Lost in Play

Last updated
Lost in Play
Lost in Play cover art.jpeg
Developer(s) Happy Juice Games
Publisher(s) Joystick Ventures
Snapbreak Games (iOS, Android)
Designer(s) Yuval Markovich
Oren Rubin
Alon Simon
Programmer(s) Yuval Markovich
Nisim Gerbi (iOS, Android)
Doron Weiss
Artist(s) Oren Rubin
Alon Simon
Matan Yam
Writer(s) Tal Goldberg
Chen Ashkenazi
Guy Harlap
Composer(s) Alon Kaplan
Naor Hazan
Engine Unity
Platform(s) Windows
macOS
iOS
Nintendo Switch
PlayStation
Release
  • August 10, 2022 (Steam, Switch)
  • July 12, 2023 (iOS, Android)
  • August 10, 2024 (PlayStation)
Genre(s) Point-and-click adventure game
Mode(s) Single-player

Lost in Play is a 2022 point-and-click adventure game by Happy Juice Games and published by Joystick Ventures. It was released for Microsoft Windows, macOS and Nintendo Switch on August 10, 2022, and for iOS and Android on July 12, 2023. As a family-friendly game intended to look like a children's cartoon, the game follows the adventure of two imaginative siblings. Upon release, the game was praised for its charm, creativity, and accessibility.

Contents

Gameplay

The player controls both siblings, alternating between them as the story progresses. [1] The characters progress through levels by interacting with various objects, solving puzzles, and completing tasks. [1]

Characters communicate in a gibberish language, using visual gestures and aural vocalizations to explain to the player how to progress. [2] [3] [1]

Synopsis

Lost in Play centers around grade school-aged brother and sister, Toto and Gal, who are living out an imaginative playtime session. A bored Gal tries to get Toto to play with her, which takes them on a far journey across their imaginations. Switching between reality and fantasy, the siblings ultimately find themselves on an adventure back home.

Development

The game was developed by new Tel Aviv-based developer Happy Juice Games and published by Joystick Ventures, a partnership between venture capital company Nazca and Xsolla. [4] First released on Microsoft Windows, macOS and Nintendo Switch on August 10, 2022, and iOS and Android by Snapbreak Games on July 12, 2023. [5]

Gal attending a tea party in a dream during which the player solves a puzzle to progress during the opening scene of the game Lost in Play Opening Scene Screenshot new.png
Gal attending a tea party in a dream during which the player solves a puzzle to progress during the opening scene of the game

Reception

The game received "generally positive reviews" according to aggregator Metacritic. Pocket Gamer said it "captures the beauty and wonder of imagination". [8] Roland Ingram of Nintendo Life rated the game 9 out of 10 and claims that the game "barely puts a foot wrong, delivering cerebral gaming and effervescent entertainment". [2] Katherine Castle of Rock Paper Shotgun called the game "a gorgeous point and click puzzler," stating that "Lost In Play is like curling up with a good book, and four hours later you'll suddenly wonder where the time's gone". [3]

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Lost in Play for "Family Game of the Year" during the 26th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards. [9]

Lost in Play has been awarded iPad Game of the Year by Apple in 2023 App Store Awards [10] as well as Apple Design Award 2024 for Innovation. [11]

List of Awards and Nominations

Apple App Store Awards [10] 2023Best iPad GameWinner
Apple Design Award [11] 2024InnovationWinner
D.I.C.E [9] 2023 Family Game of the Year Finalist
Golden Joystick [12] 2022Best Visual DesignFinalist
BIG [13] 2023Best ArtFinalist
BIG [13] 2023Best international gameFinalist
IndieCade [14] 2022Developer Choice AwardWinner
DevGAMM [15] 2022Best Indie GameWinner
DevGAMM [15] 2022Excellence in visual designWinner
Reboot Develop Blue2022Visual ExcellenceWinner
GDWC2023Xsolla Game of the YearWinner
Anifilm fest2023Best game for childrenWinner
Digital Dragons2022Best Indie Game3rd Award
WN Dev Contest2022Best Indie GameSemi-Finalist Award
Pocket Gamer Awards [16] 2023Mobile Game of the YearFinalist
Pocket Gamer Awards [17] 2023Mobile Puzzle Game of the YearFinalist
Pocket Gamer Awards [18] 2023Best Mobile StorytellingFinalist
Asif Animation2023Best GameFinalist

