Lucidity Review

By Christian Donlan Published 7 October, 2009

A clear winner.

Version tested: PC

There's death in videogames, and then there's death in videogames. The way to tell the two apart is enduringly simple. The first kind causes minor - if occasionally stinging - irritation: a brief round trip through the liminal world of the loading screen and back into the thick of it that happens, for the most part, only to you.

The second variety is permanent, however, and it generally happens to somebody else. Somebody like Aeris, for example, or the endless waves of chirpy grunts you might chew into during a quick round of Cannon Fodder.

With Lucidity, LucasArts' new platform puzzler, it's Nana's turn to meet her maker. Bun-haired, chubby and handy with the knitting needles, she's off to that Werthers' Original wholesalers in the sky. Nana's death sets in motion a journey that will lead her young granddaughter Sofi through a series of bizarre and perilous dream spaces as she struggles to come to terms with the loss.

Lucidity is a game about grief, then. It's a game about grief in the way Super Mario Bros. is a game about rescuing princesses - but perhaps in the way that it's a game about jumping on mushrooms, too. In this game, grief breaks free of narrative to take on physical form, and sorrow creates a tangible terrain all of its own.

It's a fairly grim journey at times. Within seconds of pressing the start button misery, self-pity and fear begin seeping into Sofi's world, poisoning forests and filling swamps with the rustle and chirp of monsters. The path to gradual acceptance leads from the very bottom of the ocean to the outer reaches of the solar system.

'Lucidity' Screenshot 1

Nana's house looks like it could be a bit of a bargain. And it should be on the market soon, right?

Behind all of that stuff, though, Lucidity's sort of like Lemmings - a stripped-down, dour Lemmings that's been knocked about a bit and had most of its toys stolen. Each level pits Sofi against a hazardous landscape that scrolls steadily onwards, marching to the determined stomp of her little feet and swaying arms. The player's job is to baby-sit, helping the tiny adventurer past whichever obstacles present themselves, shepherding her over chasms filled with poisonous thorns, steering her around menacing snails and floating wisps of dangerous vapor.

Luckily, you have a decent amount of equipment to help you with all of this: a bottomless toolbox filled with a carefully chosen handful of objects you can drop into Sofi's path. These range from staircases and ledges that allow you to piece together your own platforms to springs, fans and catapults which send Sofi sailing across gorges. There are also bombs to take out wandering nasties and bust through walls.

All of this would be straightforward enough, but the twist comes with the realisation that your toolbox aspires to being a fruit machine as well. The gadgets at your disposal are presented to you randomly, one by one, and you quickly have to learn to work with what you're given.

'Lucidity' Screenshot 2

This screenshot was taken seconds before a hilarious Zak McKracken reference. Okay, maybe not.

As with late-model Tetris games, there's also a hold slot which allows you to keep one of your items in reserve - bringing a little method to your strategy - but you're always taking a risk whatever you pick. Squirreling a bomb away for an unexpected encounter with a nasty squid might seem like a sound idea but then Lucidity will fling a gaping canyon at you, and you're left with nothing to get across with.

Luckily the game's smallish arsenal has been pieced together with a thrifty sense of ingenuity, and the levels almost never paint you into a corner you can't get out of if you act quickly enough. It's a world of experimentation, where a well-placed bomb provides just enough lift to double as a staircase if you use it correctly.

As the adventure progresses, you constantly discover interesting new combinations for old objects - you can use a fan to cast Sofi up into the range of a catapult, say, or spring her into the distance and catch her with a simple ledge. Eventually, as your delicate charge plods onwards through forests, farmlands and fields of ice while you keep an eye on the road ahead, you genuinely might start to feel a bit like her guardian.

Randomising the objects mean you won't be able to slowly reduce each level to its ultimate racing line, however: this is an open-ended puzzle game, more Columns than Braid. It's built for tinkerers rather than perfectionists, with frenzied improvisation taking precedence over feats of memory and timing.

Most of the levels are surprisingly roomy, meaning you can explore the vertical space further than you might initially think if you've got the steps to get you up and down and enough bombs to break through barriers. To tempt you into heading back in again once the game's three acts are over, each area is scattered with clusters of fireflies to collect - either because you want to unlock extra challenges, or just because they're fireflies and it's that kind of game.

