"A steampunk-ish detective adventure from the creator of A Golden Wake and Shardlight! Can private investigator Miles Fordham find justice for his clients and track down his partner's killer before his entire world comes apart?"
"The Gateway to Vespuccia, the City of Air and Light, Lamplight City - the thriving port city of New Bretagne is a beacon of progress and industrial advancement in the New World. Yet beneath the promises of a shining 19th-century future, the city rests upon foundations of poverty, class struggle, and crime. For police detective turned private investigator Miles Fordham, Lamplight City's shadowy corners are just part of the territory. But with his former partner constantly speaking to him from beyond the grave, his grip on sanity is slowly loosening. Can Miles find justice for his clients and track down his partner's killer before his entire world comes apart?"
Very Positive
827 Steam reviews
| LANGUAGE | AUDIO | SUBTITLES | INTERFACE |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Y | Y | Y |
| German | — | Y | Y |
Отличная, детективная игра.
It's... alright. I'd give this a neutral rating if that was a thing.
The general concept of a PAC detective game in a steampunk setting is great, and overall the cases are interesting with a good amount of twists and turns. There's some nice world-building in there with fully fledged voice-acting and somewhat of an over-arching plot. But there are a few things that could be better and/or are lacking.
There were plenty of times when I knew who the culprit was before obtaining all the clues/testimonies, but had to go through very linear set avenues of conversation or clues in order to unlock these deductions. The cases became very predictable in terms of gameplay too, in that [spoiler]an initial framing of the case happens (suspect 1), then the plot thickens (suspect 2), and then things are properly put together (suspect 3, i.e. the correct one).[/spoiler] And this only reaffirmed who the culprit really was without any kind of satisfaction or immersion. Being locked out of the rest of the case thanks to one wrong response was also very frustrating, especially when there were clear outstanding leads to pursue.
The voice-acting at times can be really forced/over-acted which just made me want to skim-read what they were saying and skip over the audio. Your colleague's witticisms are funny at times, but the rest of the time can be a load of pointless cringeworthy filler. He also has to interject with *everything* which takes away a lot of being able to deduct things yourself during a conversation.
I'd still recommend this game for a neat little detective game set in the steampunk era, if that's your sort of vibe. But definitely wait until it's on sale.
I get that the visuals are trying to be retro but you can have this art style without having the movements as clunky as this. Dialog is trying just a little too hard to be funny or add flair to a character, which feels cringe and also slows down the pace of the game too much for me.
Lamplight City is a solidly good point-and-click game. I bought this game after being impressed with its sequel, Rosewater. The gameplay and pace of gameplay is quite similar. The puzzles are not too difficult. I was able to complete the game without consulting a walkthrough, but there were several moments where I had to stop and ponder for a while. Like Rosewater, the story arc is one of multiple mini-mysteries that combine to keep the sense of forward momentum going, The broad story arc is a tad silly, in keeping with the general mirth of the game overall. The ending surprised and impressed me by following through on the story's implied premise.
I can think of only two negatives, both fairly mild:
1) As with Rosewater, some gamers might find the mini-mysteries offputtingly tangential to the main plot. I didn't, but others might.
2) Some gamers might find your colleague's near-ubiquitous item-descriptions and conversation-injections annoying. I didn't, but some other reviewers have expressed dislike of it.
CONCLUSION: Lamplight City gave me the fun I was looking for and was worth the cost. So Grundislav Games is now 2-for-2 with me. Recommended!
Charming, enjoyable detective experience
Großes Adventure Kino!
A classic point and click. I originally bought it because I thought it was lovecraftian but this is not a cosmic eldritch horror. Just a Steampunk noir though honestly felt like they could have added in a dagon or cthullu at any point, it stands well on it's own. There are some discussions about the supernatural but the bulk of the plot is an alternate universe where the theory of "aether" is being proven true instead of electricity. and all electronics are based around steam power. It is hard to discern where the story is taking place but I think that's intentional. At first I thought it was new orleans but then in the police station has a New Zealand flag. And the name of the town is Vespucci but then there it both Grand dames and Creole family lines. The story does deal with events that mirror cultural behaviors of the Imprerial 1840s though far more progressive. Tackling interracial relationships, homosexuality, drug use, spiritualism, homelessness, and man vs machine arguments in the background of the criminal cases our detective has to deal with.
Most of the game is straightforward stories following kidnapping, poisonings, and murder. Some points had to be replayed because you can accidentally soft lock yourself out of several endings if you don't gather all the clues before talking to certain people or lock certain dialogue if you aren't paying attention. Just remember to save often.
One of the most unique point n click detective games I have ever played !
Ein sehr schönes Adventure mit toller Atmosphäre. Die Story entfaltet sich sehr gut über den Verlauf des Spiels und man wird in den Ermittlungen auch dafür belohnt, wenn man am Ball bleibt. Die Fälle können meist mit unterschiedlichem Ergebnis beendet werden, aber im Unterschied zu anderen Spielen ist die Ermittlungen des wahren Täters hier immer komplett möglich, sodass man am Ende keine Spekulationen anstellen muss, man weiß wer es war, Das Spiel hetzt einen nicht, hat einen guten Umfang, passende Grafik, gute Vertonung (Sprachausgabe sehr gut verständliches Englisch, deutsche Untertitel), eine gute Story und eine gute Balance zwischen Humor und Ernsthaftigkeit, wobei es immer unterhaltend bleibt. Ich finde es richtig gut.
Loved the characters, graphics, music, voice acting and inter-related storylines including the continuity with the newspapers. I did get a little confused when it allowed me to not solve some of the cases properly yet still move on to the next case.
Steam's word limit is stupid, full review here: https://www.dragon-quill.net/lamplight-city/
I enjoy bad games, which is good because I play a lot of them. But even if I didn't, playing a thousand terrible indies would be completely worth it to me just to find one this brilliant. Truthfully I was just excited for this game because I like steampunk and mysteries and the whole Aesthetic seemed like my jam -- I was hoping to like it, but didn't think it would be as brilliant as it was.
There are a lot of reasons I tend to play through developer and genre catalogues in order, one of them being that I have a deep-seated psychological need for things to be in a proper sequence. I assume everyone shares this and it is in no way strange or offputting. But the other, more tangible reason is that art builds on itself. You can't learn physics before you learn algebra, and you can't really know a text until you know the texts that came before it, especially when those texts are closely related.
Unsurprisingly for someone who's worked with Wadjet Eye, this game is clearly influenced by the Blackwell series, but more important, it is also clearly responding to the Gabriel Knight: Black People Are Dangerous game. I wouldn't even call it a rewriting or critique of that game -- it was a complete evisceration. It was honestly one of the most satisfying critiques I've ever read, a resounding declaration that no, voudou is not evil, no black people who practice it do not deserve to die, and actually, rich white people were the ones brutalizing black people with impunity and not the other way around. I found it so cathartic. And that was just the first case, lol.
