Lazaret
- February 20, 2024
- Aegon Games
- 3h median play time
Get on Steam"Lazaret is a single-player, first-person horror adventure game with light puzzle elements and impressive graphics. As a rescue team member, you explore a long-lost ship filled with eerie stone statues of its missing crew. To survive and uncover the mystery of the ship's disappearance 4 years ago, you must hide, run, and solve puzzles while avoiding the supernatural dangers lurking below deck."
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game has a creepy and immersive atmosphere that effectively builds tension throughout the experience.
- The puzzles are well-balanced and engaging, providing a satisfying challenge without being overly difficult.
- For an indie title, the graphics and sound design are impressive, contributing to the overall eerie vibe of the game.
- The game is very short, with many players completing it in around 3-5 hours, which may leave some wanting more content.
- There is a lack of real danger, as many enemies do not pose a significant threat, which diminishes the horror experience.
- The story is considered weak and illogical by some players, with an anticlimactic ending that fails to provide satisfying resolutions.
- atmosphere88 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in the game is widely praised for its creepiness and tension, enhanced by effective sound design and detailed graphics. Players report feeling a constant sense of dread and suspense, with many noting that the eerie ambiance and unsettling visuals contribute significantly to the overall experience. While some found the jump scares excessive and the gameplay mechanics lacking, the immersive atmosphere remains a standout feature that captivates players throughout their journey.
“I love the atmosphere in this game and the fact that it's so realistic!”
“The mystery, the aesthetic, the ambiance, and the soundtrack all create this eerie, atmospheric world of dread and suspense.”
“The overall atmosphere of this game...the location, the graphics, the sound design....is fantastic!”
“The instant I realized I wasn't in any danger in about the fourth 'part' or so, the atmosphere evaporated.”
“Visuals were decent, but the audio and atmosphere were seriously lacking.”
“The atmosphere was creepy, the scares were natural and not expected in the least, but the thing that killed it were the puzzles.”
- gameplay79 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 77 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The gameplay features a unique mechanic involving moving statues that players must identify as threats, but many reviewers found this aspect underwhelming, as the statues often pose little danger. The whistling mechanic, intended to enhance stealth and tension, is criticized for being ineffective and redundant, detracting from the overall experience. While the game offers enjoyable moments and a captivating story, it suffers from repetitive gameplay and a lack of meaningful challenge, suggesting potential for improvement in future iterations.
“The gameplay gimmick is that the ship is full of statues, and some of them move when you're not looking; so you can have some fun trying to identify which ones are dangerous and which are just set decoration.”
“The gameplay is very enjoyable and relaxing.”
“Some of the scares are jumpscares that don't do much, but there are other elements of the gameplay they've incorporated that builds a tension as you roam about in the ship.”
“The gameplay is pretty weak.”
“The whistling mechanic is useless as it is fairly easy to avoid the statues without them being able to inflict any damage to the player.”
“The game sets up several mechanics that it then forgets about, under-utilizes, or were never important to begin with.”
- story62 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The story has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it intriguing and well-integrated into the gameplay, while others criticize it for being shallow, lacking depth, or ending abruptly without resolution. Many appreciate the atmosphere and horror elements, but feel that the narrative could benefit from more lore and a more satisfying conclusion. Overall, it is seen as a decent story for an indie game, though it may not meet the expectations set by larger titles.
“The story really surprised me, and I thought it would either drag on or disappoint, but in about 4 and a half hours of gameplay, it stayed tight and captivated me to see what was going on on this ship.”
“Aside from that, great puzzles, intriguing story, and a very good job on all the horror elements and jump scares, keeping things tense.”
“The story is an awesome plus, being very detailed.”
“The setting was interesting at first, but it felt like the plot went nowhere and answered nothing.”
“The story abruptly ends without any meaningful resolution.”
“Really not much of a story - more just a loose 'excuse' for the events that are occurring to exist.”
- graphics36 mentions
- 61 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the smoothness, detail, and overall atmosphere, particularly for an indie title. However, some users note a lack of creativity in the visual design and criticize specific elements, such as the appearance of dead bodies. Overall, while the graphics are generally well-received, they are seen as needing more polish and imagination to fully realize their potential.
“Overall, I enjoyed the game; the atmosphere and sound design were pretty creepy, and the graphics were pretty good for an indie project.”
“Graphically, the game is amazing, super smooth.”
“The overall atmosphere of this game...the location, the graphics, the sound design....is fantastic!”
“Visuals are basic.”
“Visuals were decent but the audio and atmosphere were seriously lacking.”
“Good story and graphics, worth the play, just lacking.”
- grinding8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly in later sections where key-fetching becomes repetitive and detracts from the overall experience. While the game starts off engaging, it ultimately leads to frustration as players are forced to backtrack frequently after dying.
“I do agree with another reviewer that that one section toward the end ([spoiler]the medical wing[/spoiler]) felt a little more tedious than interesting, especially since that particular area had more to do with key-fetching and spooks than any interesting puzzles.”
“It starts promisingly but becomes tedious towards the end.”
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- music8 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The music in the game contributes to an eerie and atmospheric world, enhancing the sense of dread and suspense. However, some players noted a lack of variety and quality, with instances of chase music playing without a clear context, and technical issues that affected overall performance. Overall, while the soundtrack adds to the ambiance, it suffers from budget constraints and execution flaws.
“The mystery, the aesthetic, the ambiance, and the soundtrack all create this eerie, atmospheric world of dread and suspense.”
“You can see the cut in budget with one human NPC model used a lot for every human NPC and the lack of music.”
“You get the objective, 'escape the ship' and hear chase music start playing, but, as far as I could tell, you aren't running from anything?”
“It did in fact lag my computer just from being on the main menu: made my YouTube music stutter, my stream preview also was choppy as hell, even GIFs on Twitter were lagging, GIFs!”
- stability8 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game exhibits some minor bugs, such as occasional glitches like falling through the floor, but these issues are not game-breaking and do not significantly detract from the overall experience. It runs smoothly on various platforms, including Linux and Steam Deck, providing a stable gameplay experience complemented by impressive graphics and sound. Overall, players find the stability satisfactory, allowing them to enjoy the immersive atmosphere and engaging gameplay.
“Runs great on a Steam Deck too.”
“Played on Linux using Proton, it works and runs great. Nice graphics, amazing sound, and the gameplay is very well done and up there with the bigger game names.”
“The game will take you around 3 hours to complete, which is a lot better than most horror games with 30 minutes to 1 hour playtime.”
“A little buggy here and there, but nothing game-breaking.”
“Glitches: I fell through the floor once; luckily, it did a quicksave so I didn't lose any progress from that.”
“Glitches: I fell through the floor once; luckily, it did a quicksave so I didn't lose any progress from that.”
- humor6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as slapstick, with characters enduring comical misfortunes, which some players found amusing. However, many reviewers felt that the humor fell flat, labeling it as underwhelming and not effectively funny, leading to a disappointing experience overall.
“Honestly, it's really funny; the character of this game just gets his butt kicked; it's slapstick.”
“I thought it would be funny to get my lights punched out, but you only get so much damage, then nothing else happens.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game generally performs well, running smoothly even in challenging conditions like rain, though some users have noted minor performance issues.
“The game runs smoothly even with the rain at the start.”
“The game has some minor performance issues.”
“The game has some minor performance issues.”
