Lost in Random

Last updated

Lost in Random
Lost in Random cover art.jpg
Developer(s) Zoink
Publisher(s) Electronic Arts
Director(s) Olov Redmalm
Klaus Lyngeled
Artist(s) Victor Becker
Writer(s) Ryan North
Composer(s) Blake Robinson
Engine Unity
Platform(s)
Release10 September 2021
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

Lost in Random is a 2021 action-adventure game developed by Zoink and published by Electronic Arts. Part of the EA Originals program, the game was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on 10 September 2021. It received generally positive reviews from critics. A sequel titled Lost in Random: The Eternal Die is in development at Thunderful Games and is scheduled for a 2025 release. [1]

Contents

Gameplay

Lost in Random is an action-adventure game played from a third-person perspective. Combat happens in arenas that look like a game board. Players must roll Dicey in order to progress and Even will only be safe when she reaches the final piece on the board. In combat, the player can use Even's slingshot. While it does not damage enemies, opponents hit by her slingshot drop energy cubes which fuel Dicey. Once Dicey is fully fueled, players can roll it and time will be temporarily stopped. During this period, players can select the card they want to use, which is the only way to deal damage to enemies. There are five different types of cards (Weapon, Damage, Defense, Hazard, and Cheat), offering different gameplay advantages and combat abilities. For instance, one of the cards turns Dicey into an explosive cube, while another allows players to place traps. Cards can be earned through collecting coins. As players progress, new cards will be earned and they will recover Dicey's lost pips, which would enable Even to roll higher numbers during combat. [2]

The game also features light role-playing game elements. When Dicey and Even are exploring the Kingdom of Random, they will meet various non-playable characters. The game features a dialogue wheel which allows players to select dialogue options while conversing with NPCs. [3]

Plot

In the Kingdom of Random, the fate of all individuals is decided by a cursed black die when they reach the age of 12. Even's sister, Odd, is abducted by the wicked Queen of Random. A year later, Even secretly leaves home and journeys across the six realms of Random to rescue her sister. She meets Dicey, a sentient die who has lost nearly all of its pips. In a world which is governed by game rules, Even slowly understands the randomness of life with the help of Dicey. After facing many dangers and challenges, she manages to find the Queen and Odd, but discovers that Odd has been corrupted by the Queen and now willingly serves her. Even is left no choice but to fight her sister. After defeating her, Odd's mask is broken, freeing her from the Queen's control. Odd uses Dicey to create a portal for them to escape through; the other abducted children, also free of the Queen's control, follow them. Even and Dicey have one final showdown with the Queen, eventually defeating her. They learn that she was just trying to save her sister, who is dying of an illness, and has frozen her in time to slow her death. The Queen made a deal with the dark lords to save her with the intention of having Odd becoming her new vessel. Convinced to let her sister go, the Queen stays behind to fight the dark lords as Even, Odd, Dicey, and the other children escape. Dicey produces umbrellas for them to float away on. Odd is concerned about where they will end up, but Even does not care as they all float off in the distance. [4]

Development and Release

Lost in Random was developed by Swedish developer Zoink. According to Olov Redmalm, the game's creative director, Lost in Random was a homage to "dark fairy tales" and stop-motion animation. During the game's production, the team inspected the works of animation studio Laika, movies directed by Tim Burton, Grimms' Fairy Tales , and the Oddworld series for inspirations. [4] Each realm features its own visual design, with art style inspired by The Nightmare Before Christmas , Over the Garden Wall , and the works of Australian artist Shaun Tan. The game was penned by Ryan North, who had previously worked on The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl and the Adventure Time TV series. [3] [5] The game's soundtrack was composed by British composer Blake Robinson, who had previously worked on Portal Knights and The Stanley Parable . [6]

Publisher Electronic Arts, which had partnered with Zoink previously with Fe (2017), announced Lost in Random at EA Play 2019. The game was an "EA Originals", a segment of EA's publishing aimed to help indie developers with financing and publishing of their titles to reach a wider audience without EA being as involved in the game's development, thus allowing the studio to take more of a share of sales revenues. [7] The game competed for the inaugural Tribeca Games Award and was included as an official selection. [8] The game was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on 10 September 2021. [9]

