Assemble Entertainment and developer DigiTales have officially launched their new indie title, Lacuna. Last month we gave the game’s prologue a thumbs up in our First Impressions article, and our initial vote of confidence was well placed. This futuristic sci-fi noir murder mystery brings pixel art to life through a compelling story and engaging gameplay.

Story

Set in a far distant future, two worlds are on the brink of political war and you’re at the center of it. Your name is Neil Conrad and you’re a special investigation agent with the CDI, an FBI-like agency. Fitting for a noir setting, you are a broody, chain-smoking, divorced, single parent, and complete workaholic.

You are tasked with expeditiously identifying and unraveling a high-profile murder that’s placing the distant worlds on edge. The game forces you to work through personal and professional hurdles, making decisions that will alter both. The deeper you dive into this massive conspiracy, the more dangerous it becomes and every choice has game-changing consequences.

Time is limited as you strive to prevent the planets of Ghara and Drovia from entering into an interplanetary war. One is home to the ultra-religious Saviants, the other to a more powerful and progressive secular society known as the Gharians. The two have decades (perhaps centuries) of social and political turmoil with one another. Intertwined with all of this backstory is an event you witness in the game’s prologue when a newly established colony collapses and kills thousands of settlers, setting off a diabolical undertone.

This sci-fi noir has a fantastic and deep story that you’ll become familiar with as you embark on your various quests. It’s full of twists, turns, and ample opportunities to make important decisions that evolve the storyline into one of several different outcomes.

Gameplay

In Lacuna you use WASD keyboard controls and a mouse, as you direct Neil through the city of New Joran in search of clues and evidence to solve an assassination that is central to the game’s story.

As I noted in our prologue review, there’s a retro laggy mouse effect that I found annoying. Unfortunately there isn't a way to disable this feature. There’s also a “camera sway” effect that gives the screen a sort-of wobbling motion, which thankfully you can turn off. While these features may be appealing to some, I wasn’t a fan.

Setting those personal preferences aside, the game runs smooth as you point, click, and keyboard around the linear story. There isn’t much content beyond the main story, so exploration of the major metropolitan city (reminiscent of Total Recall and Blade Runner) is somewhat limited. This keeps you focused on the tasks at hand, of which there’s no ambiguity. You can always open your game menu and see your objectives, and quickly run to-and-from each destination.

Travel during the game is done via entering trains that take you from one section of the city to another. You’re never given the option to choose which location you go to, but rather the story moves you along to where you need to be at each segment. This helps keep the pace of the game moving forward, though limits your ability to go back and revisit locations or interact with previous characters and environments.

Using a feature called “Sheets”, you will take notes, house email exchanges, read news updates, and file away evidence. At various times during your investigations, you will submit these sheets that advance the storyline. Depending on the selections you make in your sheet submissions, the story will change and consequences will unfold. I made a few mistakes along the way that were costly to my character’s personal and professional life. The game really excels in bringing the story to life through these difficult decisions.

Audio/Visuals

The music gets top marks for capturing the mood and setting throughout your experience. I have one small complaint with the audio, likely an easy fix… You are unable to silence certain menu sounds. When you hover or click on buttons like sheets or email archives, you hear the menu’s sounds. It doesn’t matter if you turn all of the audio sliders to zero, including the master volume. This was only noticed and problematic when I was playing a segment during a Zoom meeting. Don’t judge! It was a really boring meeting!

Setting that aside, the music and narrator were great. I felt Neil’s voice narrations were the right length and frequency, never overstaying their welcome. This really helped with the game’s pacing and was especially nice when you were allowed to move around and travel to your next destination. Speaking of Neil’s voice, the actor did a great job of maintaining the noir-like somber tone you’d expect from the genre. The acting was solid and the narrations made the story come to life.

The 2D pixel art design was polished and full of cool details. I appreciated the animations on things like posters, ads, lighting, and background vehicles flying in the distance. There’s a nice variation in the game’s areas that make each section of the city feel unique and memorable. I really liked the design overall and felt this was among Lacuna’s strengths.

Replayability

The fact that so many decisions carry game-altering consequences, you can go back and replay this several times and see different outcomes. Coming in at roughly 5 hours long, it’s easy enough to do and not feel overwhelmed with a lengthy commitment. I’m not entirely sure about the number of outcomes Digitales put into place. The game can be played at least twice and provide differing endings and experiences, including new dialogue options. It’s an enjoyable game and one worth revisiting after it’s initial playthrough.

What Could Have Been Better

My complaints are somewhat minimal and mostly subjective. I wasn’t a fan of the retro laggy mouse effect and would have liked the option to disable it. I also wasn’t into the camera sway and was glad they included the option to turn it off. This was just my personal preference. The inability to fully mute the menu sounds is likely just an error that can be patched at a later point, so I’m not getting hung up on it.

I really enjoyed the narrations and dialogue between characters, though admittedly some of the dialogue was cheesy. Overall though it delivers interesting characters, story, visuals, and a decent amount of drama.

The game was really enjoyable and thoughtful in its design. I wish they would have included more side missions and the ability to explore New Joran further. That is a testament to the game’s quality and story’s intrigue, keeping me wanting more. There isn’t really much to do aside from the linear main storyline, which is a bummer since it’s a relatively short campaign.

Verdict

Overall this game is really polished and carries an engaging storyline. The attention to detail, world design, story, and dialogue make for a great adventure. The ending (at least the one that I experienced) sent me clamoring for a sequel! Having earned awards for its initial demo unveiling, I’m confident the kudos were deserved and they are likely to earn more. Lacuna is sci-fi noir story-telling at its best, and definitely worth your time.

Lacuna is now available to play on PC. If you haven’t seen the game trailer, be sure to check it out!