Lucius III

About

Lucius III is a single player action game with a horror theme. It was developed by Shiver Games and was released on December 12, 2018. It received neutral reviews from players.

"Lucius III" is a horror adventure game where you play as the villain protagonist with powerful magical abilities. The game boasts an in-depth story, atmospheric environments, and over 20 tracks of original music. However, it faces criticism for lacking optimization and having numerous bugs, but still offers plenty of humor and a dense atmosphere, along with the opportunity to investigate the past and secrets of Winter Hill. Overall, a single-player game with a good plot for those who enjoy dark humor and a villain's perspective.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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49%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,008 reviews

story162 positive mentions

stability252 negative mentions

Engaging story that continues the Lucius saga with interesting character development.
Open world design allows for exploration and some creative kills, reminiscent of the first game.
Some humorous moments and references to classic horror films add charm.

Game is riddled with bugs and glitches, making it frustrating to play.
Graphics and animations are subpar, feeling outdated and poorly optimized for a 2018 release.
Gameplay lacks the freedom and creativity of previous installments, with many kills being scripted rather than player-driven.

story
598 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 developed, 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 leaves much to be desired in terms of depth and coherence.
- “Amazing game with an amazing story.”
- “The story is well written as well as the characters.”
- “Lucius iii is the most story-driven game of the franchise and arguably close if not equal to the 1st one.”
- “This game is a mess, a true half-ass attempt to continue the story.”
- “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.”
stability
254 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
99%
The game is widely criticized for its numerous bugs and glitches, which significantly hinder the overall experience. Players report issues such as character freezing, NPCs getting stuck, frequent crashes, and various graphical problems, making the game feel unfinished and at times unplayable. While some users find enjoyment in the gameplay despite these flaws, the overwhelming consensus is that the game's stability is severely lacking and requires urgent attention from the developers.
- “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
228 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
66%
22%
The gameplay of this title has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with players citing numerous bugs, clunky controls, and poor animations that detract from the experience. While some appreciate the return to a more story-driven format reminiscent of the first game, many find the mechanics frustratingly simplistic and linear, leading to a lack of engagement. Overall, the game is seen as unpolished and lacking the depth and creativity of its predecessors, making it a disappointing entry 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.”
- “In the end I really enjoyed all 4 Lucius games (Lucius, Lucius demake, Lucius 2 and Lucius 3), story is great, gameplay is fun, what else do you need from a game series that you love?”
- “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
202 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
66%
17%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players noting significant issues such as poor animations, graphical glitches, and unoptimized performance, which detract from the overall experience. While some appreciate the cinematic improvements and aesthetic choices, others criticize the visuals as outdated and lacking polish, especially for a game released in 2018. Overall, the graphics seem to be a point of contention, with some players feeling that they do not meet modern standards despite occasional moments of visual appeal.
- “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.”
- “Graphics is nice, big improvement over the 2nd title, and character models are good, and Lucius looks the best of all in this game.”
- “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, 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; graphics are not that great, lots of bugs, lots of problems with lighting and possible bugs that prevent further progression.”
music
80 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
56%
4%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising the soundtrack as enjoyable and atmospheric, while some criticized specific tracks, particularly a poorly received cover of "House of the Rising Sun." Overall, the soundtrack is noted for its incorporation of themes from the first game and for enhancing the game's ambiance, despite occasional issues with volume and audio glitches. While the music is generally considered good, the overall audio experience is marred by inconsistencies and bugs.
- “The soundtrack is really good and it incorporates a lot of stuff from the first game more so than the second game had.”
- “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.”
- “I really like the atmosphere and music so far.”
- “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
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is described as a mix of dark, absurd, and often unintentional comedy, with many players finding the glitches and technical issues to be hilariously entertaining. While some moments of dark humor and creative kills shine through, others feel offensive or poorly handled, leading to a sense that the humor has diminished compared to earlier installments. Overall, the game is seen as a "hilarious mess," with a charm that can make it enjoyable despite its flaws.
- “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.”
- “Lucius can be engrossing, charming, and even darkly funny.”
optimization
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
5%
40%
55%
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with many users reporting severe performance issues, including lag, bugs, and long loading times. While some appreciate the visual design and narrative potential, the overall experience is marred by janky animations, clipping, and a lack of polish, making it nearly unplayable for some. Overall, players feel that the balance between graphics and performance was not adequately achieved, leading to a frustrating gaming experience.
- “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.”
- “This game is 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
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
32%
11%
The game's atmosphere is described as a mix of charming B-movie vibes and a gloomy, vintage aesthetic, effectively contributing to its horror elements. However, inconsistencies in execution, such as poor sound balance and buggy levels, detract from the overall experience. While some players appreciate the atmospheric soundtrack and the intentional shift towards stealth, others find the atmosphere occasionally mismatched with the gameplay.
- “Really atmospheric and nice.”
- “I'm just appreciating the atmosphere and the thought that has been put into this.”
- “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.”
- “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.”
- “[code] rushed story / bugs / atmosphere not fitting / nearly no riddles / map looks partially empty / you can easily miss some parts of the story [/code]”
grinding
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
64%
29%
Players consistently express frustration with the grinding aspect of the game, describing it as excessively time-consuming and tedious. Many feel that it detracts from the overall enjoyment, with some suggesting that it requires an unrealistic commitment of time.
- “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
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
50%
20%
The game offers limited replayability, primarily appealing to completionists who wish to collect all items and explore every aspect of the world. While the main story can be completed in about 5-6 hours, engaging in side quests and exploration may extend playtime and provide opportunities to discover missed content. Overall, the replay value is considered low for casual players.
- “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 questing 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.”
- “The game offers a lot of opportunities for replayability, particularly for those who enjoy completing all the side quests and discovering hidden elements.”
- “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 questing and exploring, it can definitely take up more of your time and may even allow for some replayability to spot the things you missed.”
- “- low replay value (except for completionists who might want to grab all the collectibles and kill absolutely everybody).”
character development
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
Character development in the trilogy is highlighted as a strong point, particularly with the character Lucius, who shows significant growth and improved design compared to earlier installments. However, despite the intriguing character designs and potential for a compelling story, the overall execution is marred by poor game design, leaving players wanting a remake to fully realize this potential.
- “He had a well-handled character development throughout the trilogy, while everything else was wary.”
- “The character designs are so interesting, showcasing a good story and so much potential.”
- “He himself had a well-handled character development through 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.”
emotional
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The emotional aspect of the game is largely criticized, with reviewers expressing disappointment over its offensive content and lack of engaging storytelling. While some nostalgia for the earlier titles exists, the overall sentiment reflects heartbreak over the game's failure to meet expectations, particularly in comparison to its predecessors.
- “Even though this was a lot of boring and heartbreaking facts, I really liked the first two games and I know that the devs can do better than Lucius 3.”
- “It's really heartbreaking since the first two games at least worked and had some gameplay to them.”