The Lost Child Reviews
Although The Lost Child is a far cry from El Shaddai, Sawaki Takeyasu clearly crafted something special here.
The Lost Child isn’t bad game, but I don’t really think I would call it a great game either. This one is very middle of the road and basic. I did have fun collecting all the different types of enemies, and the story is kinda interesting. There is really just nothing here that makes this one stand out. You’ll get a solid 40 hours of gameplay here and a bonus 100 level dungeon after completing the story. If you’re a fan of Dungeon Crawlers and you need to scratch that itch this would probably get the job done at its $49.99 price tag. Just go don’t go into it expecting the next evolution of the genre.
With some interesting combat mechanics and wide range of creatures to collect, The Lost Child makes for a passable, if not particularly compelling JRPG. Were it not for a dearth of dungeon crawlers on the Nintendo Switch, this is a tale you could easily skip.
Some may be tempted to write it off as an SMT knock-off, but this doesn’t strike as being fair given how its systems go a long way to stamping its own mark on everything and to make it stand out.
While a decent RPG experience I enjoyed the dungeon exploration and the mystery sleuthing the most. I grew tired of the battles early on but they became much more challenging as Hayato progressed to the end. The price is a little high for what you get so waiting for a price drop or sale may be a safer bet. That said, definitely a game I would want in my collection and a satisfying experience overall.
Overall I had a good time with the Lost Child. If you’re waiting for SMTV or something this will definitely scratch that itch as well as give you a really cool and sometimes legitimately interesting story. Where the game falls flat is once again the odd art direction and diminishing returns of its dungeons and combat encounters. If they were able to spice up the game in that regard it would have been an almost amazing game.
Honestly, I expect The Lost Child to be hit and miss with most players. Fans of monster capturing and dungeon crawlers certainly have quite a bit to look forward to in the game, especially with the added strategy.
The Lost Child has the ability to take you on a roller coaster ride, complete with highs and lows, when glossing over the structure and execution of its systems. On one hand, it does well with its dungeon diving system, though possibly playing it safe when viewed by those who eat these kind of games for breakfast. The combat itself is engaging enough, backed by a decent crafting and loot progression system.
The Lost Child is both a great game and a very frustrating one. It does a lot of things really well, the dungeon crawling, the story, the voice acting, the combat, and the puzzles themselves. Yet, it also has issues with the lack of tracking your investigations well, the difficulty spike at certain points, the too-frequent random battles, and the vagueness of some of the riddles. However, as a whole, the game was great to play through as it only got more interesting the more you got into it, and it was very satisfying to both solve the puzzles and unlock 100% of each floor.
If you’re looking for a turn based JRPG to play through, there are far better options out there that provide more variety for your dollar.
The Lost Child is a solid dungeon crawler RPG that doesn't innovate in many areas, but is still fun to play. The repetitive nature of combat and exploration is a shame, but the story should keep you interested to the end.
Overall, The Lost Child is a good way to spend your time dungeon crawling as the story provides something interesting instead of a little bit of gloss as your reason for doing everything. With lots of interesting mechanics in regards to your party, there’s more than one way to approach your combat tactics as you work your way through Japan solving mysteries to write up your articles and working on the biggest one of your life. What exactly does it mean to be “God’s Chosen”? You want to know? Your dungeon crawling awaits you!
While I’m usually a fan of the monster-catching genre and greatly enjoy anything Lovecraftian, The Lost Child fails to hit a lot of the key points that makes both of these genres fun. Add to this a standard storyline, repetitive combat and a pointless overworld, and you’ve got a game that’s ultimately very hard to recommend spending time on. With many exciting RPGs coming up in the near future, only those in desperate need of some monster catching or dungeon delving should look here.