Life Eater
- April 16, 2024
- Strange Scaffold
- 2h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Life Eater" is a horror fantasy kidnapping simulator, where you play as a modern-day druid in suburbia, conducting an annual ritual to prevent the world's end. Use a video editing-inspired interface to uncover the story of your human targets' lives, and decide when to abduct them. With a blend of authored and generated stories, and a fully voiced story mode, players must balance their time and resources to prevent the apocalypse. But be careful, the dark god you serve may not even be real.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features an excellent atmosphere, enhanced by outstanding voice acting and unsettling artwork.
- The story is gripping and emotionally impactful, with a unique premise that keeps players engaged.
- The gameplay loop, while simple, is satisfying and encourages players to think critically about their choices.
- The mechanics can feel shallow and repetitive, with many puzzles relying on trial-and-error rather than deduction.
- The game is quite short, with some players feeling it doesn't justify its price due to limited content.
- Some players found the narrative pacing inconsistent, making it hard to believe the time progression between events.
- story167 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The story of the game is widely praised for its gripping narrative, emotional depth, and strong voice acting, often leaving players with a lasting impression despite its brevity. While many reviewers appreciated the compelling themes and unique premise, some expressed disappointment in the predictability and lack of depth in character development. Overall, the story is seen as the highlight of the game, making it a worthwhile experience for those who enjoy narrative-driven gameplay, even if the gameplay mechanics themselves are considered shallow or repetitive.
“The story was gripping, the ending was a gut punch.”
“Absolutely awesome, the puzzles were a blast to solve and the story was compelling and interesting!”
“The story perfectly balances showing and implying, and, without spoiling anything in specific, I'll say it caught me off-guard more than once in ways I loved.”
“The story was incredibly boring, and painfully predictable.”
“The main story does not feel like it ups the difficulty that much as you go on, remaining pretty much the same throughout with a few minor bumps in some levels.”
“For a story trying to take itself seriously, this is seriously dumb.”
- gameplay127 mentions
- 34 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Life Eater" is characterized by a unique premise that combines puzzle-solving with resource management, focusing on stalking and abducting victims through a timeline mechanic. While many players find the gameplay loop engaging and rewarding, others criticize it for being shallow and repetitive, with limited mechanics that can lead to a trial-and-error approach. Overall, the game offers a compelling story and atmosphere, but some players feel it lacks depth and complexity in its gameplay design.
“Life Eater is an amazing game with an interesting premise and a rewarding gameplay loop that's deceptively simple, yet has a lot of depth in the small details the player will have to pick up on to solve puzzles as they progress.”
“The gameplay loop is constantly engaging, it keeps you on your toes, and completing a year is incredibly satisfying, like this is peak from just how the game plays.”
“A unique puzzle gameplay loop and interesting level design paired with a decent horror story.”
“The gameplay feels like trial and error, which is unsatisfying.”
“The tutorial is entirely unhelpful in explaining how to play, and what little gameplay there is feels like it has no thought put into it.”
“I really wanted to love it, but the gameplay proved to be frustratingly vague.”
- emotional22 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is widely praised, with many players reporting intense feelings ranging from heartwarming to heartbreaking, often culminating in tears by the end. The combination of top-tier voice acting, haunting imagery, and a compelling narrative creates a powerful emotional experience that resonates deeply, leaving players reflecting on the story long after completion. Despite some critiques regarding emotional impact in certain gameplay moments, the overall consensus highlights the game's ability to forge strong emotional connections with characters and evoke genuine feelings.
“The story is heart-wrenching and the voice actors are godly.”
“An emotional experience through and through; I loved how uncomfortable this game made me feel, how intensely the story is shown to you in both the gameplay and cutscenes.”
“You wouldn't expect it for a gory game, but the writing and voice acting are so moving I cried.”
- graphics19 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 32 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beautiful art style and atmospheric visuals, which significantly enhance the storytelling experience. Players appreciate the unsettling yet captivating artwork and top-notch voice acting, although some note that the user interface visuals feel out of place. Overall, the aesthetics are considered a masterclass in complementing the narrative, despite some minor critiques regarding the gameplay and the representation of time progression.
