Loretta

75%
Game Brain Score Based on 103 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • music
Loretta Game Cover
Although there are flaws in Loretta's gameplay and adventure mechanics, it has a compelling story, brilliant writing, gorgeous graphics, and immersive audio that will make for an enjoyable afternoon playthrough.
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"Loretta" is a single-player mystery point and click psychological thriller game with an intriguing 1940s housewife story. Players are accessory to Loretta's crimes, deciding the depths of her depravity as she seeks revenge on her unfaithful husband. With stunning graphics, players navigate a nightmare of Loretta's creation, deciding if her story remains a web of deceit or escalates into bloodshed.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 5
  • Steam Deck
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

75%
Audience ScoreBased on 103 reviews
story33 positive mentions
grinding6 negative mentions
  • The game features a compelling and immersive story with complex characters that draw players in.
  • The art style is gorgeous and effectively enhances the eerie atmosphere of the game.
  • The soundtrack is excellent, contributing to the overall mood and tension throughout the gameplay.
  • The gameplay can feel slow-moving and lacks challenging puzzles, making it more of an interactive movie than a traditional game.
  • Some players found the mini-games tedious and unnecessary, detracting from the narrative experience.
  • The text presentation and certain gameplay mechanics were criticized for being poorly designed and distracting.
  • story102 mentions

    The story of "Loretta" is praised for its immersive and compelling narrative, featuring complex characters and a dark, brooding atmosphere reminiscent of Stephen King's works. While many players appreciate the depth and thematic elements, some express frustration with the pacing and the limited impact of player choices on the overall plot progression. Despite its flaws, the game is recommended for its engaging storytelling and beautiful art style, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of story-driven games.

    • “With a beautiful art style and a story that sticks with you long after the fact, it is hard not to recommend.”
    • “Fantastic story with a dark, brooding and twisting plotline that is very unsettling and will have you constantly on edge.”
    • “Very interesting story that dives into mental illness and historical treatment of women with mental illness.”
    • “The story kind of left me wishing for more; I wasn't really engaged by it.”
    • “The game leads you on with the promise that your choices matter, but you can't alter the direction of the story outside of the bits where you have the option to kill someone.”
    • “This has a serious impact on the replay value of Loretta, as due to the story remaining the same, unlocking the different endings gets tedious fast as you have to retread the same scenes time and time again.”
  • graphics35 mentions

    The graphics of *Loretta* are widely praised for their beautiful art style, inspired by renowned artists like Andrew Wyeth and Edward Hopper, which effectively creates a creepy atmosphere. The mix of pixel art and high-resolution visuals, combined with a noir-inspired soundtrack, enhances the game's suspense and storytelling, making it a visually captivating experience. While some players may have mixed feelings about pixel art, the overall aesthetic is considered a strong point of the game.

    • “Inspired by the works of Andrew Wyeth and Edward Hopper (of Nighthawks fame), the art style of Loretta is absolutely beautiful.”
    • “The graphics are beautiful.”
    • “This mix of low and high-res artwork resonates wonderfully with the equally sparse sound design and noir-inspired soundtrack to ratchet up the suspense and atmosphere without resorting to jump scares (although the game does have a few of them, they're well done).”
    • “Pixel graphics which you’ll either like or not, and a good accompaniment of music.”
    • “the art style”
    • “the soundtrack is full of piano and swelling strings, invoking that sinister dark alley noir aesthetic.”
  • music30 mentions

    The game's music has been widely praised for its haunting and atmospheric qualities, featuring a beautiful original soundtrack composed by Efim Mylnikov that blends classical elements with 30's and 40's radio tunes, creating a sinister noir aesthetic. The sound design effectively enhances the unsettling tone of the game, with well-executed sound effects and a score that complements the narrative and visual style, deepening the overall experience. Players appreciate how the music varies with different endings, adding to the game's immersive storytelling.

