Tremendous in its concept, execution and atmosphere. A puzzle game that combines open world-ish puzzle solving with the "open up paths" gameplay of something like Resident Evil 2 Remake leading to an absolute masterpiece.

Lorelei's genius comes from its structure: the Hotel & its surroundings are your play area for the entire game and are all interconnected. One of the first puzzles I encountered while playing the game was solved 12 hours deep as part of the ending sequence.

You'd think that this vast availability of options would lead to confusion as to which path can actually be taken, which solutions are possible based on current information, but it really doesn't because the game operates on the following principle: if you're looking at a puzzle and are confused about how it works, then you probably don't have the resources to solve it. Luckily, the game has so many avenues open that you can always jump to another question you have, slowly ticking off puzzles, opening doors and going further and further.

A real life notebook is required for this game. It took me 13 pages of notes to finish the game and that's with very conservative use of space. The in-game information menu is fantastic in its own right but cannot be accessed during puzzles and therefore only convenient for fixing your irl notes for the most part.

Aesthetically, the game rocks. Its art direction is gorgeous and so peculiar that it makes its most interesting pieces of imagery really pop. The music is fantastic as well.

Lorelei is definitely 2024's "off-radar" standout so far and continues a very, very strong indie release year along with Balatro, Pacific Drive and Animal Well.

8.7/10

Tremendous in its concept, execution and atmosphere. A puzzle game that combines open world-ish puzzle solving with the "open up paths" gameplay of something like Resident Evil 2 Remake leading to an absolute masterpiece.

Lorelei's genius comes from its structure: the Hotel & its surroundings are your play area for the entire game and are all interconnected. One of the first puzzles I encountered while playing the game was solved 12 hours deep as part of the ending sequence.

You'd think that this vast availability of options would lead to confusion as to which path can actually be taken, which solutions are possible based on current information, but it really doesn't because the game operates on the following principle: if you're looking at a puzzle and are confused about how it works, then you probably don't have the resources to solve it. Luckily, the game has so many avenues open that you can always jump to another question you have, slowly ticking off puzzles, opening doors and going further and further.

A real life notebook is required for this game. It took me 13 pages of notes to finish the game and that's with very conservative use of space. The in-game information menu is fantastic in its own right but cannot be accessed during puzzles and therefore only convenient for fixing your irl notes for the most part.

Aesthetically, the game rocks. Its art direction is gorgeous and so peculiar that it makes its most interesting pieces of imagery really pop. The music is fantastic as well.

Lorelei is definitely 2024's "off-radar" standout so far and continues a very, very strong indie release year along with Balatro, Pacific Drive and Animal Well.

8.7/10

[ Review in progress - have played around 20 hours and gotten through a lot of the available content ]

As a huge fan of Hades 1 (150hrs + 100% achievements), I'm somewhat disappointed. I know boon balance changes haven't been made yet but I have certain issues with some core aspects of this game that I don't think are getting changed at all.

First off, arguably the biggest change here compared to Hades 1 is the magick system. A whole separate array of change moves that use mana are available for each weapon, and there's a lot of boons and hammers that relate to them. Sadly, these (to me) don't feel good at all to use. The few magick builds I've managed to make work feel so unfun that I always pivot to basic attack/special combos like in Hades 1.

Therein lies the issue. There are now so many moves that finding Boons or Hammers that work with your specific build feel rare. Just today I had a run where I didn't get offered a single Basic Attack boon until Area 3. Other times you'll get offered neverending Magick Vials and barely any Centaur Hearts, on a build that might not even want Magick.

It's the Elden Ring issue: when you have so much possibility for buildcraft, "random reward" is more often than not absolutely useless.

There's of course more issues, the nocturnal arms aren't as fun, the aspects don't feel even half as different as those of Hades 1, the sprint is not as fun as a second dodge, there's a frankly undignified amount of grinding required to get anything done (better now with the tool update but still), the "Hexes" (Calls) are pretty much all trash, the 3rd underground area is needlessly annoying to navigate etc. etc.

I hope this becomes better but for now it's just alright. If it didn't have the innate charm of Supergiant's games (writing, art direction, character designs) it would be unremarkable.

( Plus I'm confused about the playtesting situation at Supergiant. Did this game pass no in-house playtesting at all? If it did how did an issue like the insane grinding pre-Patch 1 pass that? )