Lorn's Lure: Prologue

About

Lorn's Lure: Prologue is an atmospheric narrative first-person platformer with novel climb-anything mechanics and modernized retro 3D graphics. Leaving his home colony while tracking a mysterious glitch, an android finds himself in the midst of a vast and dangerous structure, completely hidden from his people's knowledge. Unable to go back, you must keep going to find out where he is being led. …

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

94%

Audience ScoreBased on 174 reviews

atmosphere44 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

The game features an amazing atmosphere and immersive world design, reminiscent of the manga Blame!, which enhances the exploration experience.
The climbing and movement mechanics are fun and intuitive, allowing for engaging traversal and rewarding exploration.
The demo shows great potential with its unique concept and environmental storytelling, making players eager for the full release.

The climbing mechanics can feel clunky and slow, disrupting the flow of gameplay and making some sections tedious.
The level design in the prologue feels more linear and less organic compared to the original demo, which may detract from the exploration experience.
Some players have reported issues with the HUD and UI, suggesting it could benefit from a more minimalist approach to enhance immersion.

atmosphere
61 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
72%
23%
5%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and eerie qualities, combining unique visuals, compelling music, and a sense of exploration that captivates players. Many reviewers highlight the game's ability to evoke feelings of loneliness and foreboding, creating a rich environment that enhances gameplay mechanics. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's appeal and potential for future development.
- “The atmosphere is foreboding and dark, the music and graphics come together to create an experience of an immense world you want to see more of and explore.”
- “The atmosphere is incredible.”
- “I really have nothing but positives to say about 'Lorn's Lure', the atmosphere is excellent, the pixel graphics work wonders for the experience, and the ambiance is wonderfully dreadful and ominous.”
- “Personally, I have very little patience for games that bore me, and although I want to love other games with a similar vibe and atmosphere, I hate that many of them are essentially walking simulators.”
- “The music, although somewhat diegetic, kind of takes away from the atmosphere, and the sound effect design isn't immediately gripping as it is in a few of my favorites.”
- “Would've preferred a thicker atmosphere.”
gameplay
55 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
40%
5%
The gameplay has received positive feedback for its fluid climbing mechanics, intuitive controls, and engaging atmosphere, making exploration enjoyable. However, some players have noted issues with the sensitivity of the death mechanic and the sluggishness of climbing, suggesting that improvements could enhance the overall experience. Overall, the game shows great potential with its unique mechanics and vast environments, though some aspects may require further refinement before the full release.
- “Amazing atmosphere and super fun mechanics!”
- “The climbing gameplay is really intuitive and polished, and dismounting ledges is really smooth.”
- “Gameplay is challenging but very enjoyable and rewarding.”
- “Lastly, my main gripe with the gameplay itself is that the 'death' mechanic that kills you if you fall too much is far too sensitive.”
- “I feel like so much work was put into making the environment feel big, and push a sense of vertigo, but the mid-air death mechanic just completely ruins any feeling of height and fear you should get from climbing such a large environment.”
- “Unfortunately, this prologue is the same in terms of vast level design, but focuses instead on the incredibly sluggish climbing mechanic.”
story
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
52%
13%
The game's story is primarily conveyed through environmental storytelling, which some players find intriguing but also somewhat vague, leaving room for expansion in the full release. While the narrative setup is interesting, it lacks depth and clarity, leading to mixed feelings about player engagement with the protagonist's journey. Overall, the potential for a compelling story is recognized, but players desire more visible narrative elements and exploration opportunities to enhance their experience.
- “The story tease has me very intrigued as well.”
- “I love the small implications given throughout this demo and what it sets up for the later end of the story, and I love that there is lore hidden within the demo. This is a game that I will definitely keep my eye on as I hope to see the full release.”
- “As for the story in its current state, it's vague which isn't bad at all. In fact, I'd say the lack of context makes the game all the more interesting—not knowing who these people/non-humanoids are, not understanding this vast mega structure or how it came to be, not knowing how we got there and if there is an escape just fits the tone well.”
- “For a game that seems to rely primarily on conveying its story through environmental storytelling, it creates the sense that the player is not one with the protagonist, as the protagonist is piecing the mystery together independently from the player.”
- “The game 'threw' you into that dystopian world and said: 'it's all yours, climb wherever you want.' This served the plot well, but it also made it challenging to find the story elements.”
- “As for the story in its current state, it's vague, which isn't bad at all. In fact, the lack of context makes the game all the more interesting, not knowing who these characters are or how we got there.”
graphics
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
55%
14%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising the atmospheric and surreal art style that enhances the overall experience. While some players appreciate the retro aesthetic and pixel graphics, others feel that the visuals could benefit from improved textures and geometry. Overall, the graphics contribute significantly to the game's foreboding atmosphere, though there are calls for enhancements to better align with the intended aesthetic.
- “The atmosphere is foreboding and dark, the music and graphics come together to create an experience of an immense world you want to see more of and explore.”
- “I really have nothing but positives to say about 'Lorn's Lure', the atmosphere is excellent, the pixel graphics work wonders for the experience, and the ambiance is wonderfully dreadful and ominous.”
- “First off, I love the graphics style, retro 90's with a sharp PS1 aesthetic.”
- “Something that's always fascinated me in games is being able to see very far, but even as graphics tech has rapidly progressed, most games remain short-sighted.”
- “Even though it is going for a retro graphics look, I think it would look better with some other type, but that can be something for DLC or a workshop mod.”
- “Would love to see some improvements to the visuals, but I also understand that they were going for a certain aesthetic, maybe working on putting in their own spin on the 'low poly retro style indie game' vibe.”
music
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
38%
23%
The music in the game is generally praised for its ability to create a foreboding and immersive atmosphere, enhancing the overall experience. While some players appreciate the ambient soundtrack and its fitting minimalism, others feel that the sound design lacks depth and engagement, particularly in comparison to previous versions. Overall, the music contributes significantly to the game's ambiance, though there are calls for a broader soundscape to enrich the experience further.
- “The atmosphere is foreboding and dark, the music and graphics come together to create an experience of an immense world you want to see more of and explore.”
- “Fun and well designed, good atmosphere and I love the bleak music.”
- “The music and atmosphere hits you like a brick wall at the 'the wall' title card and it honestly stopped me in my tracks.”
- “Less player freedom, less interesting sound design, (the original demo actually had music) unnecessary distracting collectibles, less engaging lore, (kill the koth had NPCs, a more direct plot, etc. meanwhile in this you go way off the main path for tiny lore tidbits that tell you nothing) it's just straight-up only gotten worse with this new version, and it's really a shame.”
- “The music, although somewhat diegetic, kind of takes away from the atmosphere and the sound effect design isn't immediately gripping as it is in a few of my favorites.”
- “I wouldn't mind if the ambient music/soundscape was expanded though.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be frustrating and tedious, indicating that it detracts from the overall enjoyment and pacing of the experience.
- “Frustrating and tedious.”
- “The grinding feels endless and lacks any real reward.”
- “It becomes a chore rather than an enjoyable part of the game.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The optimization aspect is primarily viewed as a speedrunning trick, suggesting that while there are techniques to enhance performance, they may not significantly improve the overall gameplay experience for regular players.
- “More of a speedrunning optimization trick, though, unfortunately.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the game highly replayable due to the engaging platforming puzzles associated with collecting all the collectibles, which enhance the overall experience and encourage multiple playthroughs.
- “Back after getting all the collectibles, and they were all extra little platforming puzzles that were fun to complete and added significant replay value to the game.”