Lost in Random Reviews
Lost in Random is clearly a Zoink! game, though you can't compare it to other games from the studio. The game has its own style and gameplay and both of them are truly wonderful. If you like card games, dice games, or are simply addicted to adventuring this is the game for you. The game feels like a Tim Burton movie. Funny, but creepy and stylish at the same time. Lost in Random is truly compelling with an original story and once you start, you can't stop playing!
Review in Dutch | Read full review
The lively writing and warm characters show through Lost in Random's spooky façade, offering players an intriguing world shaped with evident care
Lost in Random has the potential of a modern classic in the making. More than the Tim Burton vibes or the uniqueness of the combat mechanics. There is a certain charm to its writing and the line delivery that’s hard to place, be the epic poetry battle with Mayor Royam or Seemore giving Even a pep talk worthy of a sports underdog movie. It’s one of those games that I would actually consider a sleeper hit. As such, I highly recommend for the story content first. The combat, a near second.
Ultimately, I think what Lost in Random reminds me of most is American McGee’s early Alice games, but less brutal and more whimsical. It’s got a similar form of macabre about its world and narrative, but it also has a similar limitation and technical tarnish that those games had. Even and Dicey’s Journey to save Odd and stop the Queen is well written and presented by the game’s action, music, and narrative, but it feels like there’s also varying degrees of jank just sitting in your periphery. Get past that, and I still feel this is a fairy-tale adventure that deserves a cover-to-cover read.
An exciting story of evens and odds, Lost in Random is the kind of action-adventure that is worth experiencing no matter who you are.
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.
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.
Amazingly stylish and fun, Lost in Random has everything it needs to be unique and intriguing.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Despite some clunky movement, Lost in Random features smart combat and a world filled with wonder, mystery, and excitement.
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 a great game that manages to immerse you in the gothic world of Random. The battle system runs away from sameness and also brings the board game arena format as a strong point. A good option if you want to play a complete story in an uncompromising way.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Thanks to its absolutely sublime art style, excellent voice acting and its dark, fairytale-like narrative, Lost in Random is a wonderful adventure that will have you gripped. It’s a shame there’s no lip syncing to really finish off the visuals, and combat can be a little frustrating at times, but in the grand scheme of things these are miniscule issues. There’s so much originality and charm here that it’s hard not to fall in love with the world of Random.
Lost in Random is downright great. If you like the atmosphere a'la Harry Potter, Psychonauts, or the works of Tim Burton, you must know this story! Random Rules, Random Rules!
Review in Polish | Read full review
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
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.
“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.
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
Lost in Random is an okay 15-hour game, front-loaded with seven fantastic hours. It’s worth playing even if you don’t make it to the end, simply because there’s never been another game like it. Disney goths will delight in its charming blend of cute and macabre, and there are some legitimate thrills to be had with the combat system for strategy-brained players like myself. If it had continued to innovate with new battle mechanics and more cards to collect throughout the entire game, it would be an easy contender for game of the year for me. Unfortunately, it rests on its laurels too early, and the game as a whole suffers for it. I would be eager to return to Random were there ever a sequel, but I don’t think I’ll be revisiting Lost in Random again anytime soon.
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.
Like a toss of the dice, Lost in Random can be truly inspired at times, and a little underwhelming at others.