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feral Interactive</span> British video game publisher

Feral Interactive Limited is a British video games developer and publisher for macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows platforms. It was founded in 1996 to bring games to Mac and specialises in porting games to different platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unity (game engine)</span> Cross-platform video game and simulation engine

Unity is a cross-platform game engine developed by Unity Technologies, first announced and released in June 2005 at Apple Worldwide Developers Conference as a Mac OS X game engine. The engine has since been gradually extended to support a variety of desktop, mobile, console, augmented reality, and virtual reality platforms. It is particularly popular for iOS and Android mobile game development, is considered easy to use for beginner developers, and is popular for indie game development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kwalee</span> Video game company

Kwalee Ltd. is a British video game developer and publisher. The company was founded in May 2011 by David Darling, co-founder and former CEO of Codemasters who is hailed as one of the 'founding fathers' of the UK games industry. The company publishes games on mobile, PC and console platforms. It is known for its hypercasual games for iOS and Android devices, with a large internal development studio helping the company to more than 700 million game downloads in total. Based in Leamington Spa in the county of Warwickshire, Kwalee is one of the several companies that make up the Leamington Spa video gaming cluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simogo</span> Swedish video game developer

Simogo is a Swedish independent video game developer based in Malmö. The company was founded in 2010 and is best known for creating games for mobile devices, including Year Walk and Device 6. Its name comes from the name of its founders Simon (SIM), and Gordon (GO); the 'O' from the Swedish word "och" meaning "and".

<i>Badland</i> (video game) 2013 mobile video game

Badland is a video game developed and published by Frogmind. It was first released on iOS and Android in 2013. It was released on Windows Phone 8 in June 2014. There is also a Game of the Year Edition that was released in May 2015 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, Wii U and Steam for Linux, Microsoft Windows and OS X, and in August 2021 for Nintendo Switch by Untold Tales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CM Games</span> Independent video game developer and publisher

CM Games is an Estonian independent video game developer and publisher based in Tallinn, Estonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plarium</span> Video game software company

Plarium Global Ltd. is a video game developer, publisher and subsidiary of the Australian gambling machine manufacturer Aristocrat Leisure. It is known for creating mobile, desktop and browser games in various genres including MMO, RPG, action, strategy, and casual.

<i>Far: Lone Sails</i> 2018 video game

Far: Lone Sails is an exploration adventure videogame developed by the Swiss development company Okomotive. The game was released for Windows and macOS in May 2018, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in April 2019, for Nintendo Switch in August 2019, and for Android and iOS in October 2020. A sequel, Far: Changing Tides, was released in March 2022.

<i>Forgotton Anne</i> 2018 video game

Forgotton Anne is an adventure-platform game developed by ThroughLine Games and published by Square Enix Collective. The game uses a hand-drawn anime aesthetic style and an orchestral score performed by the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra and was released on May 15, 2018 on Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. The game was released for macOS on June 21, 2018, Nintendo Switch on November 9, 2018, iOS on June 26, 2019, and Android on December 18, 2019.

Apple Arcade is a video game subscription service offered by Apple. It is available through a dedicated tab of the App Store on devices running iOS 13, visionOS, tvOS 13, iPadOS 13, and macOS Catalina or later. The service launched on September 19, 2019.

<i>Sky</i> (video game) 2019 social adventure game

Sky: Children of the Light is a social adventure game by Thatgamecompany. It was first released for iOS on July 18, 2019. An Android version was later released on April 7, 2020, and a Nintendo Switch version was released on June 29, 2021, followed by a PlayStation 4 release on December 6, 2022, and a Microsoft Windows release via Steam Early Access on April 10, 2024. A separate version of the game was released for Mainland China on Android and iOS devices that is co-developed and published by NetEase.

