing accustomed to Providence Oaks yet again. I love how simple it is. You're not doing anything big, you're just sending packages and mail to various houses in a small area, but that's what's so great about it. The basic gameplay loop of driving and delivering works very well with the interspersed conversations you have with various town residents and the diversions you get, either during the day or after work. It accomplishes this very well, but at the same time, Lake doesn't overstay its welcome at all.
It has a tight pace to it and is really just the perfect length, a game to finish in about one afternoon or evening. Coming back to town is what Meredith does in this game, and the game is excellent at helping place you in this situation and setting you on a relative path while also giving you some room to navigate through various dialogue choices.
The main reasons I ding this with the score are primarily due to technical issues: the radio not turning off (especially because of the limited songs), some rough pop in and textures not loading, and characters sliding into place or blinking out during scenes, especially as the game progressed. That, and, at least with the ending I went for, I wish it could've been choosing the (spoiler) person (spoiler) I wanted to be with and which decision I wanted to make. I understand, of course, that it wouldn't necessarily work in most ways depending on the situation, though.
Overall, a very nice little game, and would definitely recommend if you're looking for something heartfelt and easy to go through.
The premise itself is great: being a mailwoman in a small Oregon town opens itself up to a lot opportunity to dig into the setting and the people around you. Its funny because, despite the small town location, there's plenty to do given all of the mail stops you do on a daily basis and all of the people you meet. You learn about residents of your old hometown, both new and old, and slowly become reacquainted to a simple, easy life. Meeting various characters, learning about plights of the town, and spending time with people, going about small storylines that intertwine with various characters and different things to do is a lot of fun, and I was really looking forward to seeing what each day would bring.
I'm personally a sucker for slice of life type stories, and Lake really hits it well, with an overarching plotline of figuring out what you want to do by the time the two weeks are up all while you're growing accustomed to Providence Oaks yet again. I love how simple it is. You're not doing anything big, you're just sending packages and mail to various houses in a small area, but that's what's so great about it. The basic gameplay loop of driving and delivering works very well with the interspersed conversations you have with various town residents and the diversions you get, either during the day or after work. It accomplishes this very well, but at the same time, Lake doesn't overstay its welcome at all.
It has a tight pace to it and is really just the perfect length, a game to finish in about one afternoon or evening. Coming back to town is what Meredith does in this game, and the game is excellent at helping place you in this situation and setting you on a relative path while also giving you some room to navigate through various dialogue choices.
The main reasons I ding this with the score are primarily due to technical issues: the radio not turning off (especially because of the limited songs), some rough pop in and textures not loading, and characters sliding into place or blinking out during scenes, especially as the game progressed. That, and, at least with the ending I went for, I wish it could've been choosing the (spoiler) person (spoiler) I wanted to be with and which decision I wanted to make. I understand, of course, that it wouldn't necessarily work in most ways depending on the situation, though.
Overall, a very nice little game, and would definitely recommend if you're looking for something heartfelt and easy to go through.
this would've been a 5 if it didn't have so many bugs, it's quiet and relaxing it's the perfect length where it doesn't get annoying to do the same repetitive days over and over, the scenery is cute, and it lets you be a little fruity but god... the bugs, the audio overlaps, cutting conversations in half, the radio won't turn off sometimes, and on one of the last days i was randomly transported to the other half of the map, without the van, which would have meant walking back to the town at a stupid slow speed... if i hadn't know that drowning yourself tps you back inside the van... the little cutscenes are pretty awkward because the pjs don't move, have this weird dead fish eyes and have random cuts, so it looks a bit like they started making them and stopped in the middle of it, 0 polishing on them.
but overall, it's playable, it's kinda short and does the trick if the premise catches your eye.
but overall, it's playable, it's kinda short and does the trick if the premise catches your eye.
The game is alright, it's one of the most relaxing games I've ever played, Its length is just perfect, not too long to be repetitive, but enough to get invested into it. It's just... I feel like the endings feel rushed compared to the game, maybe it's just me but I get the feeling that I can't get what I actually want to do, but it is nevertheless pretty good and I got the person I wanted to be with me.
