Lost Words: Beyond the Page

Release Date: March 27, 2020

Arcade, fantasy, platformers, indie games, 2.5D, side-scroll, experimental/artistic, singleplayer

8.0

Gamepressure

95%

Steam

Rate It!

Lost Words is an unusual 2D platform game. It's set inside a young girl's diary and you explore both the text written on the pages and the fantastical lands it describes. An important aspect of the game is solving logic puzzles, done by manipulating words to change the in-game world.

Plot
Mechanics

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 May 22, 2018

Review

April 1, 2021

Lost Words: Beyond the Page Review - a Platformer Like No Other

What looks like an average platformer is in fact one of the most emotional games of recent years. The story of young Izzy will touch your soul, no matter if you’re 14 or 44. The only thing missing is the game's average delivery of pure platformer.