Sofi's entire adventure takes place against an arts-and-crafts backdrop that mixes nursery imagery with rustic menace. It's a papery fantasy world of diffused ink and misty chalk, where the shadows are pitch black and filled with staring eyes. Lucidity looks like a children's book, then, but possibly one of those weird Scandinavian ones that seem designed to scare and unnerve young minds: a Tove Jansson rather than a Rev. W. Awdry. For all its sprightly fir trees and twinkling Christmas card stars, Lucidity isn't particularly interested in comforting you. And why should it? Nana's dead, after all, and she won't be coming back.

But she has left some postcards - lovely sepia fragments waiting for Sofi at the end of each level, with messages on the back to suggest that, prior to shuffling off into the ether, the old dear could have made a decent wedge writing copy for Hallmark. They lend the game a neat structure - and the little post boxes they lurk inside are possibly the game's most inspired visual signature - but they also highlight a crucial weakness.

Lucidity, with its dreamy double-word-score title and tinkly, wafting soundtrack, can be a little self-conscious with its downbeat charms, a little calculated in its regular lunges at your heart. Years spent under the yoke of Luke Skywalker means Lucasarts may have lost a little confidence in its own storytelling abilities.

'Lucidity' Screenshot 3

Your journey takes you from cornfields to outer space: a bit like Superman in reverse.

Elsewhere, on a more structural level, the company that never harmed a single hair on your head when you were poking around in the gruesome corners of Melee Island now kills you dead at every opportunity - dropping Sofi off cliffs or sending in swarms of toothy fish to bite her in half. Restarting after a nasty fall is hardly a crime in a platformer the same way it is in an adventure game, but the lack of any mid-level checkpoints can make some of Lucidity's more elaborate stages a bit of a trudge.

The blend of emotions and puzzle mechanics in Lucidity invites more than a few comparisons with Braid. But while the melancholic tone and understated delivery suggests a good match, in truth, Lucasart's game is neither as complex or as original.

Not that it matters, really. So much here comes down to the simplest of tests: the gap between an annoying death and your own willingness to get on with the life beyond, the length of time separating a fail from a restart. With Lucidity you may find that, no matter how many times you drop off the screen, you're ready to wade back in again and again with little obvious bitterness.

It's a sign, in other words, that while Sofi may be lost and confused, her creators know exactly where they are, and exactly what they're doing.

8 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Christian.

About Christian Donlan

Chris Donlan writes about games for Eurogamer and some magazines. His heroes include Eugene Jarvis, Errol Morris, and Linus Van Pelt.

Read more articles from Christian by visiting the Christian Donlan archive page.

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Comments (64) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • xexuxjy #1 2 years ago

    Looks great. love the art style.

  • INSOMANiAC #2 2 years ago

    Certainly a contrast to IGN's review that basically calls the game shite.

  • darkmorgado #3 2 years ago

    Interesting. Is the demo out yet and how many MSPoints is it?

  • Ignatius_Cheese #4 2 years ago

    Demo is up now. Full game is 800 MS points.

    Nice review, Christian! :o)

  • Retroid #5 2 years ago

    6.3 is "shite", is it?

    I'll give this a go later.

  • Moribundman #6 2 years ago

    Purchased on Xbox.com immediately after reading the review. Thought I would anyway.

    These Sony shits who bang on about Xbox gamers being core only and obsessed with Halo/GoW really are spectacularly ill-informed.

    Existential platform puzzlers like this and Braid just go to show that the assumption the 360 is solely the province of console FPSs is ridiculous.

    EDIT: Hello, Sony boys are in...

    EDIT 2: And now some nice people have been a bit more positive!
    Edited by 2 at 07/10/09 @ 16:42

  • Ninja_Tino #7 2 years ago

    6.3 from ign is pretty shite, I'd say. The gameplay video looked exceedingly boring and slow but this review has differed my opinion. May as well give it a go.

  • ZuluHero #8 2 years ago

    is there a PC demo?

    EDIT: And where can you get it from for PC?

    EDIT EDIT: And what is the PC pricing?
    Edited by 2 at 07/10/09 @ 12:13

  • muscleblade #9 2 years ago

    The IGN review was very negative text wise.