The other problem this game has are the bugs. Cars stopping randomly, people disappearing, some cutscenes not having lypsinc, whenever you exit from a cutscene it freezes for a second, and so on. This doesn't stop you from enjoying the game but it takes away from your immersion and overall drags this game from being as great as it could be.
Pretty nice, it just has flaws.
The other problem this game has are the bugs. Cars stopping randomly, people disappearing, some cutscenes not having lypsinc, whenever you exit from a cutscene it freezes for a second, and so on. This doesn't stop you from enjoying the game but it takes away from your immersion and overall drags this game from being as great as it could be.
Pretty nice, it just has flaws.
Lake to taki biedny DONTNOD. Na początku bardzo mi się podobało, włącznie z rozwożeniem listów i paczek. Gra jest paradoksalnie (bo jest krótka) za długa i jeżdżenie pocztową furgonetką od połowy gry zaczęło mnie nużyć. Brakuje rockstarowego sznytu – kierunkowskazów w samochodzie, deszczu, który rzeczywiście moczy pojazdy i ubrania. Bohaterka nie stawia flagi w typowych amerykańskich skrzynkach pocztowych po włożeniu do nich listów. Jak dostarcza się paczkę do domu, w którym nie ma fabularnego NPC (czyli 95% dostaw), to nigdy nikogo nie ma w domu i po prostu paczkę zostawia się na werandzie. Takie małe szczegóły, gdyby były zaimplementowanie, sprawiłyby, że te nudne czynności chciałoby mi się powtarzać przez całą grę, a nie tylko pół gry – jak w Death Stranding.
Na gruncie przygodówkowym (postaci, dialogi, osobiste refleksje i dramaty) jest ok, ale ostatecznie wszystko rozchodzi się po kościach. Mnie nie wzruszyło, nie ucieszyło, nie wywołało emocji.
Zaczynajac grę miałem prawie ochotę jej wystawić maksymalną notę, a skończyło się na określeniu „niezła”.
Na gruncie przygodówkowym (postaci, dialogi, osobiste refleksje i dramaty) jest ok, ale ostatecznie wszystko rozchodzi się po kościach. Mnie nie wzruszyło, nie ucieszyło, nie wywołało emocji.
Zaczynajac grę miałem prawie ochotę jej wystawić maksymalną notę, a skończyło się na określeniu „niezła”.
Slight and buggy, but Meredith is a good character, and this thing is COZY. Maybe a little too rigid to be an all-timer in the cozy department, but I got to have the exact ending I wanted, so thumbs up from me.
I’ve never once been able to figure out where I want to be in five years. I’ve never made a decision about my own future with a long-term goal in mind. I’ve never decided upon a “career trajectory.” While taking photography classes and making vlogs in high school I decided to become a cinematographer in the exact moment a student councilor asked me if I knew where I wanted to go to college. After six months in film school I dropped out to move in with and join a band. After that came the last Blockbuster in New Jersey. Then a movie theater. A cafe. An office phone refurbishment company and then a circuit breaker refurbishment company down the street from the office phone refurbishment company. A tech start up. Comic book company. Ten years have passed since I entered the work force and even now I’m not sure I have a concrete idea of who I am in the context of who I want to become. After dropping out, the immediate need to pay off my student loans meant I’ve always said “yes” to circumstances and opportunities as they arose. Anything to dig myself out of the debt, out from the shame I hadn’t yet realized was coming from unfounded anxieties. I just wanted to prove I was more than a “college dropout” by working my way towards more and more impressive sounding jobs, as if that single choice defined me. That journey, that rejection of a mindless climb towards a perceived societal vision of “success” that’s grossly misaligned from actual human need is at the heart of Lake.