The game takes place in an alt-history 1840s, where the US seems to have lost the Revolutionary War and been split up into various regions. You play as Miles Fordham, who lives in an Italian-influenced mid-Atlantic region called Vespuccia, in the port city of New Bretagne (Seems like it might be the Carolinas? I'm too lazy to lay the map over a real map). During a mundane burglary investigation, Miles' partner Bill falls from a roof and dies and the perp gets free. The police blame Miles for 'getting his partner killed' and the bullying drives him to quit and start working as a PI. Meanwhile, he begins to hear Bill's voice in his head at all times, with strong sedatives being the only thing that give him peace. As his life unravels and his possibly-ghost partner refuses to leave him alone, he tries to keep taking on investigations.
The story is deeply concerned with questions of institutional power -- Miles' wife is black, and we're constantly reminded that in antebellum not!US, an interracial marriage is taboo and black people can't vote and struggle to make ends meet. The game strongly ties together questions of race with gender and class, and makes a point of showing that Miles is better able to help the downtrodden as a PI than he was as a cop. It's heavily implied (if not outright stated) that his political views had made him a pariah in the department, and that only thing keeping him his job was that he had an incredible record of solving cases. Bill's death seems to have been the thing that allowed his coworkers to finally completely push him out, and in his absence his corrupt colleagues are promoted. You definitely get the sense that the other policemen are ghoulishly happy they can say he killed his partner, that nothing you could ever say or do could change that, and I appreciate that the game doesn't try to reason with them. The organization is corrupt and unsalvageable and Miles is both personally better off without them, as well as more capable of professionally helping people working around them. I think it's significant too that the only people at the precinct sympathetic to Miles are the coroner, who is a POC and also very isolated from the cops, and the administrator, a woman who ends up fired by the ♥♥♥♥♥♥ chief. The whole game is set against the backdrop of a tense election where the candidates are Atwood, a wealthy establishment politician who promises to fund Big Tech and you can discover spoofing votes, and McAvoy, a worker's rights campaigner who runs on job security and improved infrastructure.
I don't want to say too much else because I don't want to give away the premise of the lategame cases, but the way institutional violence translates into real, physical violence is a major theme. I also really loved this as a story about survivor's guilt, substance abuse, and depression.
(I've cut the big thematic analysis here for space).
The art in this game was beautiful, a very painterly pixel style that at times hovered between traditional pixel art and something more impressionistic.
The sound design was... fine. If you like your games to be voice acted you'll probably be fine with it, but it's not Supergiant, and I didn't feel a need to play with the sound on.
Gameplay wise, this was a rather complex AGS game -- I didn't realize it was AGS until I went into the save files to back one up and noticed the 'agssave' in the filename. This is partly because of how impressively it manages to feel like an investigation -- I tend to associate AGS with the more 'puzzle' gameplay where you find and use items, but there's no inventory here, just a journal with clues and documents -- for the most part, you're solving things by paying attention to what people say to you and figuring out where to go next.
I will say the one big problem is that there's no autosave. I really really wish the game saved, say, whenever you went to the map. The thing is, the game is really focused on the way you interact with characters, and this means that you can make mistakes, say the wrong thing, and ♥♥♥♥ up the case by pissing people off... which is great, I love it. BUT if you want to see everything, especially if you want to do it on one playthrough, not being able to reload can be a real killer. I liked stumbling into dead ends and making mistakes, but I disliked not being able to easily go back and pursue different choices. I actually think the game maybe would have been better served by a VN-style bad ending when you mess up, returning you to the prior decision point, but an intermittent autosave -- even like, every 15 minutes -- would have worked as well. To me, part of the appeal of this type of game is poking and prodding it, seeing what happens if I do the stupid thing and then seeing what happens if I don't, and while you CAN do this here, you have to be constantly manually saving, which is a definite downer. And if you're a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ like me you constantly forget to even after you've realized you should and it causes issues.
But honestly, I really loved this. It's up there next to Seance at Blake Manor as not just a standout among the detective games, but among games period, and it's definitely a general rec.
There should be more steampunk detective games, preferably also with ghosts and detectives, please appeal to me directly from now on devs thank you.
Ok, this is the second Grundislav Game I've played and it is fantastic. I don't think it's as good as some of Wadjet Eye's adventure games, but I think the next one is going to be at least of that calibre. Unfortunately one of the achievements bugged out, but otherwise this is a thoroughly enjoyable detective story that doesn't require you to follow any kind of crazy logic as once plagued other adventure games.
Definitely worth playing.
I had an awesome time!
As others commented, the game mechanics are indeed the deal breaker.
Not doing something completely unintuitive or random can lock you out of the entire case, and you wouldn't even know until the very end of the case.
Apart from that, the game isn't difficult or challenging. No clues to put together or leads to discover. Just talk to everyone, click on everything and the case solves itself, except, as stated before, you missed a random timing window or gave one wrong response.
Started getting into this game until I leaned of the content and themes.
Not interested in modern ideologies in 19th century Britain. Hard pass.
I really enjoyed playing this game. The concept is really well set up, the stories are nice. I really bonded with the characters. Congrats to the makers!
I was pleasantly surprised when this game had more of a focus on detectiving rather than basic point-and-click design with combing things and using those things with other things!
great game
Very nice adventure game. Enjoyed it a lot.
I bought this as part of a bundle not expecting much but I was very positively surprised. I really loved this game. The writing is quite clever and I liked how the cases are interconnected and the conversations and dialogues you have are very believable. The personalities and interaction of Bill and Miles are super fun to watch throughout the game. The music fits the atmosphere and the entire look and feel are well made. Only the design of the casebook was a bit lacking in my opinion.
the plot and the animation are absolutelu gorgeous but its too buggy and to avoid it you land up reloading endlessly to get the game to trigger if you played intuitively and not in the exact order it demands without context or cues
A victorian-era point and click.
In my opinion the quintessential pixel art point and click adventure game. This is what got me started with my love for these style of games. Moody, mysterious, and the right amount of cozy. I enjoy playing these games right during the end of years holiday season when i have a few hours to kill. Highly recommend!
7/10, solid and nice, considering it is not a huge studio production. Spoilers hidden in black.
What I like:
1. Voiceover - I appreciate that our main character has a voice. Other voices are nice too. A lot of games go for text only and that ruins everything.
2. Ambience - I do like how there is this "something" that hangs in the air. Industrial revolution and politics on one hand, personal issues of the main character on the other and everything in between gives of a vibe of dark academy, but without academy :)
3. Short/long enough.
4. Exhausting all possible answers during dialogs is not necessarily helpful. This breaks traditional RPG systems of dialogs.
5. Creator's commentary track. That was awesome, I loved this idea, really liked listening to all the secrets behind the game.
6. Loved steampunk elements. Not too aggressively given, but suggested. Nice touch.
7. [spoiler]Loved Bill's sarcasm and how he makes jokes about dead people. :) [/spoiler]
Somewhere in the middle:
1. Music was nice. It fit the game, but it also wasn't particularly unique or special. It's kind of like with a drummer in a band -- no one notices him until he makes a mistake. Sound effects were done really minimalistically. I mean after a while you got a bit irritated with all doors sounding exactly the same. Creators could have devoted more attention to it here, I was missing a lot of sounds, which could have enriched a game.
