Lost in Random Reviews
I think that if you translated Lost in Random’s dark narrative and engagingly strange visual style into a stop-motion animated style film, it would be a powerful exploration of a harrowing and at times poignant journey through an upside down world ruled by disorder. There’s a lot of that conceit in the game, too, but it’s made less impactful by tepid mechanics and tedious, unrewarding combat. The story and setting are absolutely worth experiencing, but there’s probably a chance you’ll be as disappointed by the gameplay as you are enchanted by the tale.
Lost in Random would have been an interesting game even with a normal combat system, but developers were brave enough to dare and innovate, definitively not an easy task in late 2021. Maybe the effort spent on combining dice and cards has caused other features to be overlooked, and the game is sometimes a bit slow and with little interaction, but this does not impair the experience of playing an artistically very well done game, with a great story and the right amount of humor like I haven't seen in a long time.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Lost in Random is set in a masterfully crafted world which tells a gothic fairy tale-like story that has plenty of warmth despite its dark hue. With beautiful writing and a touching story, it does a great job at making you really care about what happens to Even, as well as everyone she meets. It also has a truly unique battle system that offers loads of fun in your quest to create a perfect deck. This is a delight to play from beginning to end.
If there's an idea no one's done before, it's probably because it's just a bad idea. But Zoink has managed to hit on something original that actually works with Lost in Random. Its audiovisual world-building is tremendous, ably lifting a servicable quest structure and story, and inventive combat plays to its strengths and is taken carefully up to the limits of its potential. However, the layers of interaction during battles make a promise of strategic complexity that isn't kept, and encounters last too long without the depth to sustain interest. Nevertheless, everything is packaged beautifully and Lost in Random doesn't outstay its welcome, either, leaving you craving one last roll of the dice.
Ultimately, Lost in Random succeeds at telling a modern coming-of-age dark fairy tale that can be enjoyed by players of almost all ages, and the character and world design perfectly complements the zany and clever writing and voice acting. The gameplay is likewise unique and engaging, and even though combat doesn't offer extreme depth or challenge, it fits the scope of the adventure. However, the graphics and lighting suffer on Nintendo Switch, and if you have the ability to play it on another platform, you probably should.
Coherent Tim Burton looks, a fresh combat system and great characters can't quite hide the lack of variety.
Review in German | Read full review
Lost in Random is a magical adventure, and though its dice and card-based combat system never achieves a significant depth at which it could, its still a worthwhile journey. Zoink's strength lies in building wonderous, mysterious, and frankly just weird characters and worlds. Hand-in-hand with Even and Dicey, you won't be disappointed at getting lost in Random.
Lost in Random is like a storybook come to life, but that isn't enough to carry it above its struggles.
Lost in Random is certainly a unique and interesting game, in spite of its flaws and aside from its inspirations. The art style may give the impression of journeying through a Tim Burton-inspired, imaginative landscape, but Lost in Random has its own identity that makes it worth exploring. Despite its faults, the combat's close similarities to 3D version of the Megaman Battle Network and Starforce series in all of the best ways makes it highly entertaining. Lost in Random is an innovative and enjoyable take on its genre, and a game that’s very easy to get lost in.
From the artistic direction to the narration, passing through the combat system, Lost in Random stages a suggestive contrast between order and chaos. A modern dark fairy tale that owes much of its aesthetics to the imagery of Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline, Lost in Random will undoubtedly conquer lovers of Tim Burton's works. Able to entertain, entertain, but also to disturb, the Indie of Zoink Games is absolutely recommended to all players looking for a good Action Adventure full of ideas and original solutions.
Review in Italian | Read full review
“Every roll of the dice matters, but not every roll counts,” claims Seemore, the die-restoring pipnician who Even befriends. But this isn’t true of Lost in Random’s gameplay, as the worst penalty for a bad roll is around 10 seconds of the player’s time. Indeed, if you don’t earn enough pips to summon a card, all you have to do is wait to draw a fresh card and re-roll Dicey until you’ve achieved the desired effect. Lost in Random’s narrative about a world where self-determination is suppressed is compelling, but the randomness that characterizes the game’s combat risks pushing those of us who actually have free will to play something else instead.
A magical world portrayed in a formidable way, characters that we never want to get rid of, an endearing soundtrack and magical gameplay. For a game that is based on luck, this production that took four years to the developers leaves nothing to chance and shows in the affection of each stroke of the art and each note of the music.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Lost in Random depicts a stunningly unique and eccentric world filled to the brim with character and personality. The Tim-Burton visuals and the kooky cast of characters you’ll meet in each distinctively different region means there’s never a dull moment to this journey. Clever strategy card elements help to mask the game’s rather unremarkable real-time combat, with some control issues that hurt the overall experience. Yet despite its flaws, Lost in Random still brings the goods and had me engaged from unlucky start to triumphantly random end.
undefined.But as is often the case, if someone's biggest complaints are that they just wish there was more of a game, that usually means they enjoyed their time with it. And I adored my time in Random. It's pretty remarkable how a game that's likely considered a "AA" title, somewhere between indie and "AAA" in scope, manages to create an experience parallel to full "AAA" games from just five or 10 years ago. There's a lot to be cynical and skeptical about in the gaming industry, from continuing abuse within its studios, to a seeming lack of original ideas in its biggest titles, to so much more. But games like Lost in Random remind me that there's still magic and joy to be found in videogames, even from a company that can be as cold and calculated as EA.
While Lost in Random could certainly have benefitted from more variety and depth, the overall experience is more than saved by its dense assortment of creative elements.
Lost in Random wears its visual influences on its sleeve and is more than worth a look for those who are fans of that kind of aesthetic alone. The story grabs you immediately and maintains a steady drip-feeding of excitement throughout its playtime and the game is just overall a refined and lovingly crafted adventure that will appeal to even those who are generally turned off by "card battle" games, as the content and gameplay here goes much deeper than that.
Gothic fairytale stylings and unique mish-mash of systems come together into yet another great example of Zoink's boundless creativity and game design chops. Fans of Burton-esque worlds and tabletop tropes would do well to get Lost in Random.
Like a toss of the dice, Lost in Random can be truly inspired at times, and a little underwhelming at others.
Amazingly stylish and fun, Lost in Random has everything it needs to be unique and intriguing.
Review in Italian | Read full review
It's the sort of framework that's easy to grasp, and one that plays into a lengthy and rewarding tale. An adventure that sees Even travel from the lowliest slum-like villages of Onecroft all the way to the shining beacon in the sky that is Sixtopia.