Lithium: Inmate 39

About

"Lithium: Inmate 39" is a horror-themed 3D puzzle and platform game following a psychiatric patient's journey to uncover his past. Traverse through 7 chapters filled with perilous traps, puzzles, and memories transformed into disturbing enemies. The game features a unique art style, inspired by real psychiatric patient drawings and set in a grim, greyscale world with vivid red accents in dangerous situations.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

70%

Audience ScoreBased on 11 reviews

atmosphere2 positive mentions

graphics3 negative mentions

The game features a unique and captivating aesthetic reminiscent of Tim Burton's style, creating an engaging atmosphere.
The updated controls and camera in the Relapsed Edition provide a better gameplay experience, allowing players to finally complete the game.
The gameplay is challenging yet rewarding, with infinite lives and frequent checkpoints, encouraging exploration and experimentation.

The game suffers from awkward controls and camera issues, making navigation frustrating and difficult.
There are numerous bugs and glitches, including a boss battle that currently cannot be completed, detracting from the overall experience.
The lack of intuitive controls and limited graphics options can lead to an unpleasant gameplay experience, especially when using mouse and keyboard.

graphics
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
33%
50%
The graphics of the game are described as reminiscent of early 2000s 3D aesthetics, which some players find charming and fitting for its surreal theme. However, the execution is criticized for being sloppy, with limited graphics settings and performance issues that require good hardware to run adequately. Overall, while the visuals may not be impressive, they do not detract significantly from the gameplay experience for some players.
- “The graphics look a bit like goofy 3D from the early 2000s, but that adds to the charm and it kind of suits the surreal, cobbled-together found-footage feeling of the game.”
- “- It lacks in graphics settings; there are no options to remove normal maps, dynamic shadows, antialiasing, etc. Only two options are available for the graphics settings: texture and resolution (wow). You really need good hardware to play this 'Lithium', and still, it will run badly.”
- “The graphics don't bother me but are not great either. That being said, I don't think a game should have awesome graphics for me to like it; it just has to be entertaining and fun to play, and this one is a bit frustrating to say the least.”
gameplay
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
The gameplay is reminiscent of classic exploration titles, focusing on navigating a hostile environment filled with traps, puzzles, and item collection. While the atmosphere is beautifully eerie, the experience is marred by glitchy mechanics and a frustrating difficulty curve that can hinder progress early on.
- “Aside from the gameplay, the atmosphere and environments are beautiful and creepy. The game is mostly black and white, and we explore a surreal ruined nightmarescape of blood, gore, and cracked tiles. It feels a lot like Eraserhead.”
- “The gameplay is glitchy and stiff; the plot would be great if you could actually pass the first part instead of getting stuck and constantly killed in the first 40 minutes.”
- “The gameplay is similar to Another World (aka Out of This World), in that you're a weak individual exploring a hostile environment and trying to find items, avoid traps, overcome obstacles, and solve puzzles.”
- “Aside from the gameplay, the atmosphere and environments are beautiful and creepy. The game is mostly black and white, and we explore a surreal ruined nightmarescape of blood, gore, and cracked tiles; it feels a lot like Eraserhead.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The game's atmosphere is characterized by its beautiful yet creepy black-and-white environments, reminiscent of a surreal nightmarescape filled with blood and decay. Enhanced by excellent sound design and a fixed camera, it evokes a palpable sense of tension and horror, harkening back to classic horror themes that focus on the fear of the unknown lurking in the dark.
- “Aside from the gameplay, the atmosphere and environments are beautiful and creepy. The game is mostly black and white, and we explore a surreal ruined nightmarescape of blood, gore, and cracked tiles. It feels a lot like Eraserhead.”
- “He looks so scared and vulnerable in that awful environment, and that, along with the excellent sound design and fixed camera, creates an atmosphere of tension and horror.”
- “While the game isn't perfect, the atmosphere it creates for the players reminds us of simpler times, where horror wasn't about the complications of a biohazard outbreak (and all the science surrounding it) but it was about what might be hiding in the dark.”
story
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The story unfolds gradually as players gain new abilities and face unexpected challenges, including boss fights, which adds excitement to the gameplay. However, many users find the experience hindered by glitchy mechanics and difficulty spikes, particularly in the early stages, which detracts from the overall narrative enjoyment.
- “As you progress, you unravel more of the story, and the game spices things up by awarding you with new abilities and constantly surprising challenges presented by the environment, including boss fights.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with users reporting poor performance, rough controls, and numerous bugs and glitches, leading to an overall negative experience.
- “Even if the game was not bugged, I still would not recommend it due to the overall poor performance, rough controls, and the numerous bugs and glitches that plague this game.”
- “The optimization is so bad that it feels like I'm playing a beta version rather than a finished product.”
- “Frequent frame drops and long loading times make the experience frustrating and unenjoyable.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game's stability is criticized for poor performance, rough controls, and numerous bugs and glitches, leading to an overall negative impression despite some users noting it wasn't heavily bugged.
- “Even if the game was not bugged, I still would not recommend it due to the overall poor performance, rough controls, and the numerous bugs and glitches that plague this game.”
- “The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable at times.”
- “I experienced constant frame drops and stuttering, which ruined the overall experience.”
music
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's music is praised for creating a pleasant ambiance, enhancing the overall experience.
- “The game has a nice ambiance and good music.”