2. Cases were not particularly hard, it was pretty easy to get them "right". I would appreciate more of a relativism, things not being what they seem. Life is never simple and obvious. So it seems a bit like a wasted opportunity.
3. Interface was fine. Nothing more really. It worked and it was there. that's it. I was bothered by the fact that the fonts were on a bit of hard to read side. I can get that you want to create a stylized version of a letter, but you could have use clear and legible fonts in the case notes.
What could have been done better?
1. I get the pixelated aesthetic, but it could have been done more uniquely. I like the colors and compositions of depictions of some locations but in general it feels like the artistic voice was either too afraid to come out or it was too early for that. Maybe another game? Mixing aesthetics can create eclectic visuals making the game unique even if its simple. Don't be like everyone else.
2. Some narrative moments were not explained and I don't think it was on purpose. Maybe it was a system issue? We, players create a unique path of events, so...some explanations just got skipped over maybe because no one anticipated a particular path? [spoiler] I still don't know why was the last victim, the politician, killed? There was nothing about him being a bad man, like the others, so why did he die?[/spoiler]
3.I feel the relationship between Miles and Bill had so much more potential, but it came out superficial, even banal. [spoiler] Generally the whole concept of Bill's voice in Miles' head was great until he just disappears after his killer is found. Really? Groundbreaking...no offence.[/spoiler]
3. Ending? Don't know, it was kinda of anticlimactic. But I only did one run, so cant speak for every option. [spoiler]I don't know why there was no consequences of me messing up my relationship with my wife, she just kinda never appeared again, so I don't really get it[/spoiler] I was really expecting something more epic in the end. Something totally unexpected from all those characters we meet and situations and cases. They turned out to be like mild farina. Kind of like how scandalous for women in 1820 was showing an ankle, today literally no one gives a damn. They showed some ankles in the end. Wasted potential.
4. Sometimes the interactions were kind of like the ones you find in the games from the 90s, lacking depth and being somewhat artificial. It's 2025, the gamers expect things to get more sophisticated. And narrative is the place to do it. This is what makes a game stand out. Being bold with your design and ideas. Don't fall into a trap of being average just because its safer. We need revolutionary games, even if they are simple aesthetically.
In general I feel the game wasted a great potential that comes from the historical period the creators picked. They did try to create a wider contexts but it seemed like it didn't have much of an impact on the overall story. Maybe the creators were trying to include too much and it got away from them, hence the whole thing feels uneven. But I liked it in general, finished it in 18 hours, got about half of achievements. Probably won't play again but will consider buying their games, once they develop something new. So all and all good, not great. But it's a nice game for those cold and foggy November evenings. Light a candle, get an essential oil burner, hot red wine with spices and enjoy the evening.
Excellent point and click mystery series; I like that there's an option to just say "this can't be solved!" and move on. It means that you're mire likely to dig to satisfy your own curiosity! If you like point and click at all, this is a modern masterpiece.
Decent Game
very nice game. full of character, atmosphere and reoccurring themes linking together.
I do not usually write reviews but I find myself wanting to say something. I could not put this game down until it was done, which is something I haven't felt in quite awhile. It's always so fun to have a mystery and have it slowly unfold before your eyes. Each case had something new and exciting to offer. Nothing too straightforward with some sort of twist.
The puzzles weren't too difficult but I was hoping for something more of a challenge. The only challenge to the game is the dialogue options. You can get yourself locked out of places just for saying the wrong thing. However the game autosaves every time you enter the map screen so you can just quick-load and fix your mistake.
After each case though you have the ability to accuse anyone you have on your suspect list. It is cool however I never found myself stuck between two choices. It was always so obvious who the culprit was, which I guess is the idea of being a good detective... I only found myself hesitant on one of the cases but only because a certain detail.
One detail might make you love or hate the game is that your dead partner is your conscience throughout the story. He's helpful, funny and at other times a bit annoying. I hope you like his voice because it will be the only thing you will hear.
I wish the ending was a little bit better. It just ends... nothing big and epic. I was almost disappointed. If it wasn't for the mysteries in the previous chapters I would of not been recommending it.
Oh yeah this game crashed for me several times.
I stumbled across Lamplight City by chance and was pleasantly surprised. You can tell that fans of Gabriel Knight and the Blackwell series were at work here. Likeable protagonists (including a cheeky sidekick), great voice actors (I played in English), exciting cases, and finally decisions with consequences; depending on the dialogue options you choose, you can ruin your chances of solving a case. Regular saving is therefore recommended (you probably have to delete previous save files regularly as there are only 50 save slots).
There are only very few “classic” puzzles, which I didn't mind, however. The focus here is on conversations with the other characters, based on which you then draw conclusions and name suspects. You can solve every case through thorough research — or declare it unsolvable.
In my opinion, the ending was a bit rushed, but still emotional. One of the best adventure games I've played in recent times. I'm looking forward to playing the developers' next game, “Rosewater.”
I want to savour every moment of this game. Such a unique game with so much life, attention to detail, humor, fantastic voice acting, incredible background pixel art, stunning animations and absolutely fun and enjoyable developer's commentary. Just really cannot put into words, how much I enjoy this title.
A solid mystery adventure!
I really liked the most the pacing of the game. The five cases flowed from one to another so well with the overarching story melding well with it. I think the best part is the uncovering of the cases. You don't necessarily make deductions in the game, most of the "detecting" comes mostly from dialogue or snooping, but that's still fine by me since the unraveling of the mysteries feel very cathartic. It feels like untying a knot and discovering all the hidden secrets and motives. The game is also voice acted very well, all the characters feel like real people with real personalities, with the really pretty dialogue portraits a la Gabriel Knight style. The art and music also really help with the immersion of the game. I will say though [spoiler] I do feel like Bill was a much more interesting character as the game went on that I kind of felt I wanted to play the whole game as him instead of Miles, but that is more of a preference and nitpick than a criticism. [/spoiler] I also didn't mind the whole no inventory thing, it just took a few moments to get used to it.
Overall, if you're looking for a chill detective adventure game that is not too difficult with great voice acting, or something that feels like an interactive detective TV show, then I would highly recommend this game.
Una aventura gráfica como las clásicas, pero sin inventario. Recomendable.
.
Most fun I've had playing an adventure game since the Sierra days.
Really great detective game, glad there is no inventory so I didn't need to worry about trying a bunch of inventory items on everything.
First steampunk themed game i actually really liked
Appropriate morals to the stories and a "dark2 theme but somewhat cozy - can recommend!
This game was such a delight! It felt like you had some agency in solving the cases and not just being guided along, the voice acting was fantastic and the visuals and sound design are lovely too. 11/10 recommend! The various different dialogue branches, scenes and achievements means there's some replayability there too to fully experience everything the game has to offer.
