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Luto

While Luto is a beautiful game with experimental visuals and storytelling, holding an impactful message on the emptiness of grief, its pacing issues, inconsistent tone and lack of actual horror kill off the momentum set at the beginning of the game.
Luto Game Cover
83%Game Brain Score
story, atmosphere
replayability, grinding
84% User Score Based on 544 reviews
Critic Score 80%Based on 6 reviews

Platforms

Xbox Series X|SPCPlaystation 5XboxWindowsPlayStation
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Luto Game Cover

About

Luto is a single player action game with horror, drama and thriller themes. It was developed by Broken Bird Games and was released on July 21, 2025. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

Luto is a single-player horror adventure that plunges you into a psychological journey through grief and loss, trapped within an unsettling, ever-shifting home. With a wholesome yet exceptional story, atmospheric visuals, and masterful mechanics, it challenges your senses as you navigate a labyrinth of secrets where reality blurs with unsettling fiction.

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Luto screenshot
Luto screenshot
Luto screenshot
Luto screenshot
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Luto screenshot
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84%
Audience ScoreBased on 544 reviews
story86 positive mentions
replayability3 negative mentions
  • Luto offers a beautifully crafted narrative that explores deep themes of grief and loss, making it a profound experience.
  • The game features stunning graphics and an immersive atmosphere that enhances the psychological horror elements.
  • Puzzles are creatively designed, requiring players to think critically and engage deeply with the story.
  • The narrator can be intrusive and detracts from the horror atmosphere, leading to mixed feelings about the overall experience.
  • Some puzzles are overly vague or convoluted, causing frustration and potentially breaking immersion for players.
  • The game may not deliver the expected jump scares or traditional horror elements, which could disappoint players looking for a more conventional horror experience.
  • story
    242 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of the game is widely praised for its emotional depth and intricate storytelling, exploring themes of grief, loss, and psychological horror. Many players appreciate the nuanced and immersive narrative, which often requires careful attention to detail and reflection to fully grasp its meaning. However, some critiques highlight issues with pacing, convoluted plot elements, and a lack of clarity that can detract from the overall experience, leaving players divided on its effectiveness.

    • “The level of careful detail, storytelling without spelling it out for you, the narration and its part, the way a game can display the deep emotional feeling it is trying to portray - all of this has woven this into a cinematic and beautifully written masterpiece.”
    • “It’s a heartbreaking yet captivating story about grief and loss.”
    • “The use of environmental storytelling, layered symbolism, and deeply personal themes—like grief, depression, and the inability to escape—creates an emotional weight that stays with you long after you stop playing.”
    • “The story is convoluted and confusing, puzzles are absurdly hard.”
    • “The story makes you truly think about how trauma can impact your life.”
    • “This game left me disappointed due to the clear disconnect between its story and gameplay, which made the experience feel disjointed and ultimately unfulfilling.”
  • atmosphere
    72 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its eerie, immersive quality, combining stunning visuals, exceptional sound design, and a deeply personal narrative that evokes themes of grief and psychological tension. Many players appreciate the game's ability to create a tense and unsettling environment, often highlighting the effectiveness of the narrator in enhancing the overall experience, despite some criticism regarding pacing and the potential for immersion-breaking elements. Overall, it is recommended for fans of atmospheric horror who prefer a focus on narrative and emotional depth over traditional jump scares.

    • “The atmosphere, the narrator, the other voice, everything about it just worked.”
    • “The atmosphere is absolutely incredible, from the moment you step into its world, you feel like the protagonist of a deeply personal journey.”
    • “Luto delivers a deeply atmospheric and emotional horror experience more than just jumpscares.”
    • “Removed the immersion and atmosphere, which made the horror elements feel very muted.”
    • “The atmosphere is alright, but it doesn't feel scary whatsoever.”
    • “Id say only downside is it has more of a unsettling or creepy atmosphere instead of actual horror.”
  • gameplay
    61 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many praising its unique mechanics and immersive narrative, while others find certain puzzles vague and frustrating, often requiring external guides. Players appreciate the atmospheric elements and the integration of story with gameplay, but some criticize the lack of variety and coherence in the gameplay loop. Overall, while the game offers engaging moments and creative mechanics, it may leave some players feeling confused or dissatisfied with its execution.

    • “Amazing story and gameplay!!!”
    • “It’s packed with so many elements to explore, from unique gameplay mechanics to hidden surprises that keep you engaged.”
    • “The way Luto blends narrative and gameplay is deeply effective.”
    • “There's about 4 hours of gameplay, with not much replay value.”
    • “In a gameplay sense, I hate looking up walkthroughs since I feel like I do the game a massive disservice, yet I've done it in this one more times than I could count because I would never be sure if my original idea would work or I'd just be upright confused when I do and it doesn't work.”
    • “This game left me disappointed due to the clear disconnect between its story and gameplay, which made the experience feel disjointed and ultimately unfulfilling.”
  • graphics
    57 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers highlighting their beauty, detail, and ability to enhance the overall atmosphere and tension. Players noted the visuals as "stunning," "gorgeous," and "almost photorealistic," contributing significantly to the immersive experience, despite some minor technical issues. Overall, the game's graphical presentation is considered a standout feature, elevating it above many others in the genre.

