Lorelei and the Laser Eyes

It would be an immense understatement to say Simogo have made the five-year wait for their follow-up release worth it. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes defies not just genre conventions, but that of tone, aesthetic and even presentation to craft a game of wild imagination and even wilder a delivery. Yet for all its leisurely skirting the boundaries between one perceived tone or form of presentation to the next, none of what is experienced amid the Hotel Letztes Jahr feels distracting or otherwise ill-fitting. Be it at its most satirical, surreal, strange, and on some occasions, psychologically unsettling. A masterfully-orchestrated series of puzzles that are both stand-alone and interconnected alike, a brilliant use of a more-restricted color palette emboldening its art-style and aesthetic. And best of all: one of the most curious, perplexing but ultimately satisfying mysteries to see fully unraveled and revealed in its truest form. Combined, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes stands as Simogo's best work to date. Even with a portfolio as creative as theirs, a release deserving of that most lofty of titles: magnum opus.

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is one of the masterpieces of the year, a title that stands out in the already large Annapurna stable and yet another confirmation of Simogo as one of the most talented teams around. A puzzle game, a graphic adventure, a detective story, even a simple dungeon crawler, chameleon-like and always surprising, but above all a cursed, engaging, disturbing story, which starts from a psychological thriller and ends up thinking about art in the broadest sense of term. Obsessive level design, extraordinary atmosphere, incredible moments for a work that I have no illusions about being commercially successful but which, perhaps, like certain arthouse films, could become a cult.

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is an incredibly stylish puzzler that, during my time with it, continued to beguile right to the end.

This is one of those games that I’ll think about even after I finish it. As of the time of writing, I still have quite a few mysteries to uncover, as there are some puzzles that just well and truly stumped me. The world it presents is a cryptic one, reminding me of old conspiracy theories from before my time, but it keeps you coming back for more, hankering to pull back the curtains and unlock the doors to discover the secrets behind them.

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is a unique, distinct, and memorable experience that leverages the strengths of video games as a storytelling medium. It is recommended for anyone who is interested in mystery stories or adventure games.