A really good mystery game, told over 5 cases that really lets experience this world with enjoyable characters!
Incroyable point and click, j'ai eu du mal à m'arrêter. Difficulté juste comme il faut, humour et sérieux à point. Je recommande à 10000%
Excellent detective story.
Jedna z ciekawszych gier śledczych w jakie ostatnio grałam, z ciekawym motywem przewodnim. Satysfakcjonujące zakończenie.
Lamplight City is a great throwback to the golden age of point & click adventures.
The puzzles aren’t overly difficult, but they’re definitely present and satisfying enough to keep you engaged without ever turning into pixel-hunting frustration. What really shines is the story: each individual case feels interesting and well thought out, and solving them is both fun and rewarding.
The pixel art is beautiful and really nails the Victorian/steampunk vibe of the setting. Combined with the atmosphere and the old school adventure feel, it’s a must-play for fans of classic detective games.
Verdict: If you enjoy narrative-driven adventures with just the right amount of puzzle challenge, this is an easy recommendation.
tolles Spiel
Lamplight City is a meticulously crafted point-and-click detective adventure developed by Grundislav Games, blending a richly detailed alternate-history setting with classic investigative gameplay. Set in a late 19th-century steampunk metropolis rife with political intrigue, corruption, and social unrest, the game invites players into the shoes of Miles Fordham, a down-on-his-luck private investigator trying to navigate a tangled web of mysteries while grappling with personal demons. What sets Lamplight City apart from other adventure titles is its strong emphasis on narrative complexity, choice-driven storytelling, and an immersive atmosphere that evokes the grit and mood of a noir thriller with a distinctive, steam-powered twist.
The story begins with Miles reluctantly taking on cases after a professional setback, which quickly escalate from seemingly straightforward assignments to conspiracies that reveal the city’s dark underbelly. The game excels in pacing and narrative depth, offering multiple story arcs that intertwine and evolve based on player decisions. The writing is sharp and engaging, with well-rounded characters whose motivations are gradually unveiled through nuanced dialogue and investigation. Each case feels meaningful and connected to the larger world, encouraging players to think critically about not just solving crimes but also understanding the socio-political forces shaping Lamplight City. The game also does an excellent job of exploring themes such as loyalty, morality, and the consequences of one’s choices, which resonate throughout the narrative and enhance player immersion.
Gameplay in Lamplight City stays true to the roots of the point-and-click genre but with modern improvements that streamline the experience. Players investigate crime scenes, gather clues, interrogate suspects, and piece together evidence to solve intricate puzzles. The challenge lies not only in finding items but in interpreting clues and making deductions that influence how the story unfolds. The interface is user-friendly, with clear inventory management and a hint system that assists without spoiling the mystery. Unlike some adventure games where progress can feel linear or rigid, Lamplight City allows for different approaches to investigations and multiple endings depending on how thoroughly you explore and the choices you make, giving the game considerable replay value.
Visually, the game impresses with its hand-drawn art style that perfectly captures the industrial yet archaic vibe of the steampunk era. The environments are richly detailed, from foggy alleyways and bustling docks to opulent mansions and shadowy government offices. The color palette leans toward muted tones punctuated by the warm glow of gas lamps, reinforcing the noir atmosphere and creating a sense of place that feels both lived-in and mysterious. Character sprites and animations, though stylized and minimalistic, convey personality effectively, supporting the narrative without distracting from gameplay. Complementing the visuals is a subtle, atmospheric soundtrack that mixes period-appropriate music with ambient sounds, heightening tension and mood throughout the investigation.
The game’s branching narrative structure is one of its strongest aspects. Player choices matter—who you trust, how you question witnesses, and which leads you pursue all affect the story’s progression and its ultimate outcome. This system creates a compelling sense of agency, encouraging multiple playthroughs to uncover every nuance and resolution. However, the branching paths also mean that some content can be missed on a single run, which may frustrate players who prefer a more linear experience or complete story in one sitting.
On the downside, Lamplight City’s deliberate pace and emphasis on dialogue-heavy scenes might not appeal to everyone, especially those accustomed to faster or more action-oriented games. Some players might find certain puzzles straightforward or occasionally repetitive, though they fit well within the context of investigation and deduction. Additionally, while the writing is strong overall, a few characters can feel underdeveloped compared to the richly fleshed-out leads, leaving some narrative threads less satisfying.
In summary, Lamplight City is a standout detective adventure that combines thoughtful storytelling, immersive world-building, and classic point-and-click gameplay with a unique steampunk flair. Its well-written narrative and branching choices provide depth and replayability, while its atmospheric visuals and sound design create a compelling noir mood. Though it may require patience and an appreciation for slower, narrative-driven gameplay, fans of mystery and investigation will find a rewarding and memorable experience. Whether you’re drawn to the genre for its puzzles, story, or setting, Lamplight City offers a polished and engaging journey into a dark, steam-powered world full of secrets waiting to be uncovered.
Rating: 8/10
Took me about 6 hours to complete, and a very enjoyable game. Mostly had some small issues with the last chapter(vagueness and a voiceline spiking). Always enjoy these type of games. I must also say that the last case was intresting with characters getting the clue after they was done with the conversations which didn't occur during the rest of the cases, but it's the same with being able to get thrown out in the 1st case. Again a fun game.
I was going back and forth between giving this game a positive or negative review. Ultimately, I decided to recommend this game even though I didn't enjoy it that much. The reasons for my recommendation are:
- the pixel art graphics and atmosphere are top notch
- good voice acting for the most part (also the whole game is fully voiced)
- creative and mostly intersting cases
- it's a point & click game which is a rare breed nowadays
- music is decent and fits the game well
- overall cozy feeling and slow paced gameplay that reminded me a lot of the old Sherlock Holmes games (but much simpler)
Why didn't I enjoy it then? The points below are quite subjective. If you find most of the points below off putting, then this game is not recommended or "get it on sale".
- no items: This could be viewed as positive or negative, depending on your taste. For me, it made the game rather boring, as the whole story progression is triggered through dialogue (talking to the correct person after doing the correct tasks etc.) and inspecting the correct objects (which are sometimes easy to miss). Very few puzzles.
- progression lock out: it is sometimes extremely easy to lock you out of progressing the correct path simply by choosing the "wrong" dialogue option with certain characters. For example: [spoiler]Your wife will stop helping you in a later case if you simply compliment her.[/spoiler]. It is possible to finish a case by announcing it "unsolvable" which feels frustrating if it happens due to one false click in a dialogue. Save often on multiple slots.
- Your partner Bill: He fills the [u]entire game[/u] with snarky remarks and stupid jokes. Almost every interaction or inspecting any object leads to some remarks from Bill. I found this so annoying the first time playing that I gave up on the game and returned years later to finish it. He also often and heavily promotes the consumption of alcoholic drinks. Many times the game portrays alcohol as very positive or even a "problem solver", at least that was the impression I often got.
- I felt that this game has a bit too much political correctness in it (it's not extreme though), which prevented me from really diving into this games world and atmosphere.
