The Lost Child (PlayStation 4) Review

By Renan Fontes 15.09.2018

Review for The Lost Child on PlayStation 4

Every game needs some semblance of balance to succeed. Whether that is balancing the gameplay to story ratio or ensuring all aspects of the final product feel cohesive with one another, balance plays a large role even in single-player based titles. The Lost Child, in styling itself primarily after Shin Megami Tensei, finds itself both trying to tell a lengthy narrative while also providing its audience with a substantial dungeon crawling experience. Unfortunately, a lack of harmony between these two facets prevents The Lost Child from reaching its full potential.

To make matters worse, the story commits a literary cardinal sin in that it consistently drags out dialogue as much as humanly possible. Characters will talk constantly without saying much at all. They become insufferable before they can even be properly characterised; a massive faux pas for any story driven experience.

The actual gameplay does fare much better, albeit mostly in small doses. Due to the rather repetitive and un-engaging nature of combat, battles lose their lustre quickly, and dungeon crawling isn't nearly as engaging as it should be. That said, battles are perfectly fine in shorter play sessions and the dungeons, while bland, are serviceable.

Really, the big draw of gameplay is the Astral catching and levelling. For all the story's faults, the Karma system is genuinely quite brilliant and makes for an immensely satisfying monster raising simulator. The whole Astral process is downright addictive. Astral catching and levelling is designed to be as smooth as possible, leading to a frustration free experience on that end.

Screenshot for The Lost Child on PlayStation 4

Battles tend to also be frustration free, although not in a particularly positive manner. For how heavily the battle system mirrors itself after Shin Megami Tensei, complete with elemental weakness abuse, combat is pathetically easy. There is virtually no challenge present with only the rare enemy or boss posing an actual, legitimate threat.

This is especially a shame considering just how solid the Astral system is. For how many Astrals there are to collect, many of them don't end up having a meaningful use due to the low difficulty curve. Party building lacks the proper in-game depth to be fully appreciated as a result. What could have been an interesting, if a bit derivative, take on the turn-based format winds up bland and repetitive.

For as mediocre as The Lost Child is, however, it's compelling enough to remain fresh far longer than it should thanks to the Karma and Astral systems. This doesn't mean the core game is particularly engaging or even good, but fans looking for a lighter Shin Megami Tensei, devoid of difficulty, may find at least something to appreciate about the title.

Screenshot for The Lost Child on PlayStation 4

Cubed3 Rating

5/10

Average

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.