It’s rare that a form of media can make me cry. Evoking that much of an emotional response from me takes a sincere personal connection or an unforgettable display of beautiful art. Well, in the case of Lost Words: Beyond the Page, both were present and I was in tears more than once. This puzzle-platformer is one that seems to have a small release so far, but deserves a world of recognition to do it justice.

Lost Words: Beyond the Page is a puzzle-platforming game with a compelling premise for its gameplay. Young writer Izzy decides to write her first adventure novel, inspired by her Gran who she shares fond memories with. The story is told with the words of a journal unfolding as they are spoken. The player traverses them with visual accompaniments to enhance the tale, as they learn about the connection between Izzy and Gran. When the story gets written, the player controls a young, magic-wielding protagonist in a vibrant, detailed world that characterizes the tale.

The immediate hook I found was that the game lets you influence several aspects, such as the name of the protagonist and what color they wear. These occur every few minutes, and are welcomingly abundant. Picking up words from the story and utilizing them to solve simple-yet-rewarding puzzles is a mechanic that no newcomers should have any trouble with. It’s quite the casual, explorative experience that juxtaposed nicely from taking breaks with my DOOM playthrough.

The twin narratives within Lost Words: Beyond the Page complement each other well. When Izzy is in a bad mood, it reflects within her storytelling prose. It ends up serving to be an effective way to relieve her stress, something I tend to feel when writing, myself. Seeing Izzy’s Gran struggle in ways my own grandparents have is cathartic, but still breaks away at me thanks to the disheartened delivery of Izzy’s voice actress. Lost Words: Beyond the Page spared no expense in ensuring this story was told with the vocal backbone it necessitated.

While Lost Words: Beyond the Page only lasts a few hours, it tells its story in a concise and focused manner, still managing a fast pace to keep the player interested. I’ve found the length of a game to not matter nearly as much as its lasting impact in my head. Some of my favorite games only last a few hours, others for dozens, and Lost Words provides enough of an adventure and exploration of character to fit right at a handful of hours.

With the only point of contention being the lack of V-sync in the options making the visuals a bit blurry during movement, Lost Words: Beyond the Page is a worthy hidden gem that will fascinate and captivate the hearts of any gamers looking for a great story in a breeze of a title. Here’s hoping the game picks up some steam and reaches many more screens. It’s going to live rent-free in my head for a long time.

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Lost Words: Beyond the Page

14.99

9

Score

9.0/10

Pros

• Touching Story
• Heartfelt Line Delivery
• Magnificent Storytelling

Cons

• V-Sync Issues