- I found some characters to be unlikeable and / or boring.
In the end, it is somewhat of an "interactive point & click novel" rather than a classic point & click adventure. Give it a try for the cozy atmosphere alone and if you are in the mood for a rather slow detective experience in victorian steampunk London.
Fun detective game and worth the time and money if you're looking for one, but I found the story, while decent, to be a watered down version of what the premise promised. Bill, though dead, was effectively just... there as a character. For 99% of the game, there's no difference between living characters and Bill, and from the start, the main character, while annoyed by Bill, has totally accepted that he's real. It would have been nice to see that denial/substance abuse pushed further given the circumstances. The first and last case involving Bill's killer were very okay. Bill's death felt weightless, and once the killer's machinations were revealed, I didn't have much motivation to catch him. I found the first four main cases more compelling than the main story, even though the main story compelled me to buy the game.
Gameplay-wise, the most frustrating thing was sometimes if you clicked on an interactive object, Bill would make a snide remark like he does for non interactive objects, then you would have to click it again to interact with it. I ended up referencing a walkthrough because I kept missing things even though I examined everything in a room. Most things do let you interact the first time you click them if applicable, so it's not like you want to check everything twice to see if it's interactive, but a lot of critical clues do have this obnoxious double tap. Maybe it's a skill issue idk
Pretty fun detective adventure, with some minor C&C which will influence the endings. As an AGS game it runs very well, without any bugs.
1000% recommend. I love a good point and click mystery and this was an excellent point and click mystery. The voice acting was stellar throughout, the world was so fun, and I loved the characters you interact with throughout. Also very fun were some of the big mistakes — I’m excited to do a bad playthrough
Another great point-and-click from Grundislav Games!
One unusual aspect that I particularly appreciated was the absence of an inventory system. Not having to focus on combination puzzles allowed for better immersion in the story and the various cases, and I enjoyed making connections and coming up with (quirky) conclusions. To the point that it almost made me wish for a bit more player agency when it came time to wrap up the cases.
It also helped that the atmosphere was very well rendered, with everything on the art side in tune.
All in all, a must-play for fans of the genre.
Gioco punta e clicca vecchio stampo su base investigativa, che mi ha piacevolmente sorpreso per la piega thriller/sovrannaturale a tratti horror delle storie! Consigliatissimo perchè assolutamente non banale!
Atmospheric, interesting story, beautiful background art. One of the best detective games I've played.
I'm a sucker for a good detective story. I like picking up every piece of evidence and testimony from witnesses. It's a great way to keep your brain sharp. Which made Lamplight City a joy to play. Francisco Gonzalez has made some good adventure games and this one certainly didn't disappoint. Each case is unique and there's always the possibility of reaching dead ends and being unable to successfully apprehend the suspect. Still, the game doesn't end if you can't find the correct person who did it. The overarching story and Miles' relationship with the wisecracking Bill was just so much fun to experience. In fact, Bill was the highlight of the game just due to his quips. I won't spoil the ending, or even the plot lingering in the background. You'd have to play the game to experience it yourself. That said, if you're a fan of mysteries and piecing together clues you certainly can't do wrong here. The puzzles are pretty self explanatory and I rarely needed a walkthrough to get to the end. Highly recommended.
If you like Gabriel Knight, Fate of Atlantis, and the Blackwell series, you'll probably like this a lot. In fact, get ready for a few references from some games like those as you play. Remember to SAVE OFTEN as it is possible to lock yourself out of whole areas and endings if you choose the wrong dialogue options. The story is enjoyable, the ending is somewhat satisfying, and it's a decent ride with more than decent voice acting. I really enjoyed this!
I picked this game up on a whim as my first exposure to Grundislav Games. Ever since then I've been recommending their entire library to everyone I know who is even remotely interested in adventure games. I'm very annoying but some people listen!
enjoyed this game a lot. Good story, logical and nicely animated, too.
good detective game
A fun little point and click detective story built with a sense of humour.
Lamplight City nos transporta a Nueva Bretaña, una ciudad ficticia, con una atmósfera densa, melancólica, socialmente opresiva en ocasiones, con una estética que recuerda a una suerte de fusión bastarda de la época victoriana de Londres (la decadencia de la zona del “Chum”), Nueva Orleans (Gascogne, con influencias bohemias y criollas) y Nueva York (Lyon, y su opulencia).
Nueva Bretaña (también existe una Nueva Holanda, que es mencionada en una de las innumerables conversaciones) se ubica en el continente alternativo de Vespuccia, donde la Revolución Industrial ha tomado un giro steampunk. En este universo alternativo las tensiones sociales y las desigualdades son constantes y el avance tecnológico es otro motivo de división. Incluso se incluye un grupo anti-tecnología que sabotea máquinas de vapor inspirado en los luditas reales del siglo XIX, quienes protestaban contra la automatización que amenazaba sus empleos. El juego aborda temas sensibles como el racismo, la desigualdad social y la salud mental de forma bastante descarnada además, pero nunca pierde el foco principal, ser una historia de detectives.
Es un juego más progresista que conservador, sin desdeñar ninguna de las dos opciones. Diría que de ahí viene la decisión de crear este universo ficticio y no plegarse a la realidad. El entorno alternativo permite incluir personajes con trasfondos variados y explorar conflictos sociales más amplios sin tener que ceñirse a los estándares históricos victorianos. Por ello, diría que no es un juego que presente explícitamente una agenda política, pero algo de eso hay. Es cierto que nos permite tomar decisiones morales complejas porque explora la desigualdad social marcada por tensiones de clase, pobreza y discriminación. Y sí, incluye personajes diversos que representan minorías pero al menos intenta mostrar una variedad de trasfondos sociales, ideológicos y culturales. En ocasiones diría que se fuerza un poco (algunos giros del cuarto caso con alguna minoría concretamente me parecieron un tanto gratuitos) pero no me nace ser demasiado severo con un juego que al menos intenta criticar al sistema orgánicamente desde su narrativa contextual.
Visualmente, el juego utiliza un pixel art detallado en la mejor tradición de las aventuras gráficas clásicas, con unas animaciones puntuales que, diría, delatan rotoscopia. Las animaciones de la boca en los “primeros planos” (a lo Gabriel Knight o Cruise for a corpse), son mejorables.
Los escenarios están cargados de información contextual. Presentan fábricas sombrías, tabernas decadentes y mansiones opulentas que reflejan las tensiones sociales. Aunque algunos elementos gráficos pueden parecer simples, el diseño logra transmitir una atmósfera rica y coherente. Lástima que las restricciones presupuestarias se perciban claramente tanto en el tamaño de algunas de las localizaciones como en el estatismo general del conjunto (los figurantes apenas tienen animaciones) y especialmente en la reutilización de fondos.
