The Lady

About

"The Lady" is a first-person puzzle-adventure game that follows a mysterious woman with supernatural abilities. Players must navigate through a series of mind-bending challenges while uncovering the truth behind the lady's past and her connection to a shadowy organization. With a unique blend of stealth, exploration, and puzzle-solving, "The Lady" offers a thrilling and immersive gaming experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

41%

Audience ScoreBased on 39 reviews

graphics8 positive mentions

gameplay6 negative mentions

The art style is unique and beautifully disturbing, effectively creating an unsettling atmosphere.
The game explores themes of anxiety and depression in a surreal and thought-provoking manner.
It's free to play, making it accessible for those interested in experimental art games.

Gameplay is frustratingly unresponsive and poorly designed, with awful controls and a lack of clear objectives.
The story is confusing and lacks depth, making it hard for players to engage with the narrative.
The game is overly cryptic and punishing, often requiring players to restart levels without any checkpoints.

gameplay
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
64%
24%
The gameplay has been widely criticized for being poorly designed, confusing, and frustrating, often detracting from the otherwise impressive art style and soundtrack. Many reviewers noted that the mechanics feel clumsy and unrefined, leading to a lack of enjoyment and engagement. While some elements of exploration exist, they are overshadowed by the game's overall lack of coherent and enjoyable gameplay experiences.
- “Each level has a different gameplay approach, with a distinct variation for each stage, some being more traditional, while some being more explorative; the exploration parts focus more on the feeling the player has in regards to what is happening to the lady, and not necessarily to the levels themselves.”
- “Gameplay wise, the lady is comprised of several minimalistically-designed levels, divided in stages.”
- “If it had rethought a few of the gameplay design decisions, and had more ways to proceed than 'wander back and forth' and some means to skip levels you've already beaten, this could have been a real gem, or at least less player-hostile.”
- “The gameplay is just not good whatsoever and the game is hurt by a ton of really weird decisions.”
- “It's art style is the highlight, but to appreciate it you have to put up with some truly mediocre gameplay and some terrible game design.”
- “Phenomenal art and a killer soundtrack cannot hide the fact that this has really bad gameplay.”
graphics
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
50%
14%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique and disturbing art style, which many reviewers consider the highlight of the experience. While the visuals are described as beautiful, twisted, and atmospheric, they often overshadow the mediocre gameplay and technical issues. Overall, the art style is seen as a redeeming factor that adds depth and intrigue, despite the game's shortcomings.
- “I definitely think the art style is the highlight of the game and that's about all the good praise I can give it on the surface.”
- “The art style is awesome and really is the only redeeming factor in the game.”
- “This game boasts eerie artwork with a mysterious atmosphere.”
- “Art style is very likely made repulsive on purpose and it does its job perfectly fine.”
- “It's art style is the highlight, but to appreciate it you have to put up with some truly mediocre gameplay and some terrible game design.”
- “I'm honestly not sure if it even was a game-over I triggered or the game glitching out, as the effect was the same - the graphics flicker, the sprites bug out of place then the game freezes and crashes to desktop.”
music
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
56%
19%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its ability to create an unsettling atmosphere through ambient sound effects and droning noises, while others criticize it as unoriginal and lacking memorable qualities. Many feel that the soundtrack does not qualify as traditional music, often describing it as stock "creepy" sounds that fail to enhance the gameplay experience. Overall, while the audio contributes to the game's eerie mood, it is often viewed as a weak point rather than a highlight.
- “The soundtrack of the game does well with setting up an unsettling atmosphere, with some creepy droning noises that make you feel like something is going to go wrong at any moment.”
- “The theme and sensation of the game falls into place really nicely and the eerily abrasive soundtrack puts your mind in that 'panic' feeling, the rules of it break 'normal' and 'proper' game design in a good way that supports the theme.”
- “To start with, the positive - the presentation is nice; the visuals and droning tone of the 'music' get you in the right mood very effectively.”
- “However, I do find the soundtrack nothing special; it's decent, but it's not crazy memorable as I've heard the same type of droning soundtrack multiple times beforehand.”
- “Audio was just an ambient track, not really music per se.”
- “I could record the noise between radio stations and call it music, but that doesn't make it music.”
atmosphere
