Lake

 PlayStation 5
User Score
6.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 23 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 23
  3. Negative: 4 out of 23

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  1. GameReviewerES
    Apr 9, 2022
    8
    Lake is a calm and pacifist experience that has a beautiful but limited open world whose main objective is to deliver mail in the hometown of the protagonist, making us think about the meaning of life. It also has an excellent artistic design plus a very-well decision-making system, but its mechanics fall into monotony.
  2. chrismcmuffin
    May 15, 2023
    9
    This game was such a delightful experience. It' not for everyone. It's not even for most people. But for those who love a chilled out story-driven narrative that you can do at your own pace, this games for you. You can't win or lose. You just relax, cruise along and do your thing while the story unfolds around you. It is so unique and the game itself is just absurdly beautiful. I lovedThis game was such a delightful experience. It' not for everyone. It's not even for most people. But for those who love a chilled out story-driven narrative that you can do at your own pace, this games for you. You can't win or lose. You just relax, cruise along and do your thing while the story unfolds around you. It is so unique and the game itself is just absurdly beautiful. I loved every minute of it. I'm looking forward to replaying it one day.… Expand
  3. Acd1984
    Apr 11, 2022
    7
    Whilst this game offers beautiful scenery in a nice visual art style and has a lot going for it in regards of story and gameplay for me, I'm constantly distracted by things that don't look right or work well, like why does the screen need to go black to exit/enter the truck? Driving mechanics and camera need to be worked on. Pop in is an issue especially with oncoming traffic. The town isWhilst this game offers beautiful scenery in a nice visual art style and has a lot going for it in regards of story and gameplay for me, I'm constantly distracted by things that don't look right or work well, like why does the screen need to go black to exit/enter the truck? Driving mechanics and camera need to be worked on. Pop in is an issue especially with oncoming traffic. The town is deserted and lifeless. The game just feels lazy at points which is a shame because it really is a pleasure to play if these things are ignored… Expand
  4. Darkpunta
    Sep 22, 2022
    5
    Poor graphics, plastic faces, nice but very quiet music and sounds. Game doesn’t take your breath, you don’t believe this story and characters. Couldn’t finish, stopped at 20% progress, waste of time, although it was very promising with posters and trailers.
  5. HonestReviews66
    Jun 27, 2023
    0
    This game has confirmed something I've been thinking lately. That Metacritic is actually irrelevant and shouldn't be used to see if you'd like a game or not. The fact that it's currently got a score just under 8, making it supposedly on par with games like the recent Final Fantasy XVI, is an insult to the concept of reviews.

    This is barely a game. It feels like the final project of a    This game has confirmed something I've been thinking lately. That Metacritic is actually irrelevant and shouldn't be used to see if you'd like a game or not. The fact that it's currently got a score just under 8, making it supposedly on par with games like the recent Final Fantasy XVI, is an insult to the concept of reviews.

    This is barely a game. It feels like the final project of a university student's game-design course. And I wouldn't be giving him/her an A for this effort, either. It's as simple (and boring) as a game can be. You just drive around in a van and deliver post by pressing one button for 6 hours. People are saying the environment is beautiful, as though we haven't seen grass, trees and water in every open world game for the last 30 years. The graphics are appalling - why are they calling this a 'PS5' version. Could this game not run on a PS4? What exactly are the 'upgrades'? The driving feels terrible! And there are no physics in the game at all. You cannot interact with ANYTHING and can't even knock down tiny road signs, even if you drive at them with a big van at full speed. Neither can you go off-road. Nope, just stick to the boring road. Your character can't even get out and walk around freely. It's all so limiting. In the grocery store, the fruit isn't even 3D. It's a flat picture of circles, rather than individual apples.

    I was almost tempted to suffer the pain for 6 hours just to get an easy platinum. But there's three different endings so you'd have to save your game, reload it and then play the last 2 days and one night AGAIN. TWICE! That is, unless you're stupid enough to play the whole game three times. Do the developers think this is Mass Effect?! It just wasn't necessary to have three endings for such a simple, stupid game.

    I just don't understand how ratings work anymore. Games should be rated OBJECTIVELY. I don't care if it's a small budget, made by a fish...or a £100 million dollar blockbuster made by Rockstar. An 8 out of 10 needs to be one point less than Doom Eternal, the original Modern Warfare 2, Mario, Zelda, God of War, Horizon, Uncharted, Bioshock etc. Because these are all games that got around 9 out of 10. This game is not 'slightly' worse than Forza, or Ratchet and Clank, or Resident Evil 7.

