Lost: Via Domus

It doesn’t offer anything new to gamers but maintains the genius story-telling that made the show so successful.

Excellent for fans of the series. Everybody else: Do not take a look at this gameplay-lacking game.

This game expands the show’s fiction and reveals a few mind-blowing twists, including one that has completely altered all of my theories about the show. As of the time of this writing, it is one of the biggest reveals yet.

This short adventure game nails the feel of both the show and the island on which it's set, but struggles with some of the characters.

The real draw to Via Domus is the sheer amount of fan service poured into this disc. From the subtle nuances to the show to the proverbial flashback in each episode the game does a lot to appease its fanbase. Unfortunately that won't be enough to warrant a sixty dollar price tag for a game that can be completed in roughly 5-6 hours.

If you have the choice, check that you're really a huge fan of the show by reciting Hurley's winning lottery numbers, and then either play Via Domus on a PC or rent it.

However, we do have to say that, overall, Lost isn't a bad game. The foundation really is well constructed and at the very least, there are some new ideas involved.

Despite the fairly clunky gameplay mechanics, the so-so acting and the new character, you're still wandering around an island that you've spent hours watching on TV, doing things that you've seen characters do, which makes up for many of these problems.

Not the step forward for TV-to-game titles that we'd hoped. Only really dedicated fans of the show need apply.

Die-hard Lost fans should rent it, finish it for the ending, and be done with it.

Ubisoft captured the visual spirit of the show, but the actual gameplay in the first LOST game is not worth the three-season wait.

At least it only takes five hours to reach the conclusion.

This is a quick game, and beating it feels like being dumped by someone you were just about to break up with: you tell yourself you'll just beat one more level and all of a sudden, it's over.

As a Lost fan, I enjoyed exploring the island and interacting with survivors from the Oceanic Flight 815; as a videogames player, Via Domus feels like a wasted opportunity.

There’s a lot of detail on the scenery and the characters really look like the actors. And it follows the same structure as the show, mixing sections from the island with some flashbacks. But the gameplay is comprised of out of date mechanics and it doesn’t have what is basically the essence of Lost – a plot that really catches your attention. It doesn’t even tie well with the events of the show. [Apr 2008]

Lost Via Domus will be tempting to fans obsessed with the show, but the story—as good as it is--has no bearing whatsoever on the overall canon. It’s short, much of the gameplay amounts to a hurdle to get to the next cutscene, and at just over five hours long, under no circumstances can we recommend it for a purchase.

While it successfully captures the atmosphere of the series thanks to its episodic nature, excellent environmental visuals and use of the show's soundtrack, it suffers from spotty voice acting, repetitive and bland puzzles, a bad ending and being painfully short.

It's homework dressed up as fun. [Apr 2008, p.96]

In its attempt not to spoil the TV show, Lost on PS3 simply skirts all the good stuff. [Apr 2008, p.103]

The only problem is it has to be fun, and Lost: Via Domus is just not.

Via Domus is fan service through and through, and does deliver one genuinely amazing moment via its ending.

Folks who have been watching the show from the first episode won’t find any new answers about the island, and those used to a more robust adventure game experience will be put off by the boring, simplistic game play.

Worst of all, Via Domus fails to work as a decent game - thanks to its refusal to let you explore, dull puzzling and an appalling ending that was already cheesy when "Dallas" did it 20 years ago. [Apr 2008, p.78]

A decent digital recreation of the show, with mediocre story and adventure gameplay, counterbalanced by oodles of Lost fan-service.

As a rental, Lost: The Video Game might entertain a handful of die-hard fans for four or five hours, but it has no replay value.

One gets the feeling that the show's creators are trying to wash their hands of Via Domus, awkwardly placed as it is in the series' now-sprawling legendarium. But above and beyond that, fans should approach it as a lark; it's not very accomplished as a game.

But there's nothing in the game that you haven't already heard blabbed around the water cooler. Besides, if you play the modest mess that is Lost: Via Domus you'll never again wonder if the TV series has jumped the shark. It can't possibly get this muddled.

A disappointment. As a Lost fan, I’m annoyed by the inconsistencies in character actions; if I were not a Lost fan, I’d be confused about who all these people are and what they’re up to. As a game player, I’m frustrated by clunky mechanics, and if I were a non-game player, I’d probably feel justified in thinking that videogames were still the realm of nerds and their ilk.