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its unsettling and eerie qualities, enhanced by effective sound design and creepy visuals that create a sense of impending dread. While some players appreciate the dark ambient sounds, others feel that the lack of traditional music detracts from the experience. However, the overall consensus is that the atmosphere is a strong point, successfully immersing players in a tense and mysterious environment, despite occasional disruptions from gameplay elements.
- “The soundtrack of the game does well with setting up an unsettling atmosphere, with some creepy droning noises that make you feel like something is going to go wrong at any moment.”
- “Even though there is no music in the game, it more than recompenses with atmospheric sound effects filled with terror and shock, just as visuals do.”
- “The atmosphere of the game is great, and the art style is nice and creepy.”
- “I would have preferred some real music that fit the atmosphere of the game, not this nonsense.”
- “Lastly, one thing I really did dislike was how it worked so hard and put so much effort into getting you into this creepy, panicked theme, only to then have its random 'space-invaders' like levels with completely out of place sound effects, breaking the atmosphere that it spent so long carefully setting up.”
- “Where part of me immensely dislikes the 'no-save, no-continue' side of things, it is awful during a panic attack; you are unable to leave it or be dumped into the middle of one, and you just always start from the beginning. It's only realistic that the theme and atmosphere of the game keeps that key element.”
story
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The game's story is largely absent, with players noting that they learn more from the store page than from the actual gameplay. Reviews describe the narrative as muddled and confusing, lacking coherence and depth, which detracts from the overall experience. Additionally, the game's short length and challenging gameplay mechanics do not compensate for its storytelling shortcomings.
- “I would suggest to take the game slowly, since rushing into the stages can get you killed and you have to restart from the beginning of the level (but I decided to treat this as a 'story-telling' device); furthermore, the game is short enough to finish in roughly 1h - 1h30.”
- “The story has potential, but it feels underdeveloped and could benefit from more depth and engagement.”
- “While the gameplay is challenging, the narrative elements could be more cohesive to enhance the overall experience.”
- “This is the description of the story of the lady on the store page; however, the game has little in the way of an actual story.”
- “- The story is incomprehensible.”
- “I learn more about the story from the Steam page than the actual game.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of "The Lady" is characterized by its surreal and unsettling exploration of mental health issues, particularly anxiety and depression, as experienced by the protagonist. Players report feeling discomfort and empathy as they navigate the game's fever dream-like scenarios, which serve as a poignant commentary on inner struggles. Overall, it is viewed as an interactive art project that effectively conveys complex emotional themes.
- “The lady is a surreal emotional journey that takes the player through a series of fever dream hallucinations, while confronting inner struggles of anxiety and depression.”
- “This game made me feel very uncomfortable, moving around as an armless woman and breaking glass with my bare head.”
- “The lady is an interesting interactive art project and a game that explores several mental and emotional issues, told through the eyes of the main protagonist, simply called the lady.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The reviews indicate a significant lack of character development, with users expressing disappointment that the characters do not evolve or grow throughout the game.
- “We get absolutely no character development from her at all.”
- “The characters feel one-dimensional and lack any meaningful growth throughout the game.”
- “I was disappointed by how predictable and shallow the character arcs were.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, often breaking immersion and leading to frustration, especially after multiple restarts.
- “As mentioned above, it just makes the game tedious and removes any immersion gained until you've restarted more than twice.”
- “The grinding feels endless and detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.”
- “I found myself doing the same repetitive tasks over and over, which made the experience feel more like a chore than fun.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Users report significant stability issues, including frequent crashes to desktop, graphical glitches, and sprite misplacements, leading to confusion over whether these problems are due to game mechanics or technical malfunctions.
- “I'm honestly not sure if it was a game-over I triggered or if the game was glitching out, as the effect was the same - the graphics flicker, the sprites bug out of place, then the game freezes and crashes to desktop.”
- “The game crashes frequently, making it nearly impossible to progress without constant restarts.”
- “I experienced multiple instances of the game freezing during critical moments, which completely ruined my immersion.”