This review contains spoilers
Excellent aesthetic first of all. The game clearly takes a lot of inspiration from the low-poly, rusted-over look of Silent Hill 1, but I think the creature designs set it apart from that game.
The gameplay loop is pretty simple; you enter an area, read a couple of lore tidbits about the area's monster, and then solve puzzles that amount to "go to one of three rooms and get/activate whatever McGuffin will open the way forward" while being pursued by the area's monster. The areas are often very short, which keeps you from getting too comfortable. Or, at least, it SHOULD keep the player from being too comfortable, but unfortunately, there's a side effect to this pacing...
When I realized this was by the same guys who did Spooky's House of Jumpscares, I was immediately worried that this game would end up falling into the same loop of entering an area, running from a monster for a bit, and then solving a puzzle and going to the next area. I had hoped to be wrong, that this was going to turn out to be another fakeout, but it wasn't. The game sticks with its formula until its rather abrupt end, which is ironic for a game that made a point earlier to be so "subversive". The reality, though, is that the subversiveness of the game is shallow and becomes predictable; there's a fakeout that makes you go "haha they almost had me going there" and then you resume your normal gameplay loop. Nothing truly shakes up the game at all, it's just occasional asides to the core gameplay. The areas are all very similar in length and general structure, which means that the intended effect of keeping the player guessing doesn't actually do that at all, since you always know that you're going to be in a new area ten minutes from now, doing the same thing all over again. The Lost Tapes are a great break from this and are varied and weird enough that they felt like the highlight of the game for me.
There's also apparently a story, but just like with Spooky I didn't care enough to try to piece it together. The game's lightning-fast pacing in terms of introducing areas and enemies gives the game the feeling of a fever dream and reading about the boring SCP-inspired lore not only slows down the gameplay, but also removes a lot of the mystery of the game.
I harped on this game a lot, to the point that my score probably seems inaccurate to my feelings, but the reality is that I enjoyed Lost in Vivo a lot, but I wanted to like it even more. The subversive stuff, while shallow, was still entertaining and fun. The Lost Tapes are excellent mini horror experiences. The creature designs are great, and the aesthetic is ON POINT. It's worth playing for these aspects alone, but it feels like the developers were afraid to try anything too different from what they've already done. It creates an experience that, while creepy and entertaining, ultimately feels a bit too familiar.
The gameplay loop is pretty simple; you enter an area, read a couple of lore tidbits about the area's monster, and then solve puzzles that amount to "go to one of three rooms and get/activate whatever McGuffin will open the way forward" while being pursued by the area's monster. The areas are often very short, which keeps you from getting too comfortable. Or, at least, it SHOULD keep the player from being too comfortable, but unfortunately, there's a side effect to this pacing...
When I realized this was by the same guys who did Spooky's House of Jumpscares, I was immediately worried that this game would end up falling into the same loop of entering an area, running from a monster for a bit, and then solving a puzzle and going to the next area. I had hoped to be wrong, that this was going to turn out to be another fakeout, but it wasn't. The game sticks with its formula until its rather abrupt end, which is ironic for a game that made a point earlier to be so "subversive". The reality, though, is that the subversiveness of the game is shallow and becomes predictable; there's a fakeout that makes you go "haha they almost had me going there" and then you resume your normal gameplay loop. Nothing truly shakes up the game at all, it's just occasional asides to the core gameplay. The areas are all very similar in length and general structure, which means that the intended effect of keeping the player guessing doesn't actually do that at all, since you always know that you're going to be in a new area ten minutes from now, doing the same thing all over again. The Lost Tapes are a great break from this and are varied and weird enough that they felt like the highlight of the game for me.
There's also apparently a story, but just like with Spooky I didn't care enough to try to piece it together. The game's lightning-fast pacing in terms of introducing areas and enemies gives the game the feeling of a fever dream and reading about the boring SCP-inspired lore not only slows down the gameplay, but also removes a lot of the mystery of the game.
I harped on this game a lot, to the point that my score probably seems inaccurate to my feelings, but the reality is that I enjoyed Lost in Vivo a lot, but I wanted to like it even more. The subversive stuff, while shallow, was still entertaining and fun. The Lost Tapes are excellent mini horror experiences. The creature designs are great, and the aesthetic is ON POINT. It's worth playing for these aspects alone, but it feels like the developers were afraid to try anything too different from what they've already done. It creates an experience that, while creepy and entertaining, ultimately feels a bit too familiar.