    DO NOT PLAY, let alone buy. It's free on PS Plus, but the waste of time is just not worth it. And, in case you haven't got the hint yet, THIS IS NOT AN 8 OUT OF 10!!!    … Expand
  6. SuperDuck23
    Jun 28, 2023
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Lake has all the potential for something very special in the slice-of-life genre. Sadly it falls short on most fronts which stops the game really soaring high. The biggest issue is how unpolished Lake is - with numerous pop-ins, sound issues and ropey controls coming in droves. The gameplay is a bit too unrewarding and most characters feel slightly undercooked. It's so nearly there, but it just misses out on being charming.

    I will say, however, the surprise appearance of a certain UK celebrity playing one of his own characters was delightful. If only the game had more of those endearing moments.    … Expand
  7. Horjus
    Jun 27, 2023
    9
    Lake allowed me to live out the dream of quitting my job, moving back to my hometown, and becoming a mailman. After so many dramatic, hard-hitting titles like God of War, Elden Ring, and the Witness, it was nice to turn my brain off for a few hours, deliver some mail, and create relationships with the people of Providence Oaks. The soundtrack went from good to repetitive and annoying toLake allowed me to live out the dream of quitting my job, moving back to my hometown, and becoming a mailman. After so many dramatic, hard-hitting titles like God of War, Elden Ring, and the Witness, it was nice to turn my brain off for a few hours, deliver some mail, and create relationships with the people of Providence Oaks. The soundtrack went from good to repetitive and annoying to great; by the end I was excited to listen to "Positive or Pet Peeve" that started my morning. Playing Lake made me want to play more games like Lake, even if only once in a while. The simplicity of gameplay makes it easy to pick up and put down, the supporting cast is written believably, and the tone of a small town in 1986 made me nostalgic for a time before I was born.… Expand
  8. KuronosuKami
    Aug 21, 2023
    0
    They're calling this a game and selling it for $20?? Total rip-off.

    I saw a trailer for this game and thought it was totally up my alley, so I put it on my wishlist. Then it was included in PlayStation Plus and I gave it a try and oh my God it's SO bad, I don't even have words for it. Not only are the controls atrocious, everything is just super low-budget and just outright bad and    They're calling this a game and selling it for $20?? Total rip-off.

    I saw a trailer for this game and thought it was totally up my alley, so I put it on my wishlist. Then it was included in PlayStation Plus and I gave it a try and oh my God it's SO bad, I don't even have words for it.

    Not only are the controls atrocious, everything is just super low-budget and just outright bad and obviously untested, let alone even remotely polished.

    From the technical point of view, I'm playing on the PlayStation 5 version and everything flickers and jitters, geometry pops in and out at absolute random, trees and grass clip into and out of sides of mountains and terrain and it's probably easier to get totally out of bounds than to actually play the game.

    Cutscenes are scripted, directed and executed horribly. Cinematography could be done better by a three-year-old.

    Gameplay is the most boring and painfully slow and dragging I have ever seen. I'm all for a cozy chillout game, but this makes my blood boil. Commands don't register, if you press the button twice or more, the character will start the action over and over again. And considering everything you do takes a literal eternity, it just makes you wanna cry.

    This was such a waste of time. Too bad, I liked the premise!    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. PLAY
    Jun 22, 2022
    80
    This is a pleasant small-town fantasy for a cosy weekend, buoyed by some delightful writing. [Issue#15, p.87]
  2. PlayStation Universe
    Apr 20, 2022
    80
    I loved my time in Lake and wished it lasted a bit longer. Though mail delivery doesn't sound so appealing, it was nice and relaxing to drive around a small town and take in the sights. Providence Oaks' town is full of people with big personalities that you can interact with however you want. It has some issues with pop-in issues and repetitive musical score, but it's easy to overlook these issues when the people of Providence Oaks are so delightful to talk to.
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  3. Finger Guns
    Apr 20, 2022
    80
    Lake is a casual, explorative and chilled narrative driven game where you get to immerse yourself in the quaint charms of Providence Oaks. The game features simple controls, wonderful performances and likely the most relaxing game play you’ll experience all year.
    Read full review
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