The Lotus Holidays
- October 18, 2023
- Sad Mask Party
Get on Steam"The Lotus Holidays" is an experimental adventure game that features a trippy and surreal world with an intricate, interactive story. As the winner of a free weekend at the luxurious "Lotus" spa resort, you find yourself trapped and infected with a mysterious virus. The game offers exploration, decision making, and a variety of gameplay styles, including first-person shooter and dating simulator. Uncover the secrets of the "Lotus" while navigating a deeply personal and immersive experience.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a compelling and surreal narrative with multiple endings that encourage exploration and replayability.
- Visually striking with a unique art style, the game creates an immersive atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.
- The character interactions and quirky humor add depth to the gameplay, making it enjoyable for fans of unconventional storytelling.
- The game can feel restrictive at times, with forced adherence to the story limiting player choices and exploration.
- Some technical issues, such as bugs with achievements and dialogue visibility on widescreen monitors, detract from the overall experience.
- The sporadic music and sound design can lead to moments of silence that disrupt the immersion, making the game feel less engaging at times.
- story15 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The game's story is a complex and engaging experience, featuring a large cast of characters and branching choices that lead to multiple endings, enhancing player involvement. While the narrative is intriguing and visually stunning, some players feel restricted by the game's linearity, which can detract from the overall experience. The combination of a compelling plot, atmospheric aesthetics, and interactive elements creates a unique blend that immerses players in its psychedelic horror world.
“In addition to the trippy visuals, you have a large cast of characters to interact with and a story that changes based on your decisions.”
“This game has it all: a compelling plot full of twists that you won't see coming but they still make perfect sense for the narrative, stunningly artistic visuals, fun characters, interesting and challenging puzzles, my boy lemon, and surprising scares.”
“The story is much more complex and much easier to follow, with different characters, branching choices, and even 7 different endings that can be unlocked depending on the choices you made, the relationships you established, and most importantly your spirit of observation.”
“Sigh...this could have been a really cool game, but the forced adherence to the story ruins it.”
“Things you can choose (like opening a door that's unlocked) can suddenly be prevented in order to keep you from straying from the story route the game makes you follow.”
“It's more story-driven than mango, but still leaves a lot of things to the player's imagination.”
- graphics10 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are widely praised for their stunning artistic quality, featuring a unique blend of trippy visuals, soothing pastel colors, and detailed animations that enhance the atmospheric experience. Players appreciate the coherent and imaginative design, which transforms each location into a visually captivating environment, complemented by a compelling narrative and engaging music. Overall, the visuals contribute significantly to the game's unique and unforgettable experience.
“The visuals are delightfully quirky and fit the game perfectly.”
“A horror thriller experience that abounds with great aesthetics, detailed animation, and beautiful atmospheric music that complements the plot progression.”
“The graphics are much more coherent, even though they still maintain a deliciously 'artsy' style that continuously strikes the eyes of the player with crazy combinations of colors, shapes, and surfaces, to the point that each single location feels like a painting inside which you have the honor to be able to move freely.”
“The visuals feel less like an art student's enthusiastic, but seemingly first attempt at creating a scene in Unity.”
“The graphics are much more coherent, even though they still maintain a deliciously 'artsy' style that continuously strikes the eyes of the player with crazy combinations of colors, shapes, and surfaces.”
“The lotus holidays is tighter, more thought out, and the visuals feel less like an art student's first attempt at creating a scene.”
- music6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game is described as charming and atmospheric, enhancing the overall experience with its beautiful melodies that complement the plot. However, it can be sporadic, leading to moments where its sudden onset feels jarring. Overall, the combination of music and sound effects contributes significantly to the game's unique aesthetic and immersive quality.
“The music is equally charming but so sporadic that when it starts to play after a long period of silence – it’s almost a jump-scare of its own.”
“Music and sound effects are not just there to fill up space, or just for aesthetics.”
“A horror thriller experience that abounds with great aesthetics, detailed animation and beautiful atmospheric music that complements the plot progression.”
“The music is equally charming but so sporadic that when it starts to play after a long period of silence, it’s almost a jump-scare of its own.”
“Just runs out of music sometimes.”
“Upon entering its world, cheerful elevator music starts playing.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's humor is described as a blend of surrealism and horror, creating an unpredictable narrative experience that can shift unexpectedly between comedic and frightening moments. While this experimental approach may surprise players, it can also lead to mixed feelings, as the humor often intertwines with other genres, making it a unique but potentially jarring experience. Overall, the humor is an integral part of the game's wacky and surreal storytelling, though it may not resonate with everyone.
“A narrative adventure combining surreal, horror, and humor energies all at once.”
“It mixes several narrative genres (from funny to scary) in the big boiling pot of wacky surrealism, and it serves it to you as the chef intended – some things may be way beyond your palate, but you can skip it and go for the next one instead.”
“Most of the endings will simply continue the narrative-set pace and will take you to either horror- or humor-land, but there were a few that popped up with such an unexpected action that I was taken aback by such sudden change.”
- gameplay1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Gameplay is noted for its engaging surprises that keep players intrigued as they progress through the game, adding depth and excitement to the overall experience.
“I was happy to simply get to the bottom of things, although that bottom brought an element of surprise to the gameplay in more than one way.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players have expressed that the game evokes a sense of ordinariness or lack of depth in emotional engagement, leaving them feeling unremarkable or uninspired.
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its captivating aesthetics, intricate animations, and beautifully composed music, all of which enhance the horror thriller experience and align seamlessly with the plot progression.
“A horror thriller experience that abounds with great aesthetics, detailed animation, and beautiful atmospheric music that complements the plot progression.”