Reception

Lost in Random received "generally favorable" reviews from critics for most platforms, except for the Xbox Series X/S version which received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]

Destructoid praised each of the six realms, feeling that they were distinct from each other in non-visual ways, "Zoink does a good job of theming each world after its numerical, dice-based namesake. There’s an amusing logic to how each realm operates. Seeing those quirks play out as Even, a total newcomer, is pretty entertaining". [15] Rock Paper Shotgun liked the atmosphere of Random's world, noting its Burtonian influences, "Everyone teeters on long spindly limbs, and they're either gremlins with upside down faces, or withered trees wearing top hats. They're all amusing too, with a few sending you on more original and fun side quests to break up the linear ride. I traded complicated words with an auntie catfish, for instance". [24] Game Informer enjoyed how the combat system mixed real-time action with deck-building, feeling it was a completely unique take on both genres, "The system is genuinely creative, smoothly executed, and every layer works in tandem to create a unique experience". [17] While criticizing the length of combat encounters, IGN felt the characters helped plot become more memorable, "Incredibly memorable characters like Mannie Dex, Seemore, Herman, Ooma, The Nanny, and so many others make moving to the next world kind of like watching the next movie in a 20-hour series of timeless holiday classics". [18]

Kotaku liked the game's side-quests, stating they often were hilarious, "I had a great time just poking my head into every nook and cranny of the various realms, looking for characters to talk to and side-quests to complete... The range of dialogue options and the ways in which they impact the game are yet another reason I had such a good time exploring and talking to everyone I met". [25] Nintendo World Report disliked how long quests and combat encounters took to complete, "The biggest hurdle in Lost in Random is the pacing of the game. It frequently drags out quests and missions to a point where it can feel simply tedious to walk all the way across the town again to find a specific item". [20]

Related Research Articles

<i>Catwoman</i> (video game) 2004 video game

Catwoman is an action-adventure video game based on the 2004 film of the same name based on the fictional character. It features the likeness of the film's lead actress Halle Berry, while the character's voice is provided by actress Jennifer Hale. This would end up being developer Argonaut Software's final game.

<i>Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords</i> 2007 video game

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords is a puzzle video game designed by Steve Fawkner for Australian game developer Infinite Interactive and published by D3 Publisher in 2007. The game combines role-playing with tile-matching elements. Taking place in a high fantasy setting, the player moves their character around the game's world and encounters monsters and other enemies to fight so as to gain experience and acquire treasure as in a typical role-playing game. Combat takes place on a board similar to Bejeweled, and by making matches of coloured gems, the combatants can cause damage to their opponents, cast spells, or perform other abilities that affect the flow of the game.

<i>Kings Quest</i> (2015 video game) 2015 video game

King's Quest is an episodic video game series developed by The Odd Gentlemen and published by Activision under the Sierra Entertainment brand name for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. It is a new re-imagining of the long-running King's Quest series. While it is an adventure game like the previous games in the series, the interface is not fully point-and-click.

<i>Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas</i> 2013 video game

Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas is an action-adventure video game developed by Finnish studio Cornfox & Bros. It focuses on an unnamed boy protagonist's quest to find his lost father and defeat the living fortress, Oceanhorn. It was first released for iOS in November 2013, and later had ports for Android, Microsoft Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation Vita.

<i>Shantae: Half-Genie Hero</i> 2016 video game

Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, stylized as Shantae: ½ Genie Hero, is a platform video game developed and published by WayForward Technologies. It is the fourth game in the Shantae series, following Shantae and the Pirate's Curse (2014), and the first to be specifically developed for high definition game platforms. The game was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Windows, and Xbox One in December 2016, for Nintendo Switch in June 2017, for Amazon Luna in October 2020, for Stadia in February 2021, and for PlayStation 5 in November 2021. Versions for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 were initially announced, but cancelled during development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game</span> 2011 fantasy strategy card game

The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game is a non-collectible customizable card game produced by Fantasy Flight Games. As part of the Living Card Game (LCG) genre, it is a cooperative and strategic card game set in Middle-earth, a fantasy world featured in literary works by J. R. R. Tolkien, including The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Its digital adaptation, titled The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game, is published by Asmodee Digital for cross-platform play on Microsoft Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, being the "first ever digital LCG".