<i>Cut the Rope</i> (video game) 2010 video game

Cut the Rope is a physics-based puzzle video game developed by ZeptoLab and published by Chillingo for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, web browsers, Nintendo DSi, and Nintendo 3DS. The game was succeeded by Cut the Rope: Experiments in 2011 while a direct sequel, Cut the Rope 2, was released in 2013.

<i>Weaving Tides</i> 2021 video game

Weaving Tides is a puzzle adventure video game developed by the Austrian developer Follow the Feathers. It was released on Windows, MacOS and Nintendo Switch on May 27, 2021.

<i>Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery</i> 2021 video game

Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery is an adventure game created by Taiwanese developer Silver Lining Studio, and co-published by Akupara Games and Akatsuki Taiwan Inc. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android in August 2021, then for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in June 2022.

Kamibox is an independent German video game developer founded by Philipp Stollenmayer. Stollenmayer is the sole employee of the company, which creates almost exclusively mobile games. Some of Kamibox's games have received awards for their design, including an Apple Design Award. Kamibox games often have a philosophical element to them, such as see/saw and Sometimes You Die, which explore the concept of death in video games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Defold</span> Free game engine

Defold is a cross-platform, free, and source-available game engine developed by King, and later the Defold Foundation. It is used to create mostly two-dimensional (2D) games, but is fully capable of three-dimensional (3D) as well.

<i>Snakebird</i> (video game) 2015 puzzle video game

Snakebird is a 2015 puzzle video game developed by Swedish studio Noumenon Games. The sequels Snakebird Primer and Snakebird Complete were released in 2019 and 2023, respectively.

<i>Railbound</i> 2022 puzzle video game

Railbound is a 2022 puzzle video game developed by Polish indie developer Afterburn. It was released on Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS in September 2022 by Afterburn, then later released on consoles by publisher 7Levels, to Nintendo Switch in December 2022 and Xbox One and Xbox Series X and Series S in May 2023.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Lost In Play (Switch, PC)". GamerDad: Gaming with Children. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  2. 1 2 3 "Review: Lost In Play - A Fantastic Adventure Game That Cleverly Sidesteps Genre Pitfalls". Nintendo Life. 2022-08-28. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  3. 1 2 Castle, Katharine (2022-08-10). "Lost In Play review: a gorgeous point and click puzzler". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  4. ↑ Partis, Danielle (2022-02-15). "Joystick Ventures launches, aims to fuel indie developers". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
  5. ↑ Madnani, Mikhail (2023-06-15). "Puzzle Adventue Game 'Lost in Play' Is Coming to iOS and Android Next Month as a Free To Start Release". TouchArcade . Retrieved 2023-11-14.
  6. ↑ "Lost in Play for Switch Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  7. ↑ "Lost in Play for PC Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  8. ↑ Dellosa, Catherine (2023-07-18). "Lost in Play review - "Nothing beats the power of childlike imagination"". Pocket Gamer . Retrieved 2023-11-14.
  9. 1 2 "2023 Awards Category Details Family Game of the Year". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences . Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  10. 1 2 "App Store Awards 2023 - Apple Developer". developer.apple.com. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  11. 1 2 "2024 winners and finalists - Apple Design Awards - Apple Developer". developer.apple.com. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  12. ↑ Sam Loveridge (2022-11-22). "Here are all the Golden Joystick Awards 2022 winners". gamesradar. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  13. 1 2 ""Finalists for the 2023 Annual Brazil International Games Festival Announced" - Games Press". www.gamespress.com. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  14. ↑ "Festival 2022 Award Winners – IndieCade" . Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  15. 1 2 "DevGAMM Awards". DevGAMM Game Fest 2022 | November 23–25. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  16. ↑ "Pocket Gamer Awards 2023 - Winners and finalists". www.pocketgamer.com. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  17. ↑ "Pocket Gamer Awards 2023 - Winners and finalists". www.pocketgamer.com. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  18. ↑ "Pocket Gamer Awards 2023 - Winners and finalists". www.pocketgamer.com. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.