The Lost Child Reviews
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.
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.
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.
The Lost Child isn't a game bereft of merit, and we're sure that there's a number of people who'll enjoy the visual novel slash first person dungeon crawler approach taken here. But it's certainly a game with limited appeal - even among the role playing game demographic - thanks to the lifeless battles and cumbrous dungeon design. It's a game that pays more than a passing nod to numerous other RPGs - Pokemon, Persona, and other Shin Megami Tensei titles - but sadly, never approaches the quality of any of them.
The Lost Child is clearly inspired by several popular series from different genres and it does a decent job at that, featuring elements that will be easily identified by the players. Where it does not do so well is on delivering a good performance and capturing the player's attention, as this is a game that has problems with standing out, aggravated by its rather poor presentation, which ends up reinforcing how The Lost Child does not manage to be a compelling and engaging experience.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The Lost Child is a JRPG with a number of quirky and interesting elements, not least of which is its Pokémon-like monster capture system. However, its dungeon crawling underpinnings are just too dull and repetitive, and its narrative approach too stilted to draw in anyone but die-hard fans of the genre. Even then, you'll need to come prepared to grit your teeth and grind.
This dungeon crawler takes heavy influence from Shin Megami Tensei but mostly feels like a poor imitation.
The strange thing about The Lost Child is that, despite its many, many flaws, it still manages to be entertaining by virtue of being a bog standard, but competent, first-person dungeon crawler with a great pace of progress.
At its best, The Lost Child knows how to engage its audience with a creative take on the monster catching format without leaning too heavily into its Shin Megami Tensei influences. Unfortunately, at its worst, and it is more often at its worst, The Lost Child drags the audience along with an incohesive story, lacklustre dungeon design, and a repetitive battle system. The title isn't entirely without merit as everything does tend to mesh well enough in small doses, but longer play sessions reveal the monotony of it all. The Lost Child is an interesting experience, but perhaps one best experienced at a severely reduced price.
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 dull, uninspired dungeon crawler. On paper, a Lovecraft dungeon crawler with a Japanese flair could be something truly iconic and memorable. Instead of realizing that ideal, The Lost Child apes existing dungeon crawlers and throws a dozen ideas at the wall, with none of them managing to stick. Combat can be fun and the El Shaddai nods are cute, but it isn't enough to make this cosmic terror worth losing your sanity over.
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.
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.