    And 6.3 on IGN is shite as they are very generous with their scores most of the time.

  • Quint2020 #10 2 years ago

    Sounds great, I'll be grabbing this off XBLA asap.

  • wobbly_Bob #11 2 years ago

    If games want to break into the mainstream they need to deal with a larger range of ishes rather than just killing things so its veryrefreshing to see a game like this dealing with grief and experimenting with graphicalk styles, it gives me some hope for games.

  • RedSparrows #12 2 years ago

    But IGN are terrible.

  • Shadders #13 2 years ago

    Just stuck it on my download queue, I look forward to having a go when I get in from work.

    Looks absolutely sublime.

  • ZuluHero #14 2 years ago

    I'd give IGN 6.3

  • Retroid #15 2 years ago

    Heh, true, IGN can be a bit arse.

    We'll see.

  • ccfb #16 2 years ago

    "In this game, grief breaks free of narrative to take on physical form, and sorrow creates a tangible terrain all of its own."

    What a load of old toot.

  • skillian #17 2 years ago

    @ZuluHero

    [link url=http://store .steampowered.com/app/32410/
    ]http://store .steampowered.com/app/32410/
    [/link]

    Says it will unlock in 7 hours, but no mention of pricing or a demo.

    Looking at the LucasArts site you wouldn't even know the game existed, which is rather strange.

  • Collymilad #18 2 years ago

    Yeah i trust eg more than IGN...

  • penhalion #19 2 years ago

    Played this and it's utter shite. How the frak has the reviewer read so much into what is basically a drop the shape or die game?!?

  • Moribundman #20 2 years ago

    Now then, do you mean the Baseball/NFL obsessed bit of IGN, the titties in bikinis obsessed bit of IGN or the skewed games and movies reviewing bit?

    Honestly this is like complaining that Yahtzee (http://ww w.escapistmagazine.com/videos/v... has given a negative review!

  • miiiguel #21 2 years ago

    IGN is pretty bad, opinion-wise, imo. They're good for news though.

    Disclaimer: rushed reviews in EG are not so cool either. Had to say it. Soz.

  • ZuluHero #22 2 years ago

    @skillian

    Ta! :)

  • Shadders #23 2 years ago

    So this is better than ODST?

  • Toothball #24 2 years ago

    @INSOMANiAC:

    For most IGN readers that score is probably accurate. We're Eurogamers here though, who largely have different standards than your average IGN reader.

    The trick to reading reviews is to read the ones that tell you what you want to think. When you find a source that does you stick with that.

  • JayKwon #25 2 years ago

    Great, I'm probably going to pick this up today. But I'll trial it first. There are not that many reviews out yet, and Eurogamer seems the only 8 out there, although I trust Eurogamer (especially in this categarie) the most out of all other sites.

    The art work is lovely though, and the review seems pretty clear:).

  • Rushy #26 2 years ago

    The demo isn't very good. This review isn't very good either.

    Whilst is looks very pretty, its flawed and when it boils down to it just isn't' fun. IGN for once actually got it spot on.

  • Goodfella #27 2 years ago

    I'm with Rushy there, it just wasn't any fun at all. I expected more actual platforming in the traditional sense. Ah well.

  • Shinetop #28 2 years ago

    Instabuy. If only to support Lucasarts' refound awesomeness.

  • AaronTurner #29 2 years ago

    It's incredibly boring.

  • butler` #30 2 years ago

    Looks pretty, but also phenomenally boring.

  • schnide #31 2 years ago

    I'm sorry, this is a LucasArts game and it's not their old IP, so I refuse to believe it's any good.

  • RedPanda #32 2 years ago

    Post deleted at 14:31:59 28-01-2012

  • ryohazuki1983 #33 2 years ago

    Reminds me of Lost Winds - first thing I thought when I saw the screenshots and even the front page pic.

    Will give it a go tonight.

  • seasidebaz #34 2 years ago

    Existential platform puzzlers like this and Braid

    You say existential, I say pretentious.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #35 2 years ago

    Behind all of that stuff, though, Lucidity's sort of like Lemmings - a stripped-down, dour Lemmings that's been knocked about a bit and had most of its toys stolen. Each level pits Sofi against a hazardous landscape that scrolls steadily onwards, marching to the determined stomp of her little feet and swaying arms

    But does buying it donate a pound to Comic Relief this time?

