You play as Meredith Weiss, a forty-year-old computer programmer who is finally taking a well deserved two week vacation. But it’s not all fun and games, as Meredith volunteered to take over her father’s mail route while her parents are off enjoying their own vacation. It’s weird being back in her childhood town, getting reacquainted with old friends and neighbors, plus meeting some new faces.
Providence Oaks is an idealistic little town set on a lake in Oregon, which makes it ripe picking for evil corporations looking to make a quick buck. Not on our watch!
It’s also set in 1986, because why not?!
Visuals
Providence Oaks is a gorgeous open world set around a lake. You’ve got the main town, some businesses off the highway, forests, farms, even a pier. I just loved watching the scenery roll by as Meredith delivered the mail. The graphics for the environment are fantastic. I did have one instance of pop in, but for the rest of my time everything was fully rendered and loaded.
The character models reminded me a bit of The Sims 4, but a bit more…bumpy? They don’t look bad, but they don’t have the same wow-factor as the surroundings. While the characters’ mouths do move when speaking, the rest of their face is oddly blank. Thankfully, the voice acting makes up for the lack of facial emotion.
The town is also quite bustling with NPCs walking around. You can see people entering and leaving their homes, eating at the diner, and just taking a stroll. You can’t interact with them though, only the characters that are part of the story. It does make this world feel more full and lively though. I even saw a fox run across the road once!
Sound Effects + Music
Lake is 100% voice acted, and it’s very good. Like I already mentioned, the characters’ faces are blank, but their voices are very emotive. Everyone was distinct and I never skipped dialogue despite reading it much faster than it was said. I especially loved the book narrator when you have Meredith stay home and read. It was too fun!
The radio plays a pretty large role in the game, but after the first couple of hours I turned it off. It’s the same handful of songs over and over and over again, which is a shame for a game that spends so much time in the car! You also hear the exact same songs in businesses. I did have some trouble with the radio toggle though. Sometimes it wouldn’t respond with my controller and I’d have to use the keyboard, but sometimes it was fine.
I much more enjoyed the regular background music that plays when you’re driving around, along with the ambient noises. It was so much more relaxing than the sad country music.
Gameplay + Controls
Lake is a mix of visual novel and mail carrier sim. It’s kind of random, but it totally works. The bulk of the gameplay is driving around in the mail truck delivering mail and packages. Each morning you’ll have a list of addresses and off you go. It’s pretty free in terms of the order you deliver and how long you take. There are no time limits. Just cruise around at your own pace and take in the sights. Or speed around and just get the mail delivered.
You’ll also encounter plenty of cutscenes with the locals and get to make some choices which directly effect the story. You can offer help (or not), start up a romance (or not), do some work for your programming job (or not), and so on. It does seem like some events are mandatory to keep the story going, but most of the choices are up to you.
Controls are pretty straight forward. Meredith can simply walk or walk slightly faster and interact with mailboxes, people, and some objects. Of course, you’ll also have to drive the truck which is pretty easy and surprisingly relaxing. There are a few options if you get sick of driving. If you still want to sit back and enjoy the scenery or the radio, you can use Auto-Pilot for some locations. Or, if you just want to instantly get to a landmark, you can use Fast Travel.
The game is broken up by day. Each morning you have your mail delivery. Then Meredith will normally have a call from her parents or boss back home. Sometimes she’ll meet up with a local or invite someone over. Other nights, she’s alone and you can choose if she works, watches TV, or reads. Sundays are her day off, but the game does generate events to fill the day. You can see what’s coming up by opening up Meredith’s planner. Very nifty.
I did run into some glitches during my play through and a few things that might be glitches or maybe not. Such as Meredith being able to step onto some curbs but not others, getting stuck on someone’s lawn until I maneuvered her back up to a point where she could step back onto the sidewalk. I had a car pileup when one got stuck and every other car just stopped behind it.
September 10th in particular was a glitchy day for some reason with me having to enter and exit buildings in order to deliver the boxes or to even end the work day. Or not being able to start the work day because it already said “Return to Post Office” like it was the end of the day (restarting the game fixed it). Nothing game breaking, but still annoying.
Replayability
I can easily see myself replaying Lake. It’s just so comforting for some reason. And there are a lot of choices that can be done differently to get different outcomes with three different endings. I pursued a romance this time, but maybe next time I won’t? Or I’ll choose the other love interest. Maybe I’ll turn down every social invite to see what happens? What if I don’t want to help save the town or do extra work? To smoke a joint or not? All things worth exploring.
