Lost Luminosity Review (PC)

In an effort to put the rumors to bed—to come back to the neighbors after their collective agreement to lodge a complaint about the “disturbances” occurring at an old family apartment—I decided to return, not just to satisfy a morbid curiosity, but to knuckle down on the truth behind those so-called noises that supposedly plagued the inner bones of a memorial site. Arriving at that scene was a hollow, somewhat macabre image—a miserable composition that bled just as much of a memoir as a daring, almost horrifying truth. Stuck to the past—to the spirited tales of a happier time—I entered the apartment, half expecting to witness little more than a curtain drifting with the breeze and a small collection of sacred heirlooms. Yet, Lost Luminosity gave me no such comfort. It had other secrets to spill, and it wanted me to unravel them.

It should’ve been a routine visit—a quick check of the apartment and a brief walk back to the exit before calling it a night. But just as soon as waltzed through that door, the air felt, I don’t know, tight, almost as if I had just tiptoed over the grave plot of a prolific spiritual guide. There was something in the wind—in the way the furniture would wean and shift to each passing footstep. I knew, somewhere during those first few moments, that something wasn’t quite right — and that, if I was to shuffle just a few steps deeper into the apartment, those very “disturbances” would soon transition from mere rumors to cold, bitter realities. I didn’t want to traipse any further into the rabbit hole, but something beckoned me to try.

What Lurks Beyond

Lost Luminosity is, first and foremost, a first-person psychological horror in which the protagonist, Sam—a home-bound son who decides to return to inherit his late mother’s apartment—stumbles upon a disturbing reality, one in which the “noises” of a peculiar nature have become dauntingly common. In the aftermath of several not-so-neighborly complaints, Sam makes the decision to plunge deep into the apartment to decipher the issues that plague an otherwise homely settlement. And that, in short, is where you pick up the slack: at the vacant doorway of an old apartment, bound for answers and a solution for the problems that cloak its darkest quarters.

Lost Luminosity unwraps itself in a similar manner as a lot of psychological horrors, with the player having to gradually navigate a series of ambient events and unsettling situations whilst simultaneously working through a variety of logical puzzles. The storyline, much like your average corridor-hopping thriller, has you carefully threading the needle to stitch a portrait into a conclusive piece of art, whereas the other parts of the game invite you to endure several surprisingly well-orchestrated jump scares and other foreboding effects. A little generic — but stick with us.

Through the Looking Glass

As far as gameplay goes, Lost Luminosity carries the same iron crosses that we’ve seen several times before—the same weight that often resorts to fetch-based puzzles and intricate lock combinations to steer the lion’s share of the narrative. Thankfully, none of these puzzles are particularly difficult; in fact, they mostly flow in a manner that makes it easier for you to focus on other, more pressing matters — like exploring the apartment and all its mysterious crags and crevices, for example.

Visually, Lost Luminosity doesn’t resemble a photo-realistic world, though it does capture a lot of great scenes, several of which are befitting of a B-list horror with all of the usual pulpy goodness. And to give credit where it’s due, the audio effects and general atmosphere are also pleasantly gripping, too, with its inclusion of some solid jump scares and suspenseful editing giving it that little extra edge to help whet the mood. Again, it doesn’t tout the most realistic setting in the world, or even the largest map on the block, for that matter. But there’s something oddly striking about it, and I’m all for the idea of recognizing that contribution to its chosen genre.

While the journey itself is relatively short (a couple of hours, give or take), it does feature an option to choose a particular route towards the end. Granted, it doesn’t go much beyond that, but it does offer some level of replay value for you to enjoy as and when the time strikes. And for as little as five bucks, that’s a pretty good deal, all things considered. Would it benefit from a little extra material—multiple endings, a better UI, and a wider variety of puzzles, for example? Absolutely. But again, for the price tag, it just feels petty to complain.

Verdict

Lost Luminosity may rely on a lot of the same pulpy tropes that we’ve seen hundreds of times before, but even with all of that those recognizable trappings, it still manages to justify its familiarities with a gripping atmosphere and a solid amount of well-timed jump scares that will surely appeal to those with an appetite for stern horror and intensifying sequences. The fact that it isn’t sullied by a staggering number of flaws or technical burdens, too, makes it that much easier to dive into and enjoy right off the bat. To say that it’s all good wouldn’t be true, as there are a couple of minor issues, particularly in the loading screen department, but for what it’s worth, I do think that there is a great indie horror to shovel through here.

Of course, you’re almost spoilt for choice with just how many haunted home-centric indie horrors there are on the market in this day and age, and so, the chances of you finding Lost Luminosity to be the most captivating of the bunch are slim. That said, if you’ve a few bucks to spare and a keen eye for cheap thrills and stream-worthy jump scares, then I can imagine that you will find everything you want and more in this short but enjoyable slip into the back rooms of an otherwise familiar world.