<i>Ori and the Blind Forest</i> 2015 video game

Ori and the Blind Forest is a platform-adventure Metroidvania video game developed by Moon Studios and published by Microsoft Studios. The game was released for Windows and Xbox One in March 2015, and for Nintendo Switch in September 2019. Players assume control of Ori, a small white spirit, and Sein, the "light and eyes" of the Forest's Spirit Tree. Players are tasked to move between platforms and solve puzzles. The game features a save system called "Soul Links", which allows players to save their progress at will with limited resources, and an upgrade system that allows players to strengthen Ori's skills and abilities.

SkyBox Labs Inc. is a Canadian video game developer located in Burnaby, British Columbia. Founded in 2011 by Derek MacNeil, Shyang Kong and Steven Silvester formerly from EA Vancouver, they are mostly known for their work with Xbox Game Studios on the Halo, Age of Empires and Minecraft franchises.

<i>Fe</i> (video game) 2018 video game

Fe is a platform-adventure game developed by Zoink and published by Electronic Arts under its EA Originals program. It was released on February 16, 2018 for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. In it, the player controls Fe, a fox-like creature in a forest setting, attempting to defend it from hostile entities called the Silent Ones, gaining help from other forest creatures by guiding them to complete tasks and learning new abilities from those it helps.

<i>Silence</i> (video game) 2016 German point-and-click adventure video game

Silence, also known as Silence: The Whispered World II, is a 2016 German point-and-click adventure video game developed and published by Daedalic Entertainment and the sequel to the 2009 game The Whispered World. It was released in November 2016 for Linux, macOS, Windows, and PlayStation 4. Ports for Xbox One and Nintendo Switch were released in December 2016 and April 2019, respectively.

<i>Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion</i> 2018 role-playing video game

Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion is a 2018 role-playing video game developed by Climax Studios and published by Outright Games. It was released in July 2018 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows and Xbox One, on Amazon Luna in December 2021, and on Google Stadia in March 2022, and is based on Cartoon Network's Adventure Time television series. It is the fifth game based on the series, set during the events of its tenth and final season.

<i>Dicey Dungeons</i> 2019 video game

Dicey Dungeons is a roguelike deck-building game developed by Irish game designer Terry Cavanagh. It was released for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux in August 2019, for Nintendo Switch in December 2020, for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in November 2021, and for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in February 2023. Ports for iOS and Android were released in July 2022.

<i>Chasm</i> (video game) 2018 Metroidvania video game

Chasm is a Metroidvania video game developed and published by Bit Kid, Inc. for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in July 2018, the Nintendo Switch in October 2018, and the Xbox One in November 2018.

<i>Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales</i> 2018 video game

Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales is a role-playing video game developed by CD Projekt Red. It is a spin-off of The Witcher video game franchise, and acts as the standalone single-player component for Gwent: The Witcher Card Game. Thronebreaker was released in October 2018 for Microsoft Windows, on 4 December 2018 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, in January 2020 for Nintendo Switch, and in July 2020 for iOS, with the Android version released on 17 June 2021.

A roguelike deck-building game is a hybrid genre of video games that combines the nature of deck-building card games with procedural-generated randomness from roguelike games.

<i>Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time</i> Action-adventure video game based on Samurai Jack

Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is an action-adventure video game developed by Soleil, a then subsidiary studio of the Japanese video game developer Valhalla Game Studios and published by Adult Swim Games. It is based on the American animated television series Samurai Jack. The game serves as an alternative scenario that takes place during the show's series finale in its final season; Genndy Tartakovsky confirmed it to be canon to the series. It was released on August 21, 2020, for iOS and macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One, and received generally positive reviews from critics.

