Lorelei and the Laser Eyes for the Nintendo Switch is a puzzle game that struggles to find its footing, offering players a lacklustre adventure that fails to captivate. Storytelling is mostly told through environmental puzzles. It invites players to embark on a thought-provoking journey through a world brimming with mystery and moments of ah-ha as puzzle solutions frustrate to the point. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, developed by Simogo, is a polarizing one that some players may be turned off almost immediately, while others may find a new love within. It all depends on how much the player can follow ambiguous clues and enjoy the challenge of the puzzles.
At its core, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes presents players with the tale of a young protagonist named Lorelei, who gets invited to this weird mansion/hotel filled with puzzles that truly make you think in a way I haven’t experienced in a long time. While the premise holds promise, the execution leaves much to be desired. The gameplay feels weird; there is a big focus on puzzle-solving to the point where it feels like every room has puzzles upon puzzles.
There is a lot of head scratching and frustration in these puzzles that make sure you not only take in everything thrown at you, but you need to remember where you saw this particular book, or you could find yourself searching for a few minutes. This results in an experience that quickly grows tiresome. The story gets sidelined by puzzles immediately and feels secondary at best.
“Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, developed by Simogo, is a polarizing one that some players may be turned off almost immediately, while others may find a new love within.”
One of the most glaring issues with Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is its lack of forgiveness for the player with these puzzles. Part of this is due to the lack of control. There are basically three buttons. Menu, interact and confirm. This led to some confusion when navigating the menu, as instead of quickly being able to exit back into the game, you have to close every tab in your inventory. This means when using the calculator in the game, you have to find the close button, use it, and then, in your inventory menu, find the close option there too.
This is all to get back into the game; it’s a weird choice that just led to frustration. Adding to that frustration is the game’s clunky and unresponsive controls. Movement in Lorelei and the Laser Eyes feels sluggish and imprecise, making even simple tasks feel like a chore. It’s a constant source of frustration that detracts from any enjoyment the game might otherwise offer.
Don’t get me wrong, I like a good puzzling game like Return of the Obra Dinn or even The Witness, but they respect the player’s time and have subtle ways of helping the player out by teaching the players what to be on the lookout while backing it into the gameplay loop. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes kind of just dumps you into the world and tell you to solve a bunch of puzzles with little to no pizzazz.
“Movement in Lorelei and the Laser Eyes feels sluggish and imprecise, making even simple tasks feel like a chore.”
While the idea of having to use a notepad is cool, especially in a puzzler, even having to do math is a bonus; it shouldn’t be a must. Thankfully, the calculator is easy to use, but as I mentioned above, it comes with having to navigate the horrendous menuing system.
Visually, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes leaves much to be desired. While the art style shows potential, it’s marred by lacklustre animation. Environments lack detail and depth; characters appear stiff and lifeless. I understand the idea of games as art, but there is little to enjoy here visually, especially during the opening hours. It almost feels like, after the first hour, you’ve seen everything the game has to offer, visually speaking. It’s as if Deadly Premonition and Obra Dinn had all the excitement stripped out of it.
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is disappointing. Its focus on puzzling and an edgy approach to being surrounded by mystery ultimately leads to its downfall. The issues surrounding the menuing and non-stop puzzling really detract from the story, making it feel almost unnecessary and offering little in the way of excitement. While it may hold some appeal for die-hard fans of the genre, most players will find themselves quickly growing bored and disengaged.