    • “The original soundtrack was composed by Efim Mylnikov and it is quite beautiful.”
    • “The soundtrack is particularly excellent - it's a strange mix of classical and 30's/40's radio tunes (think Fallout) that become distorted and almost hypnotic at times.”
    • “The atmospheric music and sound also help deepen the mood and tone of the game, and the direction of a lot of the scenes are direct homages to classic horror movies and directors.”
    • “The sound effects fill voids in the music that really set an unsettling tone.”
    • “This mix of low and high res artwork resonates wonderfully with the equally sparse sound design and noir-inspired soundtrack to ratchet up the suspense and atmosphere without resorting to jump scares.”
    • “The atmospheric music and sound also help deepen the mood and tone of the game and the direction of a lot of the scenes are direct homages to classic horror movies and directors.”
  • gameplay18 mentions

    The gameplay of *Loretta* is characterized as a side-scrolling point-and-click adventure that emphasizes narrative and character psychology, though it suffers from small annoyances and abstract mechanics that can frustrate players. While the reliance on multiple endings may detract from the storytelling, the game still offers solid gameplay elements alongside a compelling story, beautiful graphics, and immersive audio, making it enjoyable for those who appreciate plot over pure gameplay.

    • “In terms of gameplay, Loretta is a side-scrolling point-and-click adventure.”
    • “Solid gameplay and story throughout.”
    • “Although there are flaws in Loretta's gameplay and adventure mechanics, it has a compelling story, brilliant writing, gorgeous graphics, and immersive audio that will make for an enjoyable afternoon playthrough.”
    • “This is essentially more like watching a slow burn pixelated thriller, so if you're a gameplay-over-plot person, this may not be for you.”
    • “Which brings me to the gameplay that relies on multiple endings, and how that can hinder some stories instead of enriching them.”
    • “They're meant to display the twisted psychology of the main character, but they were either too abstract to add to the narrative or too frustrating to add to the gameplay.”
  • atmosphere14 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its evocative sound design and haunting soundtrack, which effectively create a Hitchcockian tension and immerse players in a post-war American South setting. The combination of pixel art and sparse audio enhances the suspense without relying heavily on jump scares, while also paying homage to classic horror films. Overall, the atmosphere is described as mesmerizing and deeply immersive, contributing significantly to the game's narrative experience.

    • “The atmospheric music and sound also help deepen the mood and tone of the game, and the direction of a lot of the scenes are direct homages to classic horror movies and directors.”
    • “The atmosphere is positively Hitchcockian, graciously carried by excellent sound design, making great use of uncomfortable silences suddenly pierced by icy sharp strings.”
    • “This mix of low and high-res artwork resonates wonderfully with the equally sparse sound design and noir-inspired soundtrack to ratchet up the suspense and atmosphere without resorting to jump scares (although the game does have a few of them, they're well done).”
  • replayability8 mentions

    The game offers some replayability, but it can be frustrating as players may feel they missed opportunities due to incorrect interactions rather than new content. The repetitive nature of unlocking different endings, combined with a static storyline, can make the experience tedious over time, leading to questions about the true value of replaying the game.

    • “There is quite a bit of replay value, although it is a short game to begin with.”
    • “It does increase replayability, but in a frustrating manner, making the player feel like they always missed something, not because there's more to a situation but just because they didn't click objects in the right order.”
    • “This has a serious impact on the replay value of Loretta, as due to the story remaining the same, unlocking the different endings gets tedious fast since you have to retread the same scenes time and time again.”
    • “It does increase replayability but in a frustrating manner, making the player feel like they always missed something, not because there's more to a situation but just because they didn't click objects in the right order.”
    • “This has a serious impact on the replay value of Loretta as, due to the story remaining the same, unlocking the different endings gets tedious fast as you have to retread the same scenes time and time again.”
    • “I don't know how much actual replayability there is with different choices.”
  • grinding6 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of "Loretta" to be a significant drawback, as the repetitive nature of the story and the need to replay scenes to unlock different endings can become tedious. While the mini-games are generally easy to understand and forgiving, the overall experience suffers from a lack of variety, impacting replay value.

    • “This has a serious impact on the replay value of Loretta as, due to the story remaining the same, unlocking the different endings gets tedious fast as you have to retread the same scenes time and time again.”
    • “And occasionally the mini-games border on tedious, but they are easy enough to figure out and the game doesn't punish you for not getting them on the first try.”
  • emotional2 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is characterized by a complex interplay of light and darkness, where chiaroscuro highlights moral ambiguity, while vibrant colors and daylight can both conceal and reveal the underlying truths of family life. This duality creates a rich emotional landscape that invites players to explore deeper themes of perception and reality.

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Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
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Critic Reviews

73% average critic score

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