Lost Words: Beyond the Page

Lost Words is a 2D platform game with logic puzzle elements. It was created by Fourth Estate, whose members are experienced game developers. The main designer, Mark Backler, worked on Fable II, and the story was written by Rhianna Pratchett, the author of scenarios for Heavenly Sword, Mirror's Edge, Tomb Raider, and Rise of the Tomb Raider.

Plot

In Lost Words you explore a teenage girl's diary. You spend some time in the fantastical lands she created, but also on the diary's pages. Thus, you discover the girl's problems and learn her story step by step.

Mechanics

Lost Words is a 2D platform game, in which you explore locations, avoid dangers, and collect items. The way the story is constructed in shapes the gameplay in a very noticeable manner, as very often you jump not on platforms, but on words and sentences.

This is not where the diary inspiration ends. Apart from arcade-like challenges, you also have to solve many logic puzzles. You do that by manipulating words you find in the diary, which changes the in-game world.

You can use the text in various ways. Sometimes you rearrange the words to create a flight of stairs. Other times, in the fantasy world, you have to be more creative and e.g. you have to extract the word “fire” from the sentence “nothing could extinguish the fire in her heart” and use it to burn a bundle of sticks.

Last updated on 10 March 2023