Lost in Play is a near-perfect blend of fantasy storybooks and Saturday morning cartoons. This adorable adventure game stars Toto and Gal, two imaginative siblings that find themselves trapped in a whimsical fantasy world. To get back home, the two of them will have to solve puzzles, take on terrifying monsters, and make friends with fantasy creatures.
Some point-and-click adventure games can be confusing or overwhelming, but Lost in Play manages to streamline and simplify the puzzle-solving process without dumbing things down. Since every character speaks in gibberish, I never had to sift through dialogue or solve riddles to determine out what I should do next. All of the clues I received were pictures, which made them easy to figure out.
Lost in Play gave me a vast fantasy world to explore, but my movement was usually restricted to one or two screens. That limitation might sound frustrating, but it actually took a lot of the stress out of puzzle-solving. Everything I needed to solve puzzles was right in front of me, and I never had to do much backtracking. If I did get stuck, I could just hold down a button and instantly receive a helpful hint.
Not only does Lost in Play eliminate the most stressful elements of adventure games, but it finds ways to mix things up and keep the gameplay interesting. I spent plenty of times collecting items and using them to overcome obstacles, but I also had the chance to herd sheep, play checkers with a goblin, and face off against a seagull in a boardgame. Every minigame I played was expertly designed, and they kept the game feeling fresh, even when I was solving one environmental puzzle after another.
This fast-paced, varied approach to puzzle solving makes Lost in Play an incredibly addictive game. I was never stuck in one place for long, and as soon as I made my way through one challenge, I was ready to move onto the next one. It's hard to put Lost in Play down, but since its puzzles are on the shorter side, it would be an amazing game to play in short bursts. Progress is saved automatically whenever you complete a puzzle, so you could definitely pick this up and have some fun when you have a few minutes of downtime.
Whether I was opening a can of flies for a frog, collecting rubber duckies for a goblin, or finding ways to pester my sibling, playing Lost in Play made me feel like a kid again. The cutesy characters, word-free storytelling, and humor-filled gameplay make it a fantastic option for gamers of any age. Don’t be afraid to get lost in this weird and wonderful adventure game.
Review written by TapTap editor @Ndi