For two weeks in 1986 protagonist Meredith Weiss is tasked with delivering mail to the residents of Providence Oaks, the small and beautiful town in which she grew up. Having moved to “the big city” to pursue a career in the fast-paced world of software programming, she hasn’t returned home for an extended period in over a decade. Gameplay involves driving a United States Postal Service truck around the titular lake, slipping envelopes into mailboxes and occasionally hand-delivering packages when the need arises. As with any job that involves human contact, Meredith frequently gets into stop-and-chat conversations with the residents of Providence Oaks: An old friend from high school left behind, an acquaintance of her father’s with a shaky past, the owner of a local diner who still remembers Meredith’s “usual” — one slice of blueberry pie. These seemingly innocuous discussions pave the way for Meredith to reflect on her time spent away and consider the differences between the life she has and the life she’s slowly starting to realize she wants.
There’s an audacity to Lake in its command of subtlety: You’ll always be driving the speed limit around town, and there’s no run button to be found when you’re not sitting behind the wheel. Meredith’s daily route is slow and purposeful; her leisurely jaunt through Providence Oaks forces the player to sit with the weight of these decisions — it’s impossible to not ask yourself the same questions when given so much time. Most of my experience in-game was spent just as it was in high school: Disposable camera in-hand, driving around Meredith’s hometown looking for beautiful photographs while wondering about my future. At any point in life “who am I now” is as difficult a question to consider as “who do I want to be,” but given two weeks in a sleepy town with a few low-stakes tasks and the comfort of conversation with others, Lake helped me get slightly closer to finding answers than before.
For two weeks in 1986 protagonist Meredith Weiss is tasked with delivering mail to the residents of Providence Oaks, the small and beautiful town in which she grew up. Having moved to “the big city” to pursue a career in the fast-paced world of software programming, she hasn’t returned home for an extended period in over a decade. Gameplay involves driving a United States Postal Service truck around the titular lake, slipping envelopes into mailboxes and occasionally hand-delivering packages when the need arises. As with any job that involves human contact, Meredith frequently gets into stop-and-chat conversations with the residents of Providence Oaks: An old friend from high school left behind, an acquaintance of her father’s with a shaky past, the owner of a local diner who still remembers Meredith’s “usual” — one slice of blueberry pie. These seemingly innocuous discussions pave the way for Meredith to reflect on her time spent away and consider the differences between the life she has and the life she’s slowly starting to realize she wants.
There’s an audacity to Lake in its command of subtlety: You’ll always be driving the speed limit around town, and there’s no run button to be found when you’re not sitting behind the wheel. Meredith’s daily route is slow and purposeful; her leisurely jaunt through Providence Oaks forces the player to sit with the weight of these decisions — it’s impossible to not ask yourself the same questions when given so much time. Most of my experience in-game was spent just as it was in high school: Disposable camera in-hand, driving around Meredith’s hometown looking for beautiful photographs while wondering about my future. At any point in life “who am I now” is as difficult a question to consider as “who do I want to be,” but given two weeks in a sleepy town with a few low-stakes tasks and the comfort of conversation with others, Lake helped me get slightly closer to finding answers than before.
I guess I appreciate broadly what this is trying to do. Turning the language of a GTA into a little portrait of community. But without real friction or edge it just means nothing. Boring.
It was promising but after a while it gets very boring
me se toda la playlist de la radio
Glorgu, who's only ever watched Shenmue, playing Lake for the first time: Getting a lot of Shenmue vibes from this.
Technically well made with decent visuals, strong voice acting and solid sound design.. but falls part in the gameplay which is very limited and very single-pace
start of the game was incredibly fun but it got boring really fast. cozy game, wish there was more to the story.
A bit like a film or a tv show, a good change of pace for video games, but to me it'll never have the depth of a good show.
this is the second strand type game
fine i guess
Gave me the blue screen of death two times, but also let me date the gay movie geek!
Angies ending was so rushed and we didnt have enough moments together :,(
A really relaxing game with a nice set of characters. It got repetitive at times, but the progression of the relationships felt very rewarding. Definitely a nice step back from the more stressful and demanding video games.
This review contains spoilers
Saw the trailer and thought: there's gotta be more to it than this - maybe a zombie invasion, a cool mechanic like Life is Strange or at least some awesome off-kilter conversation options - let's check it out.
