LOST EMBER

Lost Ember, one of my favorite games is really special. The visuals are beautiful and the animals are extra cute. Exploring different parts of the world, each from different perspective (wombats, fish, ducks, goats, buffaloes, armadillos, elephants, fireflies...) was gorgeous and exciting. Kalani, a lost wolf and her spirit companion want to discover the truth about her past and find the City of Light. Throughout their journey, as they learn more and more about Kalani, they are faced with many obstacles and their friendship is put to the test. Lost Ember is a beautiful game about compassion, forgiveness and love. ❤️

Very nice art, soundtrack, and game, but not worth $30 for 4 hours of gameplay. Wait for a sale.

Lost Ember is indubitably an extraordinarily beautiful game with vibrant worlds showcasing various different terrains, environments, and animals throughout its mesmerising, albeit short, playtime. Despite suffering from some clunky mechanics and glitchy sections, the premise of the game is simply captivating. It is indeed on the pricier end of the spectrum for such a small number of hours; thus, I suggest taking this into consideration before purchase, or waiting for a sale.
Pros
+ Vibrant, stunning, and picturesque visuals spanning across multiple biomes.
+ Atmospheric, poignant story.
+ Emotional soundtrack.
+ Various different animals to embody (with some questionable morphology and behavioural traits for some species)
+ Abundance of collectables
+ Steam trading cards and achievements.
Cons
- The English (UK) voice actor was slightly disappointing, especially in more passionate scenes where he sounded truly awkward and unable to express himself properly in higher pitches.
- Some areas were riddled with glitches, falling through the map and uncomfortable movements, especially with the mountain goat.
- Rather expensive ($AU 42.95) for 4-5 hours of the main storyline and with the above-mentioned issues.
Story
Beginning in the form of a wolf, players are introduced to a red glowing orb who acts as the main narrator. The orb states that to get to the lustrous city of light (a highly sought-after resting place), they must work together. Guided by Yanren spirits and their customs, the two then begin their journey and descend further into the beautiful valleys, canyons and forests surrounded by stunning nature, slowly discovering the reasons behind their peculiar pairing.
The story is told mainly through red flashbacks and finding memories scattered throughout the chapters. I found the story itself to be surprisingly dramatic and meaningful, showcasing love, forgiveness, deceit and more. As a zoologist and animal lover in general, I was already overjoyed at the different animals and admittedly, the severity of the story at the beginning became slightly lost due to this. However, the flashbacks can be left open to interpretation and it is easy to lose sight of the plot, especially coupled with the periodically bizarre voice acting that retracted from the story.
There is also an option to remove the narration entirely which I know some players have chosen and is a good alternative for those just wishing to explore the beautiful landscapes. Towards the game’s conclusion, the height of the narrative became clear and it was emotional and immersive but ultimately did suffer from quick scene cuts or the over-dramatic voice acting.
Gameplay
Players begin as the enigmatic wolf but are also able to embody every living creature they come across including ducks (and ducklings), giant tortoises, sloths, wombats, fish and more. Each animal has varying walking speeds and skills which are needed to traverse the world and continue onwards to the City of Light. Roll down hills with wombats (I wish wombats could actually use this as a method of locomotion in reality), jump in and out of water as a fish, ram stone walls down as a bison and dig under the ground as an armadillo.
Gameplay is minimal, mainly consisting of exploring and running through the lush environments, finding collectables and traces of memories to piece the story together. Just exploring and enjoying the amazing visuals can account for hours by itself. There are no real puzzles or difficulty, even dive-bombing into the ground as a parrot is completely acceptable and thus it should be clear that Lost Ember is intended to be an immersive, exploration game where the beauty and nature is one of the primary purposes behind the title.
Glitches & Bugs
Unfortunately, I encountered a multitude of glitchy areas which severely impacted my immersion and with such a price point, should not be left unfixed or unmentioned. On almost every one of the 6 chapters, there was at least one section where I could fall through the map, or at least see the bare foundations of underneath it.
The inclusion of flying animals gives players the freedom to soar through the map, which I adored, however... it also becomes highly likely that players will fly to an area that we are not intended to