“The art style is absolutely beautiful.”
“The voice acting and visuals have only added everything to this underrated gem of a title.”
“The UI visuals felt out of place.”
“The only small gripe I have is that the game takes place over 10 or so years; this isn't super well shown in terms of visuals.”
“The graphics really sell the story too.”
- atmosphere15 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 27 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its excellence, enhanced by outstanding voice acting, unsettling artwork, and a haunting soundtrack. Reviewers note that while the gameplay may become repetitive, the immersive and eerie ambiance effectively conveys themes of madness and tragedy, making it a compelling experience despite its brevity and simplicity. Overall, the game's atmospheric quality stands out as a significant strength, drawing players into its grim narrative.
“There's not a lot of variety, but what it lacks in quantity it more than makes up for with atmospheric quality.”
“There's this unnerving atmosphere and air of tragedy that lingers throughout all the very amazingly voice acted cutscenes, with cool art and a great soundtrack to boot.”
“Personally, I enjoyed figuring out the little tricks to 'stalking' people myself; it really added to the hopeless and lonely atmosphere of the game.”
“My notes went from obsessively detailing their schedules to scribbled marks to denote where to cut...this game's atmosphere definitely gets into you.”
- music13 mentions
- 69 % positive mentions
- 8 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its ability to enhance the overall experience, with many reviewers highlighting its ominous and immersive qualities that perfectly complement the story and visuals. The soundtrack is described as mood-appropriate and captivating, contributing significantly to the game's atmosphere and emotional depth. Overall, players feel that the music, alongside the voice acting and art design, elevates the game to a remarkable level.
“It has good art, good story, it's a good length, and on top of all of this has good music that sets the mood for such an experience.”
“The music in this game makes it all the more better, it's so ominous and fits so well, had me jamming out while playing.”
“Great soundtrack, and every track is great and mood and scene appropriate.”
“The music in this game makes it all the more better; it's so ominous and fits so well, had me jamming out while playing.”
“Voice acting and the music is a plus.”
“It was tragic, and the art style and music and voice acting really pulled everything together story-wise.”
- optimization5 mentions
- 80 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Overall, the optimization of the game is praised for its strong narrative, impressive performances, and beautiful art design, which enhance the overall experience. However, some characters, like Johnny, may not resonate as well despite the high-quality voice acting. The gameplay loop is engaging, contributing to a well-rounded and immersive experience.
“In terms of narrative, performance, score, and art design...it's all great.”
“Even the tutorial has a really stellar performance from the lead actor and the gameplay loop has me hooked.”
“Stellar idea wrapped up in a great scenario with great performances.”
- grinding5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that while the game offers an excellent payoff, it can feel grindy and tedious at times, particularly in its investigation mechanics, which resemble a "pick random time periods" simulator rather than engaging puzzles. However, the game's short length helps prevent the grind from becoming overly tedious. Overall, it may appeal more to those who enjoy the core concept, especially if purchased on sale.
“Short horror puzzle game I'd recommend to folks buying on sale, especially since you'll either love it or find it tedious/annoying.”
“So, yeah, the investigation aspect is incredibly tedious and not really a puzzle but is more just a 'pick random time periods and hope you find the right one' simulator.”
“Less scary and more tedious.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as a blend of dark comedy and absurdity, with players finding amusement in the contrast between the serious objectives and the ridiculous methods used to achieve them. The unique gameplay elicits a mix of excitement and laughter, particularly when players successfully identify their targets.
“The gameplay itself is really unique and cool; it's kind of funny because on one hand, when you finally figure out who the person is that you need to kill, you have that reaction of 'Yeah!'”
“Funny story: I put this game on a wheel for a thing I call 'short showcase' for my streams, a little event I do where I play 3-4 short games during a stream.”
“This game is equally dark in the things we must do to please Zimforth and hilarious in the things we choose to do to stalk people.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game currently offers limited replayability, primarily appealing to those who wish to re-experience the story. However, an upcoming endless mode is expected to significantly enhance replay value.
“It's very short with little replayability outside of wanting to re-experience the story.”
“There's an endless mode due next week, so that should add a lot more replayability.”