  • CaptainTrips #36 2 years ago

    I like the artwork for this, might give it a look!

    Well-written review once again :)

  • JayKwon #37 2 years ago

    So, I trialled it, found it magically mysterious, liked it though and bought it. It's not what I expected, and it is a bit boring sometimes. But I like the musical score, the artwork, the atmosphere and the collecting part. The gameplay demands some skill, so I like that as well. Overall I'm happy with my game, but the feeling that I haven't seen all of it must turn out to be the truth if I want to stay happy:).

  • seasidebaz #38 2 years ago

    Oh look, I've been marked down. I forgot games like this are "art".

    :)

  • hiddenranbir #39 2 years ago

    Woo Cannon Fodder!

    Oh yeah, this is about lucidity...

  • M83J01P97 #40 2 years ago

    I love the idea of the game, but it is incredibly, incredibly slow... being given the option to make the girl jog ahead might have been a nice idea.

  • WinterSnowblind #41 2 years ago

    When it was announced, I thought this was Lucas Arts going back to their Adventure game days, so I'm disappointed that this seems to be some kind of Tetris/Lemmings hybrid. I downloaded the trial, and I'll give it a go later on, but it does seem a tad boring.

  • wobbly_Bob #42 2 years ago

    Just got home and tried this and think its WONDERFUl! The music and graphics create a surreal deamy and magical feel. I slapped down my 800 points for this instantly. I can't see this doing well its too different. I hope I'm wrong because iits so nice too see experimentaton with graphics, theme and form and it would be a shame to not have more of that.
    Edited by 1 at 07/10/09 @ 16:59

  • Moribundman #43 2 years ago

    Sorry, I was getting sidetracked by IGN's crap reviews. Just remembered Jessica Chobot ([link url=http://modlife.com/j essicachobot)!
    ]http://modlife.com/j essicachobot)!
    [/link]

    I like her tips.

    TIPS.

  • Vin #44 2 years ago

    SOLD.

  • remote #45 2 years ago

    just played the demo... was into it until the actual game started, then it went rapidly down hill. Nice art style, but the game is just so boring..

  • WinterSnowblind #46 2 years ago

    Well after playing the game my initial thoughts proved true. I LOVE the style and music, etc, but I just don't find the gameplay particuarly appealing.

  • jaguarwong #47 2 years ago

    Games are so far behind every other medium in terms of diversity - 80% can be filed under sci-fi/fantasy.

    So we need more games like this, games that are prepared to go against the grain, games that aren't about killing something.

    I've just played through the demo and thought it was excellent.
    The way it inflicts it's pace upon the player adds an artistry that belies it's publishers usual ultra-mainstream stance.

    Sure it's not perfect, but it's a damn sight closer to pefection than inane space-marine fps no.547.

  • metallicorphan #48 2 years ago

    i downloaded the trial today,the artwork and the music were great,however i really didn't like the gameplay at all,which is a shame..i was quite looking forward to this

    FWIW-I did love the South Park game,and it gives you a nice healthy dose of the full game on trial

  • OrgasmicMutton #49 2 years ago

    It's very pretty and atmospheric and plays quite nice but has a few too many frustrations (particularly with where items snap to) that keep it from brilliance.

    If I was the type to give scores I'd place it at a solid 7 from what I've played so far.

  • JayKwon #50 2 years ago

    @ OrgasmicMutton, I couldn't agree more. I also like the little texts and the symbolism in the story and the story itstelf, told rather strangely. I'm getting deeper and deeper in love with it. I must say, the full game is better than the trial.

  • Baron_Crumbly #51 2 years ago

    Instant buy here, along with machinarium pre-order over steam - gotta love the new lucasarts!

  • muscleblade #52 2 years ago

    I loved that they put the famous scandinavian lullabye song in the title menu.

    "Byssan lull, koka kittelen full,
    där kommer tre vandringsmän på vägen,
    byssan lull, koka kittelen full,
    där kommer tre vandringsmän på vägen.
    Den ene, ack så halt,
    den andre, o, så blind,
    den tredje han säger alls ingenting"

    I grew up with that song so hearing it in this game woke up some feelings.

