Lucius III

About

In Lucius III, players once again step into the role of the demonic child Lucius, seeking to escape from a mysterious psychiatric hospital. By utilizing supernatural abilities, Lucius must manipulate and eliminate hospital staff, while avoiding detection and uncovering the truth behind his own existence. The game combines stealth and puzzle-solving elements, providing a unique and eerie experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

49%

Audience ScoreBased on 504 reviews

story81 positive mentions

stability126 negative mentions

The story is engaging and provides a satisfying conclusion to the series.
The game features an interesting open world that allows exploration of Lucius's hometown.
The ability to transform into a raven adds a unique gameplay mechanic.

The game is riddled with bugs and glitches that significantly hinder gameplay.
Graphics and animations are subpar, making the game feel outdated and poorly optimized.
The gameplay lacks the creativity and freedom of previous installments, reducing the overall enjoyment.

story
299 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
62%
11%
The story of "Lucius III" continues the narrative from the previous games, focusing on Lucius's quest to break seven seals, but it has received mixed reviews regarding its execution. While some players appreciate the intriguing premise and character development, many criticize the story for being poorly structured, rushed, and filled with bugs that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game is seen as a decent conclusion to the trilogy, but it suffers from a lack of depth and coherence, leaving some players feeling unsatisfied.
- “Amazing game with an amazing story.”
- “The story is well written as well as the characters.”
- “Lucius III is an incredible finale to the Lucius franchise, and it actually makes me sad that I can't play more of the story as Lucius' life progresses.”
- “The story feels like it's leading absolutely nowhere, so many pointless boring cutscenes.”
- “The story makes no sense, the dialogue is bland, there's typos throughout, the list goes on.”
- “The story line sucks, I followed the whole story line and there were so many things left unsaid and undone.”
stability
127 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
99%
The game is plagued by numerous bugs and glitches, significantly impacting stability and overall gameplay experience. Many players report game-breaking issues, such as crashes, freezing, and character clipping, which overshadow any enjoyment derived from the story or mechanics. While some minor bugs are tolerable, the sheer volume and severity of the glitches render the game frustrating and often unplayable.
- “Despite my happiness about this one returning to its point-and-click adventure style with named characters: this is a buggy, unfinished mess.”
- “The game is a buggy catastrophe which is very frustrating to play.”
- “It's just a big buggy mess where glitches overshadow any fun and graphics are similar to those broken Unity home edition asset flips that go for around 39 cents in the Steam store.”
gameplay
114 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
66%
22%
The gameplay of the latest installment in the Lucius series has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many players citing numerous bugs, clunky mechanics, and poor optimization as major issues. While some appreciate the return to a more story-driven and open-world format reminiscent of the first game, the overall execution is criticized for being unpolished and lacking engaging mechanics, leading to a frustrating experience. Despite a few redeeming qualities, such as intriguing story elements, the gameplay is generally viewed as a significant step back from previous titles in the series.
- “The gameplay is a combination of the previous games but more like the first, being open-world, but killing people is more like solving a puzzle, requiring you to do a bit of investigation instead of just straight-up using your powers.”
- “Great story overall and good gameplay for such a small dev team.”
- “It returns to a more adventure-like and story-driven gameplay.”
- “Terrible voice acting, awful cutscenes and animations, janky gameplay, random items in the open world you need to progress.”
- “Bugs, finicky controls, and clunky animations make the gameplay a chore at times.”
- “The gameplay is horrible, the cutscenes are horrible, the story is horrible so basically the whole game is horrible.”
graphics
101 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
66%
17%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with some players noting improvements in cinematic quality and art direction, while others criticize the overall visual fidelity as outdated and plagued by bugs, poor animations, and lighting issues. Many reviewers express disappointment that the graphics do not meet expectations for a 2018 release, often comparing them unfavorably to earlier titles in the series. Overall, while there are moments of visual appeal, the game's graphical performance is frequently described as unpolished and lacking in optimization.
- “It looked great to me, and especially if you are invested in the story, the visuals do enhance it.”
- “What I love about this game is the graphics got so much better, each chapter got much more cinematic - it's like I'm watching a movie that I like while playing the game I love.”
- “The graphics/art style is decent and the music is quite good.”
- “Graphically, 'Lucius III' shows some improvement but is marred by flickering lighting, robotic animations, and wooden character expressions.”
- “The graphics are terrible and only a NASA PC can run it without bugging, with FPS dropping like hell and waiting 10 minutes for a screen/level to load.”
- “Ok, first I have to say that it is pretty rough looking for a 2018 game; the graphics are not that great, lots of bugs, and lots of problems with lighting that prevent further progression.”
music
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
53%
8%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the enjoyable soundtrack and atmospheric elements that enhance the overall experience. However, some users criticize specific tracks, particularly a poorly received cover of "House of the Rising Sun," and note issues with audio consistency, such as abrupt stops and loud sound effects that can be jarring. Overall, while the soundtrack is generally well-regarded, its execution suffers from technical glitches and a lack of variety in certain areas.
- “The soundtrack is really good and it incorporates a lot of stuff from the first game more so than the second game had.”
- “The ambiance of the world is just right and for the most part, the soundtrack never gets in the way too much.”
- “The graphics are not so good but actually I didn't care, the soundtrack of this game is 10/10 awesome songs during the game, the cutscenes are nice as well.”
- “Audio, apart from the soundtrack, is unremarkable.”
