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
- Creepy and atmospheric setting, especially with the ghost ship theme.
- Engaging puzzles and a good balance of jump scares that keep the gameplay interesting.
- Solid graphics and sound design that enhance the overall horror experience.
- The story is basic and the ending feels anticlimactic, leaving many questions unanswered.
- Lack of real danger from enemies, making the game feel less threatening and more like a walking simulator.
- Frequent crashes and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, along with some repetitive mechanics.
- atmosphere45 mentions
- 58 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its creepiness and tension, effectively immersing players in a haunting ghost ship setting. Reviewers highlight the impressive sound design and visual details that enhance the sense of dread, although some note that the lack of real danger can diminish the overall impact. Overall, the game is recognized as a strong atmospheric horror experience, appealing to fans of the genre.
“A solid, short horror game with a great atmosphere and some good scares.”
“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!”
“Sometimes the dread of knowing it's coming can enhance the atmosphere, and I can say I felt quite uncomfortable nearly all the way through.”
“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.”
- gameplay40 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 73 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players criticizing the lack of real danger and the underwhelming mechanics, particularly the whistling feature, which feels more like a gimmick than a functional gameplay element. While some enjoy the exploration and puzzle-solving aspects, others find the experience repetitive and lacking in challenge, as enemies often do not pose a significant threat. Overall, the game shows potential for improvement, especially in enhancing its mechanics and creating a more engaging atmosphere.
“The gameplay is very enjoyable and relaxing.”
“Some of the scares are jump scares that don't do much, but there are other elements of the gameplay they've incorporated that build tension as you roam about the ship.”
“Nice mechanics, basic (but diverse) puzzles, a few scares.”
“With no way to die, several crashes, and pointless game mechanics, the only thing left was a pretty bad walking sim.”
“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 whistling mechanic doesn't do anything in the game; sure, you might whistle and get a whistle back, but that's about it since the main problem is that no enemies patrol or hunt you down in the game. The statues you see don't do much except for some of them where you get an animation where they punch you and you fall down and get back up, and they are gone.”
- story32 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game received mixed reviews, with some players finding it basic and lacking depth, particularly in its resolution. While many appreciated the intriguing setting and atmosphere, they noted that the plot often felt incomplete or meandering, with some elements delivered through scattered notes and recordings. Overall, despite its shortcomings, the story was considered a decent complement to the game's horror elements and gameplay experience.
“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 very good job on all the horror elements and jump scares and keeping things tense.”
“The story is an awesome plus, being very detailed.”
“The story abruptly ends without any meaningful resolution.”
“The setting was interesting at first but it felt like the plot went nowhere and answered nothing.”
“The story might also be a bit hastily concluded or incomplete near the end.”
- graphics18 mentions
- 61 % positive mentions
- 22 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the smooth visuals, solid lighting, and atmospheric design that enhance the horror experience. While some users note that the graphics engine is impressive for an indie title, others criticize certain aspects, such as the appearance of dead bodies. Overall, the game is recognized for its strong graphical presentation, contributing significantly to its eerie ambiance and immersive gameplay.
“The overall atmosphere of this game...the location, the graphics, the sound design....is fantastic!”
“Graphically, the game is amazing, super smooth.”
“In the middle of the Atlantic, boarding a ghost ship is as scary as it gets for me, this captures that essence perfectly, frame rate is excellent and the graphics are too.”
“Visuals are basic.”
“Visuals were decent but the audio and atmosphere were seriously lacking.”
“Good story and graphics, worth the play, just lacking.”
- stability4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is generally positive, with minor glitches reported, such as falling through the floor, but quicksaves mitigate any potential loss of progress. Players have noted that it runs well on various platforms, including the Steam Deck and Linux, with only a few non-game-breaking bugs. The gameplay experience remains immersive and engaging despite these minor issues.
“Runs great on a Steam Deck too.”
“Played on Linux using Proton Experimental; it works and runs great. The graphics are nice, and the sound is amazing. The atmosphere adds so much to the experience, really creeping you out. Gameplay is very well done and comparable to bigger game names. You walk around the ship, find notes, keys, and other items to either open doors or shut down steam leaking from pipes. There are a fair few puzzles to solve that aren't too hard to work out, and you can run or hide in lockers from some monsters. Other monsters seem to only push you to the ground or try to stop you from picking up keys, but you never have to worry about them. The game will take you around 3 hours to complete, which is much better than most horror games that only last 30 minutes to 1 hour.”
“I fell through the floor once; luckily, it did a quick save, so I didn't lose any progress.”
“A little buggy here and there, but nothing game-breaking.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the grinding aspect of the game starts off engaging but becomes tedious, particularly in later sections where key-fetching and repetitive tasks overshadow more interesting gameplay elements. Players express frustration with the need to backtrack frequently, making the experience feel laborious rather than enjoyable.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“It would be tedious to need to go back and get whatever key/code you just obtained every time the monsters got you.”
“I do agree with another reviewer that that one section toward the end (the medical wing) 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.”
- music4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The music in the game is noted for creating an eerie and atmospheric world, enhancing the sense of dread and suspense. However, some players feel that the chase music is misplaced, as it doesn't align with the gameplay experience, and there are complaints about a lack of variety in the soundtrack. Additionally, technical issues have been reported, with the game's music causing performance problems on some systems.
“The mystery, the aesthetic, the ambiance, and the soundtrack all create this eerie, atmospheric world of dread and suspense.”
“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.”
“You can see the cut in budget with one human NPC model used a lot for every human NPC and the lack of music.”
“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!”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is polarizing; while some players find it genuinely funny and appreciate the slapstick elements, others feel it falls flat and is underwhelming, lacking the comedic impact they expected.
“Honestly, it's really funny; the character in this game just gets his butt kicked. It's slapstick humor at its best.”
“I thought it would be funny to get my lights punched out, but you only get so much damage, then nothing else happens.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is generally solid, with smooth performance 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.”
“Optimization is lacking, leading to frequent frame drops.”
“There are noticeable lag spikes that disrupt gameplay.”
