Lacuna: Prologue

About

Lacuna: Prologue is a single player action game. It was developed by DigiTales Interactive and was released on April 22, 2021. It received very positive reviews from players.

Lacuna: Prologue tasks you – CDI agent Neil Conrad – with investigating the murder of a high-profile victim whose death could plunge the solar system into war. Solve the first in a series of connected cases that lead you deeper and deeper into the conspiracy at the core of this captivating 2D sci-fi noir adventure. Another cigarette tumbles into the abyss. The sun is slowly coming up, glisteni…

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Play Modes

Single-Player

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93%

Audience ScoreBased on 56 reviews

story10 positive mentions

monetization11 negative mentions

The prologue offers a compelling introduction to the game's intriguing story and atmosphere, effectively engaging players with its noir and sci-fi elements.
The pixel art and sound design are well-crafted, contributing to a captivating ambiance that enhances the overall experience.
The investigation mechanics are fresh and meaningful, allowing players to make impactful choices that affect the story's progression.

The game lacks a manual save option, relying solely on autosaves, which can be inconvenient for players needing to take breaks.
Some players found the graphics underwhelming for a pixel art game, and the environments could feel repetitive or uninspired.
There are instances of silence in the game where music or sound effects would enhance the experience, leading to moments that feel incomplete.

story
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
38%
14%
The story is described as engaging and well-crafted, featuring deep characters and a rich lore that immerses players in a compelling detective narrative with noir and cyberpunk elements. Players appreciate the meaningful choices that influence the story's progression, enhancing the sense of agency and investment in the outcome. Overall, the combination of a strong atmosphere, polished mechanics, and intriguing plot has generated high expectations for the full game.
- “The story, characters, and lore all have great depth to them, and you can tell there is a lot of effort put into the backstory.”
- “The story kicks off very strong; the world feels alive, and the atmosphere just sucks you in.”
- “Well, not just a setting that is quite alive, but also well-written characters and dialogues that really shine, with protagonists and antagonists I can identify with, and a story that keeps me wondering what is really going on.”
- “The investigation and the story easily created high expectations; I am really excited about the full game.”
- “It feels like you are experiencing a story, and based on the previews of the full game, the choices you make have an impact!”
- “The story kicks off very strong; the world feels alive and the atmosphere just sucks you in.”
music
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
25%
19%
The music in the game has received widespread praise for its quality and ability to enhance the atmosphere, with many reviewers noting its fitting jazzy and mysterious tone that complements the pixel art visuals. However, some players pointed out that certain areas lack music or sound, which detracts from the overall experience. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature that significantly contributes to the game's immersive environment.
- “I like the music and the pixel art ambiance.”
- “Special recognition to the music, which adds so much to the general atmosphere.”
- “Throughout this beautifully crafted prologue, the music fits superbly to the dark-ish sci-fi setting, giving it a jazzy yet spicy mysterious 'noir' cyberpunk-ish feeling.”
- “Speaking of atmosphere, a thing I found weird is that many parts of the game strangely have no music, which is a lost chance at bringing more life to the project.”
- “Some places are completely silent - no music or environmental sounds whatsoever.”
- “The visual style goes together with the music like bread and butter.”
graphics
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
39%
23%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with some players criticizing the quality as subpar for a 2D pixel art style, while others appreciate the unique atmosphere and artistic direction. Fans of pixel art find the visuals charming and fitting for the game's noir theme, highlighting the effective use of lighting and mood. Overall, the graphics may not appeal to everyone, but they contribute positively to the game's immersive experience for those who enjoy the art style.
- “Great mood in the visuals, interesting start to the detective story, and nice cyberpunk noir vibes.”
- “Love the art style and the atmosphere!”
- “The futuristic noir setting is a great idea, the soundtrack is great, and the visuals are very beautiful.”
- “Worst graphics I've seen in a long time, even for a 2D pixel world, but still seems interesting.”
- “The graphics I won’t delve into much; if you don’t mind pixel art games, you will find them fine, but if you don’t, you will hate them.”
- “Lacuna doesn’t really seem all that different looking from other pixel art games, but at the same time, it’s difficult to put a lot of detail into this art style.”
monetization
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game has been criticized for being misleading, as it primarily serves as an advertisement rather than a full game. Users express frustration over the practice of publishing demos and ads as separate titles, which detracts from genuine game developers and misleads consumers into spending money on what is essentially promotional content. Overall, the monetization strategy is viewed as exploitative and detrimental to the gaming experience.
- “If you enjoy advertisements, you can consume them for free on the web or on YouTube without needing to add them to your game library, download them, and then launch the advertising.”
- “While it might seem like an innocuous mistake, publishing demos and advertisements as if they are full games is misleading and in some ways harmful.”
- “It's impossible for me to recommend this incorrectly published advertising spam to gamers; you deserve better than adverts.”
atmosphere
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
46%
27%
The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for its beautiful pixel art and engaging sound design, which effectively immerses players in its compelling story and unique style. However, some reviewers noted a lack of music in certain areas, which detracted from the overall ambiance, while others found the futuristic setting to be somewhat underwhelming. Overall, the combination of art, sound, and narrative creates a captivating experience, though there are areas for improvement.
- “As a credit to the full lacuna game, this helps build the atmosphere and showcase the gorgeous pixel art that's a signature of the product.”
- “The story's instantly compelling and the beautifully created atmosphere sucks you right in.”
- “Great sound design and atmosphere, good writing and interesting sci-fi setting.”
- “Speaking of atmosphere, a thing I found weird is that many parts of the game strangely have no music, which is a lost chance at bringing more life to the project.”
- “- meh atmosphere - the 'futuristic' city feels a bit underwhelming for some off-world colony.”
- “I believe something resembling the synth blues in Blade Runner would breathe even more ambience and atmosphere into the game.”
gameplay
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
20%
30%
The gameplay is characterized by engaging detective mechanics set in a beautifully crafted pixel art universe, complemented by an intriguing story and atmospheric music. Players appreciate the organic integration of investigation elements with multiple endings, enhancing immersion and encouraging thorough exploration. While the prologue serves as a tutorial, it effectively introduces promising mechanics without feeling overly instructional, though some users noted a heavy UI design.
- “Only the beginning of the game, but I'm hooked :) Interesting universe and gameplay.”
- “When it comes to the context of the gameplay, most of it revolves around the investigation process since, in classic noir fashion, you play as a detective.”
- “As a result of that, the game gracefully immerses you into the world and the story, and finds a good way to organically tie the gameplay with the multiple ending story, giving you a reason to take the process seriously and try to find the correct answer.”
- “A little too little gameplay showcase and the UI looks kind of heavy (though this kind of UI may be best for this kind of game).”
- “The prologue mainly is a tutorial of the game mechanics, but it doesn't feel like one at all.”
- “Now, on detail regarding the gameplay itself.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
Overall, the game's performance is praised, but some users noted unexpectedly high resource usage as a concern. Despite this issue, it did not significantly detract from the overall experience.
- “The performance was great, but I was surprised at the resource usage.”
- “That's the only problem with performance I had throughout the whole experience, though.”
- “The game suffers from severe optimization issues, leading to frequent frame drops and stuttering.”
- “Despite its potential, the lack of proper optimization makes it nearly unplayable on lower-end systems.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, users report a high level of stability, with no crashes or noticeable bugs and glitches during gameplay.
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is criticized for its stereotypical portrayal of characters, such as a detached, emotionally dry father figure and a lackluster detective protagonist, which contributes to an overall sense of emotional disengagement.