Lake Reviews
Although the final decision felt flat, the residents of Providence Oaks and the interactions and relationships you form are wholesome and reinforce that sense of community and feeling like you belong. Sometimes in life, it's about the journey, not the destination, and I think the same about Lake.
A gentle adventure, imbued with a sense of place and purpose.
This is a fine game for people who want a basic story, and no pressure while playing, which this does well. You have no timer on your day, and missions will not expire. The game itself is good to sink a few hours into. But that’s all it is, there’s nothing to keep the player coming back for more. While having potential, it falls short in my opinion. This is why Lake will be getting the Thumb Culture Silver Award from me. There’s not enough content here to keep the player interested long-term. While there are story elements to it, they’re pretty shallow and the only impact they have is on the outcome of the main story. I will leave you with the game trailer as always.
Lake's curious proposal is surprisingly entertaining, although it ends up becoming repetitive. The worst thing is the numerous bugs that affect the experience.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Between the walking simulator, and the video game experience, Lake is a contemplative title that takes advantage of rather well-written characters, and a system of dialogues impactful enough for us to think about the meaning of life and its priorities. No choice is better than the other, so the title really lets us opt for what we want, without it having a positive or negative impact on the gaming experience.
Review in French | Read full review
I had a very hard time getting anywhere near the end of this game. It was so slow; it would have been better off as a real visual novel instead of making the player do long, boring hours of forced labour. Delivering real mail would be a lot more interesting. The delivery mini-game padding in this game makes it less likely that visual novel fans will love this game, and the repetitive nature of Lake will ensure that adventure game lovers will also not really dig this title. I’m not entirely sure who the target audience for this game is, but I feel like it misses the mark completely.
I don’t regret my stay in Providence Oaks, but like most vacations, I wish I had gotten to do more in the short time I had with the game. If you’re looking for a slice-of-life experience in a peaceful lake town and you don’t mind some bumps along the road, Lake might just be up your alley. If you want a narrative game with replay value where your choices affect the story, this vacation might leave you a little wanting.
Buried beneath Lake's innumerable mundane tasks are some really cool characters and stories. It’s just a shame you have to dig deep to really reach them.
Lake feels almost intentionally designed to be boring and mundane, and it did get on my nerves at times. But unlike other similarly-themed art games out there, its premise is so humble and sweet, being so devoid of pretentiousness and arrogance, that it actually manages to deliver its message of making a fresh start and having a better life far away from the chaos of civilization.
Lake is a narrative-driven postal simulator quite unlike any other. With a rich story, wonderful characters a beautiful town to explore, if you’re looking for something to ease your mind, you can’t go wrong.
Lake is a short and enjoyable story-driven game with interesting mail delivery gameplay that drives you to get to know the townsfolk. The story and interactions provide much lighthearted fun so if you can get past the graphical issues and bugs, there's plenty to make you play Lake over and over so you can see how your decisions influence the people of Providence Oaks.
Lake is an extremely charming story-driven title where you can accidentally be so nice to everyone that you end up forgetting to live for yourself. For the right kind of person, that in and of itself can be a much-needed wake up call; for everyone else, it’s in the very least a soothing little mail-carrying simulator that allows you to set the pace. If you’re looking for some slice-of-life goodness that provides some chill and calming ambiance, taking it easy with Lake is a no-brainer.
Lake can be an entertaining game, but only if you’re looking to burn some free time and don’t mind being railroaded.
What Lake was for me was not a peaceful, slow-paced reflection on what matters most in life. Instead, it was an anxious and difficult exercise in letting go of things that don’t bring me joy, even if they might hold other values. And it was a reflection on queer experience and the radicalness of choosing what’s genuinely best for yourself despite others’ expectations. However, while some moments of my time playing was difficult, it was because of how I saw my own ongoing experience through Merrideth’s eyes. And if a game can make me do that through expertly crafted gameplay, a perfect soundtrack, and captivating characters and relationships alone, you can certainly color me impressed.
We are conditioned to expect a gruesome crime or having to deal with some kind of a supernatural event when we are experiencing a small town story but Lake is a relaxing small adventure full of colorful characters that happens to take place in small town that is a welcome change of pace from stories with similar setting.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Does Lake push the boundaries and redefine the genre of a narrative adventure? I wouldn’t say so, but I would contend that it’s a welcome addition. The game is a great exploration of the impact one can have on others’ lives with simple interactions in a peaceful manner. There are quality-of-life issues, and the impact may not be as great as you would hope. In fact, there’s nothing grandiose about the game, but that works in its favor–it’s a calming presence in a world of chaos.
Lake is careful not to waste your time even as it insists you take all the time you need.
Lake is certainly not for everyone. It’s a very specific experience that tries as hard as possible to take as much ‘game’ out of the game and leave you only with the relaxing story element. And on balance, I’d say I enjoyed my time with Lake; I breezed around that leafy town not knowing if what I was doing mattered or if I really cared about that or not. It’s like having a day off work without any plans – the world is your oyster and there’s absolutely no pressure.
Overall, Lake tells a beautiful story, has nuanced and interesting characters, and has an environment that feels comforting and inviting. What detracts from the experience is, unfortunately, the game's tedious tasks and slow pace. This combination makes it hard to leave the experience with a clear opinion about the time spent in Providence Oaks, but what is clear is that Lake will absolutely satisfy players who feel like they need to escape and spend some time taking it slow and easy.