Overall
Lake is a fun and relaxing game that feels cozy and nostalgic. It really surprised me. I admit that it sounded super cheesy, and I only intended on giving it a quick peek. Next thing I know, I’m sucked into Meredith’s story and looking forward to driving a mail truck around a lake. Whoda thunk?
Providence Oaks is an idealistic little town set on a lake in Oregon, which makes it ripe picking for evil corporations looking to make a quick buck. Not on our watch!
It’s also set in 1986, because why not?!
Visuals
Providence Oaks is a gorgeous open world set around a lake. You’ve got the main town, some businesses off the highway, forests, farms, even a pier. I just loved watching the scenery roll by as Meredith delivered the mail. The graphics for the environment are fantastic. I did have one instance of pop in, but for the rest of my time everything was fully rendered and loaded.
The character models reminded me a bit of The Sims 4, but a bit more…bumpy? They don’t look bad, but they don’t have the same wow-factor as the surroundings. While the characters’ mouths do move when speaking, the rest of their face is oddly blank. Thankfully, the voice acting makes up for the lack of facial emotion.
The town is also quite bustling with NPCs walking around. You can see people entering and leaving their homes, eating at the diner, and just taking a stroll. You can’t interact with them though, only the characters that are part of the story. It does make this world feel more full and lively though. I even saw a fox run across the road once!
Sound Effects + Music
Lake is 100% voice acted, and it’s very good. Like I already mentioned, the characters’ faces are blank, but their voices are very emotive. Everyone was distinct and I never skipped dialogue despite reading it much faster than it was said. I especially loved the book narrator when you have Meredith stay home and read. It was too fun!
The radio plays a pretty large role in the game, but after the first couple of hours I turned it off. It’s the same handful of songs over and over and over again, which is a shame for a game that spends so much time in the car! You also hear the exact same songs in businesses. I did have some trouble with the radio toggle though. Sometimes it wouldn’t respond with my controller and I’d have to use the keyboard, but sometimes it was fine.
I much more enjoyed the regular background music that plays when you’re driving around, along with the ambient noises. It was so much more relaxing than the sad country music.
Gameplay + Controls
Lake is a mix of visual novel and mail carrier sim. It’s kind of random, but it totally works. The bulk of the gameplay is driving around in the mail truck delivering mail and packages. Each morning you’ll have a list of addresses and off you go. It’s pretty free in terms of the order you deliver and how long you take. There are no time limits. Just cruise around at your own pace and take in the sights. Or speed around and just get the mail delivered.
You’ll also encounter plenty of cutscenes with the locals and get to make some choices which directly effect the story. You can offer help (or not), start up a romance (or not), do some work for your programming job (or not), and so on. It does seem like some events are mandatory to keep the story going, but most of the choices are up to you.
Controls are pretty straight forward. Meredith can simply walk or walk slightly faster and interact with mailboxes, people, and some objects. Of course, you’ll also have to drive the truck which is pretty easy and surprisingly relaxing. There are a few options if you get sick of driving. If you still want to sit back and enjoy the scenery or the radio, you can use Auto-Pilot for some locations. Or, if you just want to instantly get to a landmark, you can use Fast Travel.
The game is broken up by day. Each morning you have your mail delivery. Then Meredith will normally have a call from her parents or boss back home. Sometimes she’ll meet up with a local or invite someone over. Other nights, she’s alone and you can choose if she works, watches TV, or reads. Sundays are her day off, but the game does generate events to fill the day. You can see what’s coming up by opening up Meredith’s planner. Very nifty.
I did run into some glitches during my play through and a few things that might be glitches or maybe not. Such as Meredith being able to step onto some curbs but not others, getting stuck on someone’s lawn until I maneuvered her back up to a point where she could step back onto the sidewalk. I had a car pileup when one got stuck and every other car just stopped behind it.
September 10th in particular was a glitchy day for some reason with me having to enter and exit buildings in order to deliver the boxes or to even end the work day. Or not being able to start the work day because it already said “Return to Post Office” like it was the end of the day (restarting the game fixed it). Nothing game breaking, but still annoying.
Replayability
I can easily see myself replaying Lake. It’s just so comforting for some reason. And there are a lot of choices that can be done differently to get different outcomes with three different endings. I pursued a romance this time, but maybe next time I won’t? Or I’ll choose the other love interest. Maybe I’ll turn down every social invite to see what happens? What if I don’t want to help save the town or do extra work? To smoke a joint or not? All things worth exploring.
Overall
Lake is a fun and relaxing game that feels cozy and nostalgic. It really surprised me. I admit that it sounded super cheesy, and I only intended on giving it a quick peek. Next thing I know, I’m sucked into Meredith’s story and looking forward to driving a mail truck around a lake. Whoda thunk?