    Edited by 1 at 08/10/09 @ 07:51

  • wobbly_Bob #53 2 years ago

    Could you give a translation please?

  • mrmonkey1980 #54 2 years ago

    I couldn't get into it. I wanted to because I love the style and atmosphere of the piece but the gameplay did nothing for me. It felt very amateurish.

  • muscleblade #55 2 years ago

    @wobbly_Bob

    Thats actually very hard to do. Byssan lull = Lullabye

    Its about three travelers. One is limping the other is blind the third doesnt say anything. The text doesnt make much sense but the melody is fantastic.

  • Retroid #56 2 years ago

    Gave the demo of this a go last night.

    ...

    It's Sleepwalker on the Amiga, then.

    Presentation is very nice but I don't think I'll be bothering.

  • charliemouse #57 2 years ago

    At least in Sleepwalker you could hurry the kid up by kicking him a bit.

  • linksdad #58 2 years ago

    Got bored of the demo before I ran out of lives (if you do) Nice art style and all but about as interactive as a blu ray game.

  • I_AM_THE_DOCTOR #59 2 years ago

    So I bought this game by mistake, i chose buy game instead of get trial "cheeky micorosoft and the placement of options".

    The best thing about this game is the art style and the atmosphere that is including the music.
    Now gameplay wise the game is really really frustrating, there are no check points whatsoever, you die, you start from the beginning.

    All the stages are designed to be played more than once, as it is impossible to collect all the fairies on your first or even third try.

    I have the xbox version and the controls where meant to be played with a mouse, as you need quick reflexes.

    So my final verdict is that I regretted that I bought by mistake, could have got my arty doze just from the trial. maybe a patch with check points will make the game more playable

  • wonton #60 2 years ago

    Braid is about as perfect as puzzlers go. And it was arty.
    Seems Lucidity aimed for the same heights as Braid but fell short. Bah.

  • monkeywithnoeyes #61 2 years ago

    Actually own the game (xbox version). Really like it. I think alot of people were expecting a platform game.. or as IGN wrongly labelled it "an on-rails platformer" - its not. Its a puzzle game. Go into it expecting a platformer and you'll be disappointed..as yes, you're not in control of the little girl...who's constantly moving forward.

    As a puzzle game though it shines...just not without the odd blemish along the way. Yes, it can be frustrating.. mainly due to the fact that you've no choice in what tools to use to get her reaching all those rogue fire flys. It also requires fast reflexes if you dont keep several moves ahead.. something that may work better with a mouse..although really shouldnt if you could only adjust the speed alittle.

    Through its frustrations though you do feel a sense of acomplishment, and its never so frustrating that you never want to go back to it. Infact, like braid, i've found it plays on your mind once you've stepped away from it.. theres always that "one more go" mentality it offers.

    Worth a fiver without a doubt. Its beautiful to look at. And theres hours of gameplay there. Theres nothing else like it on live.

  • YourMessageHere #62 2 years ago

    It's weird that pretty much any attempt to make a game that's not about killing stuff ends up as a platformer. I'll admit that I've played neither this nor Braid but, hating platform games as I do, I can't help thinking this spoils the concept of pushing the boundaries of what games are. Personally I like things that attempt to create a convincing reality, and side-scrolling games just don't. Like plenty of other people here, I like the look of it; I don't see why this should necessarily confine it to 2D.

  • webcider #63 2 years ago

    The game is not boring i just really hoped they did not choose to have randomness factor in a Puzzle game.
    i mean if they take a bit of concept from lemmings they migth as well do it right.

    I would hugely have enjoyed more that you could choose your blocks.
    from a hud like Lemmings. However great præsentation mood and feeling but the randomness does not work at all its a pretty lame design decision it works in puzzle games that has blocks and such but not in a game where you have to stack things next to each other in order to reach more secret areas.

  • Jackface #64 2 years ago

    "So I bought this game by mistake, i chose buy game instead of get trial "cheeky micorosoft and the placement of options". "

    How does one manage to do this without realising when they ask you if you're sure and tell you how many points you'll be spending as a result?