    • “The graphics are beautiful and detailed, perfectly complementing the game’s haunting tone, but it’s the sound design that takes the immersion to another level for me.”
    • “Graphics are gorgeous, and you can tell this was a labor of love.”
    • “The atmosphere and art style are top tier.”
    • “Tried it on my Steam Deck, but as soon as I tinkered with the graphics settings, the resolution exploded and effectively softlocked me from doing anything.”
    • “The biggest gripe for me was that VHS puzzles at times were hard to control and hard to see what you were doing, which I understand the want for that aesthetic, but when everything is dark and fuzzy, it does make it hard to actually progress without having to stop every few seconds out of frustration.”
    • “The visuals in the trailer sold the game to me, but oh well, that wasn't enough.”
  • emotional
    44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of "Luto" is widely praised for its profound storytelling and ability to evoke deep feelings of grief, loss, and introspection. Players report a powerful emotional immersion that often leads to tears, highlighting the game's capacity to resonate with personal experiences and struggles. The combination of atmospheric design, layered symbolism, and a mature narrative creates a haunting yet captivating experience that lingers long after gameplay.

    • “This game is an emotional immersion into grief, healing, and introspection after death.”
    • “The use of environmental storytelling, layered symbolism, and deeply personal themes—like grief, depression, and the inability to escape—creates an emotional weight that stays with you long after you stop playing.”
    • “It's not just frightening, it's emotionally devastating in the best way.”
  • optimization
    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game is praised for its strong optimization, delivering impressive performance and graphics without significant bugs or issues. While some users noted minor optimization concerns in the demo, the final version is generally regarded as well-optimized, with a score of 8.5/10 for graphics and performance.

    • “Incredible performances and ambiance through and through.”
    • “The game runs well, and I had no bugs or performance issues.”
    • “Good graphics, well optimized and not a lot of jump scares.”
    • “I understand that the black bars also play into the story, but part of me possibly thinks the dev did it for optimization purposes.”
    • “The demo had optimization issues.”
    • “I have a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, 13th Gen Intel i7, and 64GB RAM, so performance shouldn't be an issue.”
  • music
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is generally well-received, contributing effectively to the atmosphere and enhancing the horror experience. While some players feel it is subtle and not always prominent, it complements the game's story and mechanics, creating a tense and immersive environment. Overall, the soundtrack and sound design are praised for their ability to elevate key moments and maintain a sense of unease.

    • “This must be one of the best horror experiences I’ve had in a while - the story was incredibly strong, the puzzles were difficult and rewarding, the world building, atmosphere, sound design, and music all just worked.”
    • “The story is rich and immersive, while the music and overall gameplay create the need for cautious and apprehensive actions.”
    • “The game has a great soundtrack that helps sell some of the moments and story of the game.”
    • “The music contributes to the creation of this hostile environment and the mechanics are overall great.”
    • “The music?”
  • replayability
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers approximately 4 hours of gameplay but is noted for having limited replay value, with many users indicating it lacks significant incentives for replaying.

    • “Infinite replayability.”
    • “There's about 4 hours of gameplay, with not much replay value.”
    • “No replay value.”
    • “Does it have replay value?”
  • humor
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's humor is characterized by clever meta-commentary on design choices, blending unsettling elements with comedic moments reminiscent of "The Stanley Parable" and "Visage." Players appreciate the frequent fourth wall breaks and a mysterious storyline that adds to the overall experience, making it both creepy and amusing.

    • “The funny thing is, the dev team is meta with how it discusses its own worries at the end regarding design choices.”
    • “A unique experience that combines elements of 'The Stanley Parable' and 'Visage,' which is both unnerving and occasionally humorous.”
    • “A great amount of hilarious fourth wall breaks paired with a mysterious storyline.”
  • stability
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, players report a generally stable experience with impressive graphics and minimal glitches during gameplay. However, some users encountered specific bugs, such as being stuck in a decision screen, which required restarting the game and disrupted immersion.

    • “The graphics were amazing, and I had no glitches or issues throughout the long gameplay.”
    • “The game ran smoothly without any crashes, making for a seamless experience.”
    • “I was impressed by the stability; I could play for hours without encountering any problems.”
    • “I played the spider game and earned 4 coins. I lost the first time, and the game was supposed to let me remove one of the coins and play again. Unfortunately, when I pressed the 'yes' option to play again, the game didn't proceed, and I ended up stuck on the 'yes' and 'no' screen. I had to close the game completely to return to the main menu. Just before that, the game was supposed to be 'breaking' due to the deductions we made during the game, so forcing me to close the game to fix this bug broke the immersion since the menu I got was the normal one and not the 'buggy' one I expected due to the game being broken again.”
  • grinding
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and frustrating, with some expressing that it requires an excessive time commitment. Many feel that the lack of support exacerbates the experience, making it difficult to progress.

    • “I would love to put a good review, but I can't since I was unable to play it. The experience has been tedious, frustrating, and I could find no help whatsoever.”
    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
  • character development
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Luto excels in character development by exploring profound themes of depression and guilt, enhancing the immersive experience with its eerie atmosphere and refined scares. Players engage deeply with the characters, making the emotional journey impactful and resonant.

    • “With its eerie atmosphere, refined scares, smart player interaction, and deep character development built around themes of depression and guilt, Luto delivers a truly immersive and polished experience.”
  • monetization
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization model is praised for avoiding common pitfalls associated with the genre, such as exploitative cash grabs and reliance on cheap jump scares aimed at generating streamer reactions.

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80%Critics’ scoreBased on 6 critic reviews
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4h Median play time
4h Average play time
3-4h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Luto is a action game with horror, drama and thriller themes.

Luto is available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5, Windows and others.

On average players spend around 4 hours playing Luto.

Luto was released on July 21, 2025.

Luto was developed by Broken Bird Games.

Luto has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its replayability.

Luto is a single player game.

Similar games include Layers of Fear 2, KARMA: The Dark World, Layers of Fear, The Medium, No one lives under the lighthouse and others.