Acepto que al visitar un antro a diferentes horas del mismo día encuentre a los mismos parroquianos en las mismas posiciones, pero que no haya variación en días diferentes es inadmisible a estas alturas. Sin ir más lejos, los usuarios de la biblioteca en Kathy Rain 2 variaban cada vez que se entraba o salía del recinto. Es una decisión fácil de implementar y relativamente barata que potencia bastante la verosimilitud de ese mundo ficticio.
Respecto al entramado mecánico discursivo, la historia se desarrolla a través de cinco casos teóricamente independientes pero puntualmente conectados por el hilo conductor de un caso principal (con el que comienza el juego y que vertebra toda la “particular coyuntura” de nuestros protagonistas -Miles Fordham y su compañero Bill- durante toda la aventura y hasta ahí voy a exponer. Quien lo juegue lo entenderá).
Estos casos abarcan todo un espectro de delitos que tienen una constante en común, su impredecibilidad. La narrativa se apoya muy severamente en los diálogos, con personajes bien escritos (si bien los epílogos de los casos suelen ser un tanto ásperos) y voces certeras que aportan cierta profundidad emocional.
Cada caso presenta múltiples sospechosos, pistas falsas, giros y ramificaciones en función de las decisiones del jugador. Pero no se me malinterprete. Cada caso tiene un desarrollo y un culpable definido (de hecho, hay un logro por resolver todos los casos correctamente) pero lo interesante es que puedes acusar a un inocente, perder pistas clave o informaciones cruciales e incluso declarar un caso como no resuelto y el juego no te penaliza por ello en el sentido de que puedes seguir avanzando en la historia, con un desenlace en consecuencia, claro (para conseguir el final “canónico” –el bueno, vaya- se deben resolver convincentemente al menos los dos primeros casos y el último). Ergo la jugabilidad se focaliza muy denodadamente en la observación y el diálogo.
Presionar demasiado a un testigo puede cerrar literalmente líneas de investigación cruciales (e incluso impedirnos llegar a una conclusión por falta de información o de pruebas), mientras que una actitud más empática puede desbloquear nuevas pistas. El juego recompensa constantemente la cautela y atención al detalle y penaliza el descuido y la desatención. Encarnamos a un detective y por lo tanto se me antoja de lo más pertinente. Arriesgado y arrojado, sí, pero lúcido y coherente hasta sus últimas consecuencias. Esta filosofía de diseño, a mi juicio, busca reflejar la complejidad moral y la incertidumbre de una investigación real y aunque puede llegar a ser un tanto frustrante es de lo más valiente. No en vano, yo decidí rejugar el primer caso al completo al percatarme, tras casi tres horas, de que había acusado demasiado arbitrariamente a mi sospechosa. Y efectivamente, resultó no ser ella.
Se percibe durante todo el juego una decidida intencionalidad de romper con ciertas convenciones del género. Por ejemplo al eliminar el inventario tradicional y las acciones. La recolección de objetos es muy puntual y siquiera llega a haber un inventario para saber qué tienes en posesión. Al juego le resbala. Si llega un punto en el que hay que usar un objeto concreto y el personaje lo ha recogido o se lo han dado previamente, lo usará. No hay verbos de acción ni rueda de acciones. En su lugar se utiliza una libreta de notas dividida en cuatro secciones: descripción del caso, pistas, sospechosos y documentos relevantes. Así, organizamos la investigación de forma intuitiva y se soslaya completamente la posibilidad de combinar objetos. Tan arriesgado como efectivo. ¿Y hay puzles como tales? Haberlos, haylos, pero el foco principal es la investigación, los interrogatorios y la deducción.
A poco que vaya el género detectivesco, es un título insoslayable.
pretty
Классический поинт-энд-клик квест на движке AGS. В вымышленной вселенной Америки времен позднего дикого запада, где параллельно паровой технологии существует энергия "эфира", игроку в роли детектива предстоит раскрыть несколько обычных дел, и одно личное. В наличии занятные персонажи, острые социальные вопросы. Практически все дела сделаны шаблонно - проявляется N подозреваемых, и игрок должен или обвинить кого получилось, или найти действительно виновного. При этом часто имеются возможности закрыть для себя возможность найти настоящего виновного, если выбрать неправильный вариант в диалоге. Большая часть геймплея - диалоги, все озвученные, посещение новых локаций, и снова диалоги в предыдущих, пока не будет найден виновный. Головоломка, кажется, всего одна - бойлер, который сделан совершенно отвратительно. Минусом для меня стали и постоянные реплики погибшего напарника главного героя, который к концу игры своим вечным брюзжанием скорее раздражает, чем нет. Игру прошел, но возвращаться к ней желания не будет.
First adventure game I played in a very long time. Well written and interesting cases. Really appreciated it !
Great game. As long as you pay attention, you'll figure out who the culprit is. There's no need for a guide.
Me ha gustado mucho, muy bien ambientado, dinámica de juego bastante abierta. Lo recomiendo.
A fine investigation game. Lots of dialogues to exhaust before learning possible clues, point and click "retro" look kind of games. I really enjoyed the story and the humour of the main "spirit guide". Getting all achievements required playing many many times and patience, but it was all worth it.
Great point and click game. Actions have consequences, think twice.
old school graphics....way back. No eye candy here. But! delightful characters, engaging cases, kept my attention to the end...I'd wholeheartedly recommend this game. Really enjoyed it.
Solid point and click detective game! Returning to scenes between cases makes the city feel real and the writing and voice acting is surprisingly good! Recommend!
not a very puzzle heavy mystery game but its a great point and click story to solve
Great detective game. Great atmosphere with great music and great voice-overs. Really immersive. Many places to visit and people to talk to. Simple mechanics like old Sherlock Holmes titles. Really a great game to play after Rosewater.
The game is a Sherlock Holmes-like point and click adventure in a steam-punk alternative XIX century, with a nice world building and tons of personality. Structured like a series of independent cases loosely connected by a main story,
It’s mostly a conversational adventure, and the gameplay consists almost exclusively in talking to witnesses, examining the environment, collecting clues and piecing together the cases. Using a simplified interface with only one action available each time and with no inventory interactions (minus two exceptions which should probably not be in the game).
The gameplay twist is that you can close paths of investigation by selecting bad options and may miss vital clues. At the end you need to point to a suspect, and although each case has a clear solution, if you chose incorrectly, you may point to the wrong suspect and don’t reach the actual answer.
It is a cool mechanic that is mostly well realized, although once you understand the mechanic it is very easy to know when you have reached the correct suspect or not. Also, there are a couple of instances when you can miss some clue due to bad game design, but in general it is not easy to fail a case, and you don’t need to solve correctly every case.
All I all, a great game with ok voice acting, cool pixel art and a very good and engaging story.
One of my all time favourite games. I think about it often and always will.
Tolle Stimmung. Nur manchmal bei den Entscheidungen nicht ganz klar, was für Wirkungen es auf den Verlauf hat und man in dieses Prinzip nicht eingeführt wurde... musste nochmals neu starten um die besten Entscheidungen zu treffen, aber danach lief es super :) also klare Empfehlung, wenn man weiss wie rangehen.