<i>It Takes Two</i> (video game) 2021 video game

It Takes Two is a 2021 cooperative action-adventure platform video game developed by Hazelight Studios and published by Electronic Arts. The game was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in March 2021, and was released for Nintendo Switch in November 2022. Like Hazelight's debut game A Way Out, it does not have a single-player option. It is playable only in either online or local split screen cooperative multiplayer between two players.

<i>Graven</i> (video game) 2024 video game

Graven is a 2024 first-person shooter game developed by Slipgate Ironworks and published by 3D Realms and Fulqrum Publishing. Graven incorporates elements of the action role-playing game and immersive sim genres to create an "action-adventure puzzler".

<i>Puzzle Quest</i> Video game series

Puzzle Quest is a series of puzzle video games where tile-matching serves as the combat for a role-playing video game. The first game was released in 2007: Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, a spin-off of the Warlords series of turn-based strategy games. It has since expanded to other licensed content. Puzzle Quest: The Legend Returns, was released in 2019.

<i>Rogue Legacy 2</i> 2022 video game

Rogue Legacy 2 is a platform video game developed and published by Cellar Door Games. It is the sequel to 2013's Rogue Legacy, and the game was released for Windows via early access in August 2020. The full version was released in April 2022, for Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, followed by a Nintendo Switch port in November. The game was released for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in June 2023.

References

  1. ↑ Blake, Vikki (22 August 2024). "Lost in Random: The Eternal Die is set to release next year". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  2. ↑ Nelson, Mike (23 July 2021). "Play the Odds with Lost in Random, Coming to Xbox September 10". Xbox. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  3. 1 2 Skrebels, Joe (25 June 2021). "Lost In Random Is a 'Light RPG' With Action-Tactical Combat and a Board Game Twist". IGN . Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  4. 1 2 Filliari, Alessandro (14 July 2020). "How Lost In Random Injects A Board Game Twist Into The Adventure Genre". GameSpot . Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  5. ↑ Holmes, Mike (23 June 2020). "Lost in Random: Zoink on Rolling with the Punches". Gamereactor. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  6. ↑ Jakobs, Benjamin (3 July 2020). "Lost in Random: Indie at heart, but close to Triple A." Eurogamer.de. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  7. ↑ Vandes, Giancarlo (8 June 2019). "EA adds indie games RustHeart, Lost in Random, and new Hazelight project to Originals label". VentureBeat . Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  8. ↑ Diaz, Ana (6 May 2021). "Here are the games nominated for the first Tribeca Games Award". Polygon . Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  9. ↑ Stewart, Marcus (22 July 2021). "Lost in Random Rolls The Dice On A New Gameplay Trailer, September Release Date Announced". Game Informer . Archived from the original on 22 July 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  10. 1 2 "Lost in Random for Switch Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  11. 1 2 "Lost in Random for PC Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  12. 1 2 "Lost in Random for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  13. 1 2 "Lost in Random for PlayStation 5 Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  14. 1 2 "Lost in Random for Xbox Series X Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  15. 1 2 Devore, Jordan (10 September 2021). "Review: Lost in Random". Destructoid . Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  16. ↑ Jones, Brandon (27 September 2021). "Review: Lost in Random". Easy Allies . Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  17. 1 2 Grodt, Jill (10 September 2021). "Lost in Random Review - Playing Its Cards Right". Game Informer . Archived from the original on 10 September 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  18. 1 2 Moss, Gabriel (15 September 2021). "Lost in Random Review". IGN . Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  19. ↑ Ingram, Roland (1 October 2021). "Lost In Random Review (Switch eShop)". NintendoLife . Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  20. 1 2 Hilhorst, Willem (25 September 2021). "Lost in Random (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  21. ↑ Jones, Jenny (11 September 2021). "Lost in Random Review (PS5)". Push Square . Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  22. ↑ Denzer, TJ (10 September 2021). "Lost in Random review: Burton-esque dice adventures". Shacknews . Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  23. ↑ Hollis, Daniel (14 April 2022). "Review: Lost In Random - A Cult Classic In The Making". Pure Xbox . Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  24. ↑ Thorn, Ed (10 September 2021). "Lost In Random review: a grand adventure with few surprises". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  25. ↑ "Lost In Random: The Kotaku Review". Kotaku. 24 September 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
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.