Lake Reviews
Lake's placid design philosophy cuts both ways: no flaw too egregious and no positive too remarkable.
An interesting idea marred by a subpar execution, [i]Lake[i] is more tedious than it is relaxing and immersive. The atmosphere is neat, and the whole process of taking it easy and just enjoying the simple act of delivering the mail is surprisingly cathartic, but it's not enough to keep you here for more than an hour. There is some talking to be done with a number of characters as well, but this is sadly the least exciting thing here. The townsfolk are so boring that driving the empty roads and simply delivering the mail is more preferable.
Lake is exactly what it promises to be: A relaxing routine for you to step away from your fast life. Every single aspect of Lake is there to simplify the experience, to make it easier to get through. But it becomes boring so soon, and there is no replay value.
With a lackluster narrative, and gameplay mechanics that are basic and largely unenjoyable, Lake ends up being a monotonous experience that is really not worth the time investment.
A gentle adventure, imbued with a sense of place and purpose.
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.
Concept games like Lake are great for what they are and for how long they last you. You shouldn’t come to them expecting to be blown away, but for what they aim to present. Lake is especially good at delivering a satisfyingly light and encapsulated experience, but not much else.