The art style is truly captivating, taking inspiration from Tim Burton to give a dark feel that looks hand-crafted. This is countered by the narrator's comedic flourishes sprinkled across the story. I enjoyed the premise of the world, where everything is decided by "random" chance, even where people live. The action-based combat is fun, with fluid action that's broken up by throwing Dicey, your dice companion. In doing so, time is stopped and you select random cards from your deck to help you in battle. My only gripe is that while there is an in-game map, it doesn't tell you your exact location, just the general area you're in. I was truly lost in the world of Random, and I loved it.

This is a solid 3 star high budget indie game.
They could have easily shortened combats duration -_- each one takes 15 to 20 minutes to win, but exploring worlds never wore me down. Even though my nintendo switch was struggling, i loved how the writing of this game made every character's personality unique, especially the grotesque designs and clay sculpted environments. The developers did a good job infusing it with this gothic Tim Burton's visual vibes chef's kiss immaculate! Plucked straight out of a fairy tale.
The only poor aspect i found (very) annoying were the combat fights. They are in fact dynamic and keep you entertained most of the time, but with the repetitive enemies ugh... every encounter becomes highly exhausting when you clean up a room, only for more to spawn. So bless the elaborated storytelling because that was what saved the game for me, especially when you learn to love this macabre adventure about the bond between sisters.

I bought this game on a whim. It was on sale for $3, might as well, right? It looked kinda neat, and that’s a pretty good price.

So a few weeks later, I decided to finally jump into it. I had no idea I’d be playing one of my new favorite games ever made.

Lost in Random is a game about a pair of sisters in the charming, super creative world of Random. Even is trying to save her sister, who’s been kidnapped by the Queen of Random.

I’ll get the nitpicks out of the way first. It’s not a PERFECT game, there’s some small issues.

1. Missable achievements. As much as I adore this game, it’s pretty long and I didn’t necessarily want to go through it all AGAIN. So I was walking on eggshells for some parts of it.

2. LOTS of asset reuse. This is incredibly minor, but when you see the exact same character models pop up for multiple characters, you really start to notice.

3. This is more of what I wanted than what it is, but I REALLY wish there was a jump button. It feels like this world is just BEGGING to be platformed around, but it just ain’t that kind of game.

But that’s about it. For me, anyway. I think the combat system is a love it or hate it situation, it’s not for everybody. By the end of it, I ended up really enjoying it. It felt satisfying planning and putting together a card deck for specific situations, knowing where to use what.

But man, other than that? I just simply adore everything else. Just absolutely head over heels in love with this game, with this world and these characters. Even, Odd, Dicey, Mannie Dex, just everyone, I can’t sing its praises enough. I can’t think of many game worlds as fleshed out as this. I really want to sing this game’s praises, but don’t want to spoil any of it. I’d love more people to play this on their own, I’d feel awful about spoiling something for someone. I’ll just say my favorite town was Fourburg. Just the most fun to explore, liked it’s vibe.

I feel like saying anything else about it would be doing it a disservice. This game is incredibly special to me. I can’t speak for everyone else out there, but I know I’ll be getting myself Lost in Random again and again and again.

Random Rules!

This has to be a somewhat hidden gem from recent year. If you love Tim Burton's stop motion movies you're going to love this game's artstyle because they wear their influence out in the open. And there's so much to look and marvel at that sometimes it feels like the gameplay gets in the way.

The world building and character gallery is absolutely amazing and the amount of creativity poured into this game is wild. The only negative thing regarding this, is that the game is VERY monologue heavy, as in at lot of the side characters are fleshed out with a lot of back story and boy to they want you to hear ALL of it. Sadly sometimes less is more, because after the first few worlds it starts to get a bit exposition-y.

The balance between exploring and figthing is okay, but towards the end the battles tends to be a bit on the repetitive side, and even though the mix between action and deck builder is fun to begin with it lacks the necessary depth or "fun" factor to last through the whole game.

What I love about my adventures in virtual space is the variety. Thousands of game worlds still remain unconquered and attract me with their landscapes, forcing me to constantly move forward. Lost in Random was supposed to be an ordinary transitional world for me between two complex segments of the event, but instead I plunged headlong into a tragic and dark story about human feelings. What I saw shocked me, because I did not expect to see such a deep and elaborate story, wrapped in a bright wrapper. But first things first.

Well, my dear listener, here we are approaching the gates of the magical world called Uncertainty. These lush lands are inhabited by a wide variety of creatures, whose lives are inextricably linked with dice. At first, it seems as if these neon signs, loud voices of barkers and the roar of crowded cities create a feeling of an eternal holiday where everyone is having fun and having a good time, but in fact, amid the roar of firecrackers and the shine of sparklers, terrible tragedies unfold. This world is ruled by a cold and gloomy Queen, who determines the fate of people with a throw of the dice. Once upon a time, the gates of the united kingdoms were open to everyone, but now they are tightly locked. The worst thing the Queen did was with the Lords of the Dice, whom she mercilessly destroyed, because no one dares to control reality except her. In addition to wars, atrocities and horrific cynicism, the kingdoms were forced to pay the Queen a terrible tribute - to hand over children who turned 12. Upon reaching this age, they were obliged to roll the Queen's personal dice, which would determine their future fate. The lucky ones who got sixes went with the Queen to a magical city where all dreams come true, and the losers who got twos and ones were forced to eke out a miserable existence in poverty.

