Lost Words: Beyond the Page is a title with heavy narrative implications created by Sketchbook Games and Fourth State, while the publication is in the hands of Modus Games. The story that we will live in this side scrolling adventure is written by Rhianna Pratchett, journalist and video game writer, famous for having worked on the likes of Mirror's Edge, Tomb Raider and its sequel: Rise of the Tomb Raider. Production is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Google Stadia and Nintendo Switch. Lost Words: Beyond the Page, however, was released first on the cloud console signed by Google, since at that time Stadia advertised what were the "First on Stadia", that is, the games that came out first for that platform and then on all the others. Well, the time has come to face the adventure proposed by Rhianna Pratchett, which is divided between dream and reality. Let's find out this interesting story together!
A fantasy world that reflects reality
Lost Words: Beyond the Page tells the story of a young girl who wishes to become a writer. Pushed by the grandmother, decides to get to work and start writing his first book. At this point, we will be faced with some choices, but the genre of our adventure will choose the protagonist; obviously it will be a fantasy. The heroine placed at the center of her story will be a little girl who will be able to use magic. After being introduced to the source of the village's well-being, a kind of well, we will be told that we will have to take the place of an Elder. Unfortunately, however, on the very day our girl had to perform the "rite of passage", the village is attacked by a dragon. The magical being destroyed everything our protagonist loved with its breath, including the energy well, which freed some fireflies that we will have to recover. Yes, because our protagonist will decide to go to meet the dragon and destroy it. Very classic, but not as much as you might think, given that we are not talking about a fully armed warrior; in fact, our only weapon will be words, but we will talk about this shortly.
What stands out in Lost Words: Beyond the Page is the parallelism between the girl's life, which we will see and live in the form of a diary, and the fantasy story that we will go through, because for better or for worse one will influence the other. We are talking about an idea that is certainly appreciable and that blends well with the events of the young woman, since the mood of a girl changes quickly according to the experiences lived. Furthermore allows the player to stay immersed in the plot. In fact, despite a rather simple play structure, the story created by Pratchett and his protagonist manages to keep glued to the screen. But now let's move on to the core of the video game, the gameplay.
Simple but not trivial
Lost Words: Beyond the Page is a simple horizontal scrolling platformer with three-dimensional elements. The flash of genius can be identified in the fact that often to overcome obstacles we will have to use "magic words", literally! Yes, in the game to advance we will have to use words such as "break", "lift", but also other less clear words such as "hope"; don't be afraid though, as the team worked hard to make sure the words to be used were intuitive enough. But not only that, sometimes they must also be used in combo, perhaps to reach a particular point and regain one of the lost fireflies, that they will be collectibles.
To find out if an object is interactable through one of the spells, that's enough notice that it will glow blue and there will be letters to surround it. Moreover, due to the graphic style chosen, it is very easy to guess which are the interactable blocks, especially if you have been a player for a few years. Of course, one of the coolest things about Lost Words: Beyond the Page is his be simple for those who are already veterans of the genre, and be interesting for those who want to approach the world of gaming. In fact, the production is well suited to be lived together with the whole family. In short, the title of Sketchbook Games and Fourth State is pretty straightforward, but this does not necessarily have to be a malus. Sometimes, simplicity allows immersion in the plot and beyond: in this case the gameplay and the narrative are linked by the words of the writer, real and "virtual".
Graphically beautiful, performance that can be improved
Let's move on to what identifies as one of Lost Words: Beyond the Page's biggest flaws, the performances. Indeed the title suffers a little from stuttering, despite the graphics being very light, and the lack of the option for V-Sync (sometimes called V-Sync, ed) makes a way out of this problem inaccessible. Of course, this could be solved with a simple patch, which will likely arrive right on Day One, the 6th April. As for the technical sector of the title, we have a style cartoon but in 3D, at least for the main characters, which makes everything even more magical; in fact, these are the parts that "stammer" the most. On the contrary, the phases in the real world have a particularly sophisticated style. The protagonist will become a 2D drawing and we will see it literally jump between words, which will always be in two dimensions; on these occasions, in fact, only a few “torn” words will be modeled in 3D. In short, if there were no stuttering during the "fantasy" phases, Lost Words: Beyond the Page it would be truly immersive and magical. The music and sound effects adapt to the various parts of the story and are identified as an important accompanying element for the player, and we can say that they are both very well done.
What has been able to conquer us of Lost Words: Beyond the Page is summed up in its settings. In fact, they all appear well cared for and well diversified from each other. We pass by typical fairytale village at the desert, without forgetting the interior of a volcano. Everything we see, however, is not only justified in terms of plot, but the designers have worked with dedication to take care of every little visual detail, especially as regards the backdrops. Convincing animations and well-crafted lighting effects will be on the agenda, and in all of this Fortunately, the playful part has not been forgotten, as there are a lot of “unwritten tips” on how-to-do-what. In short, a small feast for the eyes and for immersion.
Lost Words: Beyond the Page is therefore worth buying? Our answer is yes, but only if you are not looking for a complicated challenge. As already explained above, the title is quite simple but this does not mean that it does not hide some intriguing complexities, which almost exclusively concern the plot. Lost Words: Beyond the Page is a title that must be played for live an incredible story accompanied by a gameplay that is not particularly difficult but which is linked to the most important thing we have as human beings: the word.