I love the "one button" control scheme and lack of inventory management - which doesn't necessarily make the game easier, but allows you to focus on clue solving. I liked the threat of not having a "perfect run", which has been criticised elsewhere. Looking forward to playing their other game, which I bought in a bundle.
In many ways, a standard pixel graphic, puzzle game that depends on interacting with people and objects to solve puzzles and advance the plot. It takes place in a fictional 19th century setting, a city that seems part New Orleans, part New York City and part London at times. One of the things I really liked about it was the way it lightly suggests a larger world without bothering to over-explain anything; references to a prime minister while clearly being set in the USA and a recent industrial disaster being examples I recall. The subtext behind the entire plot is the conflict between an emerging technology and the luddites who recognize its ability to destroy their livelihoods. The fantasy setting allows it to portray genuine racism from the era while also providing space for slightly anachronistic progressivism.
The mysteries are pretty good. One feature that separates this game from other similar titles I've played is that you can solve a mystery incorrectly. [spoiler] You can accuse suspects without having all of the evidence collected and get it wrong. In fact, the game seems to want you to do just that. I ended up looking at a playthrough to double-check I had not missed anything after the 1st case. [/spoiler]
I played it on Steam Deck and it worked well there.
Very enjoyable.
A brilliant modern point-and-click game that dispenses with some of the more vexing elements of older games in the genre (apologies here to fans of LucasArts adventure games!). Most notably, there is no inventory, progress in the game being made mainly through dialogue. There are some puzzles, but none of them revert to the ‘moon logic’ of the classics in the genre. In short, this is a point-and-click game that focuses mainly on the narrative, the characterisation and the brilliantly-evoked world. The narrative structure is superb: you play as a detective attempting to solve five interlocking cases, as well as the overarching case that looms within and behind them all. I should say at this point that it’s more of a detective story than a detective game, such as Return of the Obra Dinn; although there is some detective work to be done it’s not the most challenging, which I found to be a strength, such is the quality of the storytelling and characterisation. There is a huge cast of characters, much like in a Dickens novel; indeed, much of the characterisation owes much to Dickens (a debt alluded to in the nomenclature of characters and places in the game). The world of Vespuccia and New Bretagne - alternate 19th century versions of America and New York (with some Victorian London thrown in) respectively - is vividly-drawn, with excellent contextual references to its politics, technology and some scathing social commentary. The playfully witty and sophisticated dialogue is perhaps the star of the show in Lamplight City, supported by (mostly) top-notch voice acting. The game also has a spectacular art style (look at that screenshot below!). The characters’ portraits and animations (the protagonist’s shuffling, hunched-up walk being a particular favourite of mine) are especially impressive. There are multiple endings, depending on the dialogue choices you make and how you do with each of the cases. I enjoyed this game so much that I’ve immediately moved on to Grundislav Games’ latest release, Rosewater, which is also set in Vespuccia.
Francisco González es de lo mejorcito en cuanto a aventuras gráficas y AGS (Adventure Game Studio de Chris Jones) se refiere.
Cualquiera de sus juegos es sinónimo de calidad. Este tiene buena inspiración a nivel artístico (y en algún que otro detalle) de Gabriel Knight de Sierra, aunque en ocasiones también recuerda en gameplay a Blade Runner de Westwood Studios.
El aspecto técnico es impecable, con unos personajes, escenarios y animaciones impresionantes, además de una genial banda sonora y un doblaje competente.
No es un point & click 100% al uso porque no cuenta con un inventario tangible y puzzles con verbos, pero tiene suficiente variedad de escenarios, personajes y sobretodo diálogo, para que, sin ser un gran reto intelectual, sea llevadero y muy entretenido.
Es relativamente rejugable, pues tiene diferentes decisiones en los casos, cada una con sus diálogos, animaciones, etc. Sospecho que también tiene más de un final, aunque yo solo he obtenido uno por el momento. La duración aproximada es de una decena de horas (me lo dejé minimizado un par de noches sin querer), lo cual es más que suficiente.
La única pega que le pongo es [spoiler] el final algo abrupto y sin el cliffhanger que estaba esperando [/spoiler]
8/10
I was not happy with Lamplight City early on because I got stuck and could not proceed. I had looked everywhere and could not proceed. Turns out I missed one very important clue that was a little difficult to distinguish between an interactable item or just a static image. It prompted me to write a bad review but the developer immediately responded to it and we had a productive little conversation that ultimately pointed me in the right direction so I was able to continue with the game. It's really the only time I got stuck through my entire playthrough.
To get a response like that so quickly from the actual developer really shows how much they care about this game and is really appreciated. And when playing this game it really shows just how much they care about it because you can tell a lot of love went into creating this fantastic game.
It looks like a typical point and click adventure game but there are some significant differences from what is typical of the genre. Probably the biggest one is there's no inventory. You do pick up items on rare occasions but they basically just get entered into your casebook and they automatically get used when you look in the right area. Instead most of the detective work is done through dialogue and examining items in the environment. And choices really do matter here because they can significantly alter how your particular story plays out. I found this to be a very refreshing alternative to trying to randomly combine two items from an overstuffed inventory, even in nonsensical ways, to get yourself out of a dead end. You also can't really randomly click through all dialogue options when talking to another character. You really have to think about what you should say and what you shouldn't say.
The game really shines technically with it excellent production values. It looks great and sounds great. It's some of the best sound design I've seen in an indie point and click adventure game in recent memory. It makes for a pretty immersive experience for a game like this. The voice acting and music is also excellent all around. The story is well done and I liked how there was overlap between cases sometimes. In other words once you get through a case it's not like you never hear anything about it again. I don't think it overstays its welcome either.
However there are a few potential problems depending on the player. You can actually get through cases without solving them and sometimes you may even end up accusing somebody you are not entirely sure about because that's the only person you can select (other than selecting unsolved case). What choices you have in this regard seems to be based on how much information you have gathered in the course of an investigation of a given case. This might not sit well with some people who may only be interested in the best possible outcome of every case. Personally I kind of liked it because in real life a detective doesn't solve every case and occasionally even makes mistakes. It also creates the opportunity for numerous outcomes in the story.
One nitpick related to the above is that when your playthrough is over there's no kind of feedback that I can see to tell you how well you actually did in each case. So if you picked a suspect you weren't certain about you may never know whether whether or not that person is truly guilty. Something might happen in a later case that sheds some light on previous cases but that doesn't always happen. I guess this is realistic as well when you think about it but this is one instance where I wouldn't mind if they bent the rules a bit. Maybe some kind of summary before the closing credits with a rating indicating how well you did on each case. Once again though this is by no means a dealbreaker for me but it would've been nice.
So in the end I really enjoyed my time in Lamplight City and I appreciate the developer's passion for their game. Hopefully someday there will be a sequel but in the meantime I'm now really interested in their newest game Rosewater.
Incredibly gripping story and atmosphere.
Interesting and fun. The opportunity to make mistakes if you're not on the ball gives a good challenge. Now I want to go through and make some wrong accusations just to see what happens...
