The idea of “gaming regrets” is nothing new, though discussion about them usually takes on a more somber tone. A quick Google search will yield hundreds of articles, forum posts, and Reddit threads from players of all ages, reflecting on how they wish they hadn’t sunk so much time into one game or beating themselves up for neglecting other aspects of their lives. I can’t say that my gaming regrets reach the same levels of melancholy since mine tend to focus on games I wish I had played sooner. With that in mind, I have a couple to share. First off, I feel like a bit of an idiot for letting developer Simogo fall off my radar after being introduced to them during the heyday of premium iPhone games. The second, I feel like a complete moron for sleeping on their latest title, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes.
In what is becoming an all too familiar situation for me, I would love nothing more than to end this review here by slapping a score on it and telling you to go check it out for yourself, but I’ll attempt to shed some light on why Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is, arguably, one of the best puzzle games ever made. But first, let’s speed run through the things I can’t expound on.
The game begins without much of an introduction, as you take control of a svelte and sophisticated woman who doesn’t look all that different from Holly Golightly. Our Hepburn-esque signorina finds herself outside the towering Hotel Letztes Jahr without much hint as to what you’re doing here in the first place. The game’s manual, which takes the form of a self-referential, fourth-wall-breaking in-game item, explains that you’re here to “find the truth.”
This sets the tone for the entire game, deliberately steeped in surrealism and mystery. It doesn’t take too long for our protagonist to come across a letter explaining that you’ve been invited to the hotel by one Renzo Nero, an eccentric filmmaker and artist who is looking to collaborate with you on a project. I won’t go into further detail, not only because it would spoil the narrative but rather because it wouldn’t make much sense even if I tried.
Unlike its genre contemporaries, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes manages to pull off a rather incredible feat — it perfectly merges its puzzles and core mechanics with the narrative and story it’s aiming to tell. Rather than the always-exciting adventures of one Professor Layton or Jonathan Blow’s The Witness, Simogo has expertly weaved the Hotel Letztes Jahr into one giant puzzle box of its own. Every note you come across, every symbol etched into a door, and every bizarre, Lynch-esque conversation with the game’s cast slowly adds to the bigger picture. It’s not uncommon for small tidbits of information to mean absolutely nothing to you once you discover it, but much like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, it’ll eventually find its place, and the “AHA!” moments (of which there are plenty) feel as satisfying as ever. Of course, this comes with its own interesting tradeoff. Unlike most other games, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes deliberately leaves a lot of the exploration and rumination up to the player, and you’re rarely, if ever, force-fed a solution or provided with a story beat that wraps everything up in a neat bow.
This extends to the actual gameplay as well. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, in some ways, feels like a Metroidvania of sorts. It’s not uncommon for the player to come across a puzzle or riddle that can’t be solved with what you currently know, meaning you’ll have to explore another avenue. Backtracking and revisiting previously explored areas becomes second nature before long, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t highlight this particular design decision. While other games would have added in a hint system or opted for a more linear progression, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes does the opposite, and it does so with an amazing degree of confidence that’s impossible to fault, and I say that knowing that some players will likely give up, or become stuck partway through.
To be clear, Simogo hasn’t completely left players in the lurch. While it’s virtually impossible to see this one through to completion without a notepad and pen by your side, our mysterious protagonist also has a few tools up her sleeve. She can recall and look up every letter, book, curious symbol, and even some important revelations thanks to her Photographic Memory. There are also a handful of maps you can uncover (through solving a few puzzles, of course) that will help you find your footing around the hotel, and an ongoing list of Mental Notes keeps track of puzzles you have yet to solve and tasks that need addressing. These tools are invaluable, to say the least, and consulting them when you’ve hit a roadblock is often crucial to guiding you back to a puzzle that you’ll now be equipped to solve.
There’s an endless list of things to gush and wax poetic about — the haunting soundtrack, the monochrome visuals punctuated by bits of crimson and neon magenta, the callbacks and homages to your favorite PlayStation 1 horror games. It’s clear that Simogo has an undying love for the medium as a whole; not because of the winks and nods to the games of the past, but because Lorelei and the Laser Eyes forges its own path, and it does so with a startling amount of confidence and an unwavering artistic vision that has to be seen through to its conclusion. I doubt I’ll be able to convince genre detractors to cross the aisle, but if you have even the slightest interest in puzzle or adventure games, you owe it to yourself to give this modern-day masterpiece a try. Just make sure you have some pen and paper, and a bit of patience, at the ready.
Creative and ingenious puzzle design that ties directly into the narrative
Haunting soundtrack and striking visuals
Makes excellent use of video games as a medium to tell a thematically rich story
Deliberate lack of hints and hand-holding might dismay some players