The heroine of this story is young Ewen, who goes on a great journey following her sister Odd, who was “lucky” to get a six, while celebrating her twelfth birthday. Ewen loved her quiet life with her parents and was not embarrassed by the fact that she was born into a family of scavengers. But the brave girl could not stand the fact that someone else dared to decide the fate of her family, even if it was the Queen herself. Enlisting the help of a magical dice, Ewen organizes his own crusade to the castle of the Tyrant Queen, confidently making his way through crowds of evil robots.

Lost in Random will invite the player to be transported to the magical world of Uncertainty to help the heroine named Even achieve her goals. The gameplay is divided into two parts - exploration and battles. In the first case, we will interact with characters, solve puzzles and complete side quests, and the second part will become our integral companion throughout the game. The battles in Lost in Random are a card roguelike with a deckbuilder in special arenas, where we will clear waves of opponents, create our own decks and collect new cards around the world. During the battle, Ewen must shoot blue crystals with a slingshot, which will charge our deck, giving us random cards. During the roll of the dice, time will stop, and we will be able to think about which combination of the cards presented we will be able to implement. Each card costs a certain number of action points and it is the roll of the dice that will determine our further capabilities. There is quite an impressive number of cards for creating a deck in the game, and here everyone can find their favorite combination. Some will play through poison and statuses, some will use numerous bombs and minions to help, and some will focus on magical weapons and power-ups. Despite the fact that the combat in Lost in Random is monotonous and devoid of action, the battle process itself looks spectacular and interesting.

The visuals and musical accompaniment in Lost in Random are pleasing to the eye and refer back to the times where Tim Burton created and created worlds. I don't think he had a hand in creating the world of Uncertainty, but what I am sure of is that the developers were inspired by his work. Many people mistake Lost in Random for just another children's game with naive characters and a friendly environment, and I sincerely regret that they did not allow the game to show itself from all sides.

Lost in Random is a difficult and serious story about growing up, losses and overcoming one's own capabilities. The game is replete with psychologisms, which are reflected in the characters and the heroine of the story. The developers were able to perfectly convey the serious message of the story through the eyes of a child who does not understand why the world is so cruel and adults turn out to be selfish. Helping various creatures, Even learns to survive in the complex world of Uncertainty, without losing the firmness of his convictions and life principles. I was surprised that the authors were able to build a coherent and interesting story in the toy world and, at the same time, not lose the degree of intensity of what was happening to the fullest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IthmlLBYyuk

There is pretty much nothing wrong with this game, it gets exactly what it wants accomplished in the timeframe given and doesn't overstay its welcome. Play as much as you'd like and explore as much as you'd like, it's all up to you. And there is a lot to do in this game that can be as short or as long as you'd want it to be! I myself spent a good chunk of time fishing before I finally bothered finishing my climbing and flying. It's a good time, and I'd have no reservations recommending this to anyone looking for a wholesome yet adventurous experience.

a short review

masterful use of spare time by flying over a deserted island in fucking nowhere

a short hike is a game that i played a lot of time ago and forgot to review because im dumb as shit but i just wanted to play it again for how cozy comfy and short it is and here i am

being one of those games in the vein of TOEM i was absolutely dumbfounded at how relaxing this game is (take notes unpacking or whatever that shit was called) just going around this lonely little piece of land getting to know its inhabitants and all their quirks and traits while the gentle summer breeze passes by and the sun shines bright in the sky just losing yourself into this small but incredibly alive world to such an extent that after a couple playthrough you can just speedrun through the game for how restrained the whole experience is

youre a furry bird on a vacation with her furry bird aunt just camping in this beautiful place and youre left with no other choice then exploring the surrounding since the cellphone got zero internet and in the meanwhile you will find so many different people who will give you some side quests here and there and with only the main objective or reaching the peak of the mountain but you can actually take your time and enjoy the view and just walking around the place to see what the others are up to and what the scenery is like

the art style of this game is incredibly tight its definitely on the cartoony side and the whole game is done in a pixelated fashion (you can actually turn that shit off but i liked the mid pixel setting to be the most interesting for me) and the town and characters have these super saturated models that just scream summertime on the shore and thats such a fucking vibe

ideally the gameplay should be devoid of any kind of depth but exploring is the main focus of the game just chilling out in this small diorama of an island like its a snowglobe and just interacting with people finding treasures here and there and slowly ascending to the mountain

to do that as the protagonist is a bird youre gonna use your wings to fly around but thats not enough you will be required to find golden feathers around for some double jumps and climbing power (a la breath of the wild) either by exploring or doing side quests here and there and you can take your time with it and youre not obliged to take them all nor the game exploits you in doing so you get as many as you want and try to climb the mountain on your own see what awaits you there and conquer the summit

the finale made me also think about TOEM as in youre just you yourself and a natural phenomenon that looks insanely chaotic and calm at the same time like the final hours in outer wilds or majoras mask and then you realise that the entire thing was worth it even for the journey alone of idling under the sun and breathing the environment in and youre left with an emotional convo that really is the cherry on top of the entire experience sure its a bit wild that you can get 5G on top of a mountain but who am i to judge

a short hike comes and goes too fast for my own good i wouldve loved to have a longer and more expansive idea but maybe that wouldve ruined the entire premise of the game so im left with a warm and pleasant experience to revisit from time to time

everyone should play this game it just has some of the most peaceful and joyful atmosphere ive ever seen in any game maybe even more than kirby as a whole somehow this is something special that i will absolutely replay again some time in the future and i advice anyone whos interested in a super short experience that will stuck with you to play this one and if you do check it out what i can say is see you at the top