Lemma
- March 18, 2014
- Evan Todd
- 26h median play time
Despite wrapping up in a clumsy excess of ambition, Lemma is a thrilling experimental expression of the free-running genre.
"Lemma is a single-player action game with a good story and perfect mechanics, offering immersive first-person parkour in a surreal, physics-driven voxel world. Creativity is key as you build structures by moving through space, and with non-linear storytelling, there are four possible endings. The game also includes Oculus Rift support, time trial mode, a built-in level editor with Steam Workshop support, and a soundtrack by Jack Menhorn and Ashton Morris."
PC
Virtual Reality
Windows
Oculus Rift
Xbox
Reviews
- The parkour mechanics are fluid and rewarding, providing a unique experience that combines elements from games like Mirror's Edge and Portal.
- The game features beautiful environments and a captivating soundtrack, enhancing the overall immersive experience.
- The ability to create platforms and walls while navigating the world adds a creative layer to the gameplay, allowing for exploration and experimentation.
- The level design can be confusing and lacks clear direction, making it easy for players to get lost and frustrated.
- The controls can feel clunky at times, especially with multiple actions assigned to the same key, leading to unintended outcomes.
- The story is underdeveloped and often difficult to piece together, which detracts from the overall experience.
- gameplay43 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by fluid and rewarding parkour mechanics reminiscent of titles like Mirror's Edge and Portal, allowing for exciting exploration and movement. However, the experience is marred by poorly explained mechanics, frustrating fetch quests, and a lack of direction, particularly in later levels where the introduction of new elements can feel overwhelming and detrimental to the core gameplay. While the traversal mechanics are praised for their creativity and potential, the overall execution suffers from confusing design choices and a convoluted narrative.
“The movement is on point, the lore is also good, the mechanics and controls are perfect and fluid.”
“The gameplay is fluid, exciting, and rewarding.”
“It takes the mechanics of wallrunning and sliding, and extends them to create walls and floors that form under you as you move.”
“The end levels turn into mundane fetch quests with frustrating new mechanics that are explained poorly.”
“The game adds in too many mechanics and annoying puzzles that I think it lost most of its fanbase.”
“Fun enough game until it starts throwing unwieldy mechanics at you after about two hours or so.”
- story32 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 47 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The story in the game is generally viewed as weak and often confusing, with many players finding it bland or poorly explained, particularly in the later levels where it devolves into fetch quests. However, some appreciate the minimalistic storytelling approach that encourages exploration, revealing a more compelling narrative through hidden notes and lore. Overall, while the story may not be the game's strong suit, it offers intriguing elements for those willing to dig deeper.
“It's story, the whole concept was amazing!”
“The level of mystery brought about by the way the story is presented to you is intriguing enough to motivate deep exploration, and players who do so are rewarded with a greater understanding for this narrative through the scattered pages.”
“The story is compelling and ties into the lore well, which is very fleshed out.”
“The story is obtuse and forces you to hunt for hidden notes if you want even a chance of comprehending it; the level design becomes far too open-ended towards the end, making it very difficult to figure out how to progress, and this can cause a lot of frustration.”
“The story falls flat, and while there is a low-budget feel to the game, there's an obvious amount of love poured into every other aspect of the game that makes all of this forgivable.”
“Bad level design, confusing story, too many mechanics that make no sense, and no direction.”
- music15 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its beauty and atmospheric quality, enhancing the overall experience, particularly in moments of exploration and emotional depth. While some users note that the soundtrack is sparse and occasionally relies on free resources, many find it fitting and evocative, with comparisons to soundtracks from titles like "Mirror's Edge" and "Dear Esther." Overall, the music contributes significantly to the game's ambiance, making it a highlight for many players.
“Jump around in a beautiful environment with beautiful music.”
“The music is sparse, but when it comes in, it's absolutely beautiful, yet eerie at the same time.”
“The sound design and music are solid and help the game's alien atmosphere.”
“The sound library for BGM and ambience kind of sucks, and you're probably better off just putting on your own music. Judging from the credits, it was mostly put together from free resources; what can you do?”
“The use of music is sparse and tastefully added to extraordinary situations.”
“Why can I not find the soundtrack to this game anywhere?”
- graphics9 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 22 % neutral mentions
- 22 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the voxel aesthetic and vibrant colors, while others criticize them as subpar. Overall, the visuals are described as fitting and engaging, contributing positively to the game's atmosphere, despite some opinions highlighting a lack of polish.
“The developers get a lot of mileage out of its 'voxel' aesthetic, and I think it works well enough.”
“I love a good challenge, and this does not cease to amaze me with its extremely amazing world, graphics, and the sound, too, is very nice and fitting.”
“Badass parkour, pretty colors, cubes, and amazing graphics!”
“The graphics are subpar.”
“A cool game but very poor graphics.”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 83 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in Lemma is highly praised for its immersive quality, combining surreal visuals with solid sound design and music that enhance the overall experience. Players find themselves deeply engaged, often losing track of time while exploring the game's unique environment. The balance of surrealism and accessibility makes it appealing to a wide audience.
“If you enjoy games with free running (parkour), jumping, climbing, puzzle solving, and great atmosphere and music, then you'll most likely enjoy Lemma.”
“I was going to play 5 minutes, to see if my computer could run it... played a couple of hours, immersed in the game atmosphere.”
“Even without the Oculus, the atmospherics in this game are brilliant - it balances a surrealist touch without requiring a philosophy degree to appreciate.”
“The sound design and music are solid and help create the game's alien atmosphere.”
“The environments feel lifeless and fail to immerse you in the game's world.”
“Despite the potential, the atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, lacking any real tension or intrigue.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game offers excellent replayability through its separate challenge levels and custom challenges, allowing players to explore and approach gameplay in diverse ways. The freedom to parkour and navigate different dimensions ensures that no two playthroughs are the same, enhancing the overall enjoyment and replay value.
“In addition to the main campaign, Lemma also supports custom challenge levels, leading to great replayability.”
“You parkour, run, jump, climb, roll, and even build your way through different levels, doorways, and dimensions in Lemma. This game has excellent replay value because you would never approach the same challenge in the same way twice, allowing you to explore at your own pace.”
“I highly recommend this game, and the replay value alone could and should give you an indication of just how enjoyable it can be.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect tedious due to slow movement speeds, often wishing for shortcuts like noclip to expedite their progress.
“With your speed so slow, it gets very tedious, and oftentimes I wished I could just noclip towards my destination.”
“The grinding feels endless and repetitive, making it hard to stay engaged with the game.”
“I find myself spending more time grinding than actually enjoying the gameplay, which is frustrating.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is marred by inconsistent collision detection, allowing players to occasionally go out of bounds, and the mechanics for spawning new platforms are poorly explained and unresponsive at times.
“Collision detection is at times buggy; I was able to get out of bounds in a few places. The ability to spawn new platforms was confusing, poorly explained, and inconsistently responsive.”