The big twist is: there isn't.
I get how they wanted to make a game about taking time away from that awful big city life and how your hometown is actually quite nice after all but here's what I took away from the experience:
Delivering post is great when cos when you get injured /ill/retire after 30 years you can afford to fuck off to Florida and get wasted every night whilst your daughter does the work for you.
When your boss is calling you every day of your 'vacation' begging for you to accept a huge stake in the company and seven figure salary, you only get two options: take it or leave it.
No room for negotiating a slightly longer holiday or even a sabbatical, this is the 80s: you either suck the corporate cock or you become a hippy selling Betamaxes out of a stolen campervan with your mildly psychotic manic pixie girlfriend.
Or you settle for the equally introverted beefcake beardbear bastard, move back into your parents house and never look back/forward again.
I think the real issue with the choice at the end is that I can easily see a true middle way - move to the big city, continue to work at the job I excel at and use the mad 80's tech $$$ to fund my girlfriend's geeky videostore project - sounded ideal...
but no - you gotta choose between (actual ) "money" or a contrived idealistic concept like "freedom" or "hometown hunk" (?)
Honestly though, this game does feature some of the best campfire stoner jams I have every heard.
memories memorieeeees memoriiessss
That bit was worth all three of the stars on its own. priceless.
The big twist is: there isn't.
I get how they wanted to make a game about taking time away from that awful big city life and how your hometown is actually quite nice after all but here's what I took away from the experience:
Delivering post is great when cos when you get injured /ill/retire after 30 years you can afford to fuck off to Florida and get wasted every night whilst your daughter does the work for you.
When your boss is calling you every day of your 'vacation' begging for you to accept a huge stake in the company and seven figure salary, you only get two options: take it or leave it.
No room for negotiating a slightly longer holiday or even a sabbatical, this is the 80s: you either suck the corporate cock or you become a hippy selling Betamaxes out of a stolen campervan with your mildly psychotic manic pixie girlfriend.
Or you settle for the equally introverted beefcake beardbear bastard, move back into your parents house and never look back/forward again.
I think the real issue with the choice at the end is that I can easily see a true middle way - move to the big city, continue to work at the job I excel at and use the mad 80's tech $$$ to fund my girlfriend's geeky videostore project - sounded ideal...
but no - you gotta choose between (actual ) "money" or a contrived idealistic concept like "freedom" or "hometown hunk" (?)
Honestly though, this game does feature some of the best campfire stoner jams I have every heard.
memories memorieeeees memoriiessss
That bit was worth all three of the stars on its own. priceless.
This game will mean a lot to you if you live like me in a big city and hate your job. The little break in doing a relaxing job in a sleepy town means a lot to me and to the main protagonist. The game is kinda bugy and unpolished, but nothing that will break it. If you have the Game Pass at least try it!
CUTE that is all
a fine story ruined by awful mechanics and a general lack of polish.
A nicely relaxing experience, Lake won't be for everyone but certainly has its charms. The game follows lead character Meredith, taking a break from a big city career to spend two weeks as a mail delivery worker in her childhood village. There's a certain satisfaction from driving around checking off locations from a delivery list each day, and perhaps the highlight comes from parcel deliveries each day. These offer the opportunity for dialogue with each recipient, building or rekindling relationships from many years ago. There are some interesting stories that play out through these interactions, several of which develop further through further meetings arranged between each day, finishing up with a party of sorts that draws things to a satisfying conclusion. If you're looking for excitement, you'll find little of that here, but Lake is a decent way to wind down between more action-packed experiences.
I think this is a game that grows on you. It's best keeping it slow. It's buggy, sure, but it's a low-budget game, what do you expect? I think it manages to shine through that. I found some of the characters annoying (especially the cat lady), but some of the other ones are somewhat charming, and I really like the development of things. It can get really monotonous, but I really liked the ending and how it recognizes the experience as a going away to another place to get perspective and deciding what to return to (or if you want to stay there). I would recommend it.