Lost Ember Review

Developed and published by Mooneye Studios, Lost Ember is a game that you should definitely consider picking up right now. It is legitimately one of the best games we’ve played in 2019 and it all has to do with the way its story has been told. The developers have truly outdone themselves with their method of storytelling and Lost Ember is a truly excellent indie title.

It’s not often that we get games like Lost Ember. It is incredibly story-driven from the start till the end and players will find themselves completely captivated by its tale. In Lost Ember, players will take on the role of a wolf. The wolf you play as awakens in a mysterious world and finds himself face to metaphorical face with a “Glowy thing”. Upon speaking with the glowy thing, players will discover that it is in fact, a spirit. The spirit soon teams up with you and you will be helping them break through red barriers to get to the “City of Light”.

This is where Lost Ember excels in its storytelling. As the wolf, players will traverse multiple different areas of the game world in search of memories that explore the past. The spirit explains the memories that you see and the visual storytelling in Lost Ember is some of the finest we’ve encountered this year. Players will discover that a woman named Kalani is the centre of the story and an ancient civilization is thrown into the mix which complicates matters further. Without spoiling too much, Lost Ember’s story is one to be experienced for yourself just to see how great it is.

Players will later discover the ability to transfer their soul into other animals and take control of them. The spirit calls the wolf a “Soul Wanderer” and possessing the bodies of other animals leads to progression in the game world. For example, there are certain paths that can only be traversed by possessing the body of a particular animal that’s capable of digging. There are multiple animals and most of them have a particular ability that can be used to progress further. We do wish that this was expanded upon further but alas, this isn’t the case. With that said though, this doesn’t detract much from the game since the main driving force is the story and the breathtaking scenery of the game’s world.

Graphically, Lost Ember is visually captivating. It features an art style that is akin to a painting and there are numerous times when playing the game that you’ll want to just rotate the camera around and take screenshots of the environment. The developers clearly went all out on the game world.

The soundtrack used in Lost Ember is just as good with the music particularly standing out. The soundtrack suits the game’s story and tone perfectly and is just as much a part of the game as the visuals are in telling the overarching tale. The only odd design choice is the use of a regional accent for the spirit telling the story as this might be off-putting to some people.

Lost Ember is not without fault. The game is slightly rough around the edges and there are times when you can get caught on rocks in the environment and the camera glitches through the floor. There are also times where the sound can cut out inexplicably only to return a second or two later. However, even though there are some faults, these don’t infuriate you too much and the game’s great storytelling still drives you forward.

Lost Ember also features a lot of collectables so there is some replayability factored into the game. Players will be able to find and pick up artefacts which help flesh out the story a bit more with their descriptions. Players will also be able to collect mushrooms throughout the game however, these don’t seem to serve any real purpose other than just being a collectable to be on the lookout for.

Lost Ember falls into the “Games are art” genre of gaming. The story it tells is one that’s highly open to interpretation and every player will probably take away a different meaning from its story. It tells a mysterious tale that deals with intensely human issues and the game is best played from start to finish in one sitting if possible. The game is broken up into chapters though so if you don’t have 5 hours to get through it in one go, you can always stop at a specific chapter and return later.

Overall, Lost Ember, despite being rough around the edges in some aspects, is a game that’s highly recommended by us. Anyone can play it and get through it quite easily and there are accessibility options available in the options menu too. Despite having minor flaws, this game gets a perfect score from us. If you’re looking for an incredible story-driven game with absolutely amazing visual storytelling and simplistic gameplay, Lost Ember should definitely be on your “must buy” list.

Lost Ember was reviewed on PC

Developer/ Publisher: Mooneye Studios

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows

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