T_T 12 Saat az geldi
I am not a adventure game player historically but I am trying to get into the genre. This was my real second game, the first being Unavowed.
And it is great. The voice acting, the story, the sound, the puzzles. It all works. I solved the game 90% by myself I would say, with only occasionally needing a little outside guidance to figure out what I was missing.
This is worth playing.
Get it.
Great vibe, good story and nice characters and voice acting! Would like to see more from this world, I would easily play a prequel of the duo detectives about the cases they had :)
An awesome point-and-click game where you punch racists while the gbf who possesses you makes funny jokes. Need I say more?
Absolutely awesome, so many options and choices that actually matter, and make you think.
A wonderful point n click that is definitely worth a bunch of play through's...
5 out of 5
The narrative is great, but note that the game double downs on the idea of choices having consequences and it is often impossible to say how your decisions affect the plot until you reach the later chapters. If you're fine with however the story unfolds, you'd be right at home, but if you want to achieve something resembling a perfect run, save your time and find a guide online. (Unless you want to replay the "Lamplight City" over and over. )
Bardzo dobrze poprowadzona historia. Fajnie napisane postacie, przede wszystkim główne - niezły voice-acting. Dosyć wciągający detective-work, fajnie się rozkminia rzeczy, rozmawia ze świadkami (Zwłaszcza, że dialogi są naprawdę nieźle napisane.). Pomimo tego, że nie ma tutaj klasycznych zagadek typu point and click, jak łączenie przedmiotów, to dalej nie jest to absolutnie symulator chodzenia. Dalej musimy łączyć fakty, dobrze prowadzić dialogi i probować znajdować szczegóły żeby dobrze rozwiązać sprawę - chociaż gra nie była jakoś specjalnie skomplikowana. Miałem zacinke może raz. Fajna chemia pomiędzy duo głównych detektywów. Kąśliwy humor z ciekawymi komentarzmi też na poziomie. All in all, polecanko.
More of a visual novel with a point a click interface than a true point and click adventure.
Still, worth a try: I found the story to be engaging, with nice dialogue and voice acting to match. The artwork fits the tone (the interview screens felt cozy as they reminded me of Gabriel Knight's) and the music does a good job accompaning.
The game is fairly easy, not oce I felt stuck, but the different possible outcomes in the investigations are engaging, specially since they don't clue you in wether you are picking rightly.
If you are looking for a classic point and click, you won't find it here, but if what I've described sounds good to you might be worth checking, I grew fond of the characters and enjoyed 5 or 6 relaxing play sessions with this one.
I've actually beaten "Lamplight City" before, off GOG, so I thought I'd write a quick review before I continued replaying it in preparation for its upcoming spiritual successor "Rosewater". It's a point and click adventure game of the old school—in the sense that there are no dead ends and the puzzles are mostly logical. Well, sort of: It's also a detective game, so it's structured to let you give up on solving a case, which affects the ending. It also means that you can close off avenues in your investigation if you offend people. *That* said, the cases, while challenging and intricate, aren't going to stump you if you try, and even those "dead ends" can be surmounted.
Overall, I really enjoyed "Lamplight City". It has a great sense of place, boasts good writing + story, and knows when to be funny or serious. It also centres a couple of loving, credibly written relationships, which I wish more video games would try. If you enjoy games like "Grim Fandango," "Sam & Max," or "Technobabylon," you should pick it up.
Good game!
Some cases you may lose because you do things in the wrong order that you have no way knowing about, just pure luck.
Other than that, the game is good, but this one is a dealbreaker for me.
Leider sind all meine Speicherstände nach einem Update flöten gegangen, daher brauch ich jetzt erstmal ein paar Monate Pause um neu zu beginnen, sehr ärgerlich. Aber das Game war bis zu diesem Punkt gut ;)
Most éppen nem működik.
Wonderful visuals and steampunk aesthetic. Everything you want from a point and click adventure game - and more! Great voice cast. Highlight was the interconnectivity of the world and characters. You actions have GENUINE consequences to how to game plays out - not faux ones.
Good game with an engaging narrative. Nicely drawn graphics and a great atmosphere. The casebook is quite helpful to keep track of imporant things, as there are a lot of characters and plot elements. The game is a little light on puzzles, progress is mainly achieved through dialogues. As a negative, the achievements did not unlock on my playthrough (probably related to the fact that I played on Linux).
Aunque a primera vista parece una aventura gráfica estilo clásico, en realidad está más cerca de los nuevos juegos tipo [i]choices matter[/i]. Estamos frente a una historia de detectives donde tendremos que resolver varios casos más pequeños y la mayoría de los puzzles consisten en hablar con los testigos/sospechosos y conseguir las pistas para poder hacer el [i]wrap-up[/i] donde acusaremos a un sospechoso y presentaremos las pruebas. Sin que el juego sea particularmente complicado, si es posible llegar a puntos muertos segun las decisiones que tomemos y es posible que tengamos que dar algun caso por irresoluble (a menos que carguemos la partida).
This was a surprisingly wonderful throw back to my point and click flashplayer game days. This has all the check boxes for an old victorian sleuth game, but with some fantasy lore. You play a detective who is going through a rough patch in life as you try your best to untangle both professional and personal webs. The basic concept of the game is simple, but the actions you take can all build up to a culmination or check you into a psychiatric facility - it's up to you!
This game was fun and challenging to play, yet it is still intuitive. It's nice to see that your actions matter and you can, indeed, make a mess out of your investigations if you aren't meticulous and thorough in your investigations. The personal arc that plays out through the game is a nice touch - even if it isn't the most well rounded and isn't executed in the best way. The culmination is a bit goofy (no I will not elaborate because spoilers).
Overall - 8/10. I thoroughly enjoyed this game and the challenge that it was. It felt like a grounded sleuth game that kept my attention throughout. Parts of the story line fell a bit flat though. But it's always nice to see that choices matter!
Very frustrating that the game doesn’t tell you that you may render large portions of the game unplayable. Almost no puzzles, it’s mostly an interactive story. Falsely tagged as point n click.
6-7/10
Did enjoy the playthrough. Picked up objects will be used automatically. That turns the focus more to thourough observation which felt nice for a detective game even if there is a LOT of talking. Difficulty was good I only looked up a couple things, mainly to avoid unwinnable states in the game which is quite easy to accomplish. Sierra games were even worse back then in that regard but 35 years ago we sure had a lot more nerve and time trying to figure it out noetheless :)
+ story speed was good, was looking forward to the solution
+ voice acting was ok-decent
- gay assistant
- unlikeable assistant
- npc portrait graphics look a bit wonky
- ending was a bit anti-climatic and short
- I ended up running in circles between the npcs in search of new dialogue options - a bit less would have felt sufficient too :)
- the single screen scenes can feel a bit tight I don't think there was any scrolling ever
Overall I don't regret playing it but the all-commenting assistant made me want to refund the game already after 15 minutes in. Won't replay.