- “This game doesn't have much music going on, so most of the time you just get crows and ambient noises, which kinda fit the whole pale and silent creepy suburb town aesthetic, but when that item inquiry sound effect hits you like a fucking explosion, there's no excuse.”
- “During my playthrough I had so many freezes and abrupt stops of the music or just no music at all.”
humor
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is described as a mix of dark comedy and unintentional hilarity, with many players finding the glitches and awkward animations amusing. While some moments are creatively funny and entertaining, others cross into offensive territory, and the overall humor seems diminished compared to earlier installments. Despite its flaws, many players still appreciate the game's charm and find enjoyment in its absurdity.
- “A hilarious goddamn mess of a game.”
- “The game is hilariously bad in a good way and is probably the funniest Lucius game.”
- “The cutscenes and dialogue are hilariously bad, but this makes the game a lot of fun to watch.”
optimization
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
34%
55%
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with many users reporting severe performance issues, including lag, slow loading times, and numerous bugs such as clipping and janky animations. While some appreciate the visual design and narrative potential, the overall consensus is that the game is poorly optimized, making it nearly unplayable for many. Players are calling for significant improvements or a complete reboot to address these shortcomings.
- “I've seen some people say the developers didn't seem to put enough effort into the game, but I think they did--it just wasn't quite balanced between visuals and performance.”
- “Horribly optimized but I can see the potential.”
- “There is definitely a need for optimization.”
- “To make matters worse, the optimization of the game is simply horrible.”
- “The game also seems poorly optimized.”
- “Horrible optimization, missing and incomplete story elements, sub-par voice acting with mismatched subtitles, jerky character animations on ugly models, scattered plot structure, malfunctioning achievements, obviously missing features... half the things you expect to be there aren't and anything you can imagine as being unpolished is.”
atmosphere
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
21%
21%
The game's atmosphere is described as a mix of charming b-movie vibes and a gloomy, vintage aesthetic, enhanced by an atmospheric soundtrack that, while not exceptional, fits the overall tone. However, some players note inconsistencies and issues such as poor execution and bugs that detract from the immersive experience. Overall, the atmosphere is appreciated for its horror elements and attention to detail, despite some criticisms regarding its execution.
- “Really atmospheric and nice.”
- “I really like the atmosphere and music so far.”
- “With its gloomy vintage air, the world is suitably atmospheric.”
- “Sadly, the game is bogged down by its poor execution, inconsistent atmosphere, buggy levels, and monotonous mission objectives.”
- “Rushed story, bugs, atmosphere not fitting, nearly no riddles, map looks partially empty, and you can easily miss some parts of the story.”
- “I have yet to finish it, as I have the first two, but so far the atmosphere feels like they're trying to take a very conscious step back to the more stealthy (or at least less overt) violence.”
grinding
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
43%
43%
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessive and tedious, often requiring a significant time investment that some liken to needing a "second life" to manage. While some acknowledge it can be a bit grindy at times, the overall sentiment leans towards it being unenjoyable and monotonous.
- “A bit grindy sometimes.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “It's really tedious and not fun to play.”
- “A lot of grinding.”
replayability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
60%
The game offers limited replayability, primarily appealing to completionists who wish to collect all items and explore every aspect, as the main story can be completed in about 5-6 hours. While there are opportunities for additional exploration and side quests, the overall experience may not entice players to replay it extensively.
- “The story is good and well put together in my mind. You can blitz through it in around 5-6 hours, but if you decide to do all the side quests and exploring, it can definitely take up more of your time and may even allow for some replayability to spot the things you missed.”
- “Infinitely replayable, especially in multiplayer.”
- “For completionists, there is a low replay value, but it might be worth it to grab all the collectibles and kill absolutely everybody.”
- “The story is good and well put together in my mind, though you can blitz through it in around 5-6 hours. If you do decide to do all the side quests and exploring, it can definitely take up more of your time, but overall, the replayability is limited.”
- “Low replay value, except for completionists who might want to grab all the collectibles and kill absolutely everybody.”
- “While the game has some interesting elements, the lack of meaningful choices and consequences makes it feel less engaging on subsequent playthroughs.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
67%
Character development in the trilogy is highlighted as a strong point, particularly with the character Lucius, who shows significant improvement in design and depth compared to earlier installments. However, while the potential for a compelling story is acknowledged, it is somewhat overshadowed by issues in game design, leaving the overall character development feeling underutilized.
- “He himself had a well-handled character development throughout the trilogy, while everything else was wary.”
- “Lucius himself is the biggest step up in quality concerning character design and has left the uncanny valley of L1 and L2.”
- “They even had an angel in this one; the character designs are so interesting. Good story and so much potential.”
- “He had a well-handled character development throughout the trilogy, while everything else was lacking.”
- “Lucius himself is the biggest step up in quality concerning character design and has left the uncanny valley of the first two installments.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The emotional aspect of the game is largely criticized, with reviewers expressing disappointment over its offensive content and lackluster storytelling, which detracts from the impactful themes present in the earlier installments. While some acknowledge the emotional weight of the narrative, the overall execution leaves players feeling disheartened.
- “Even though this was a lot of boring and heartbreaking facts, I really liked the first two games and I know that the developers can do better than Lucius 3.”
- “It's really heartbreaking since the first two games at least worked and had some gameplay to them.”
- “The biggest issue with the game, aside from the boring story, buggy gameplay, and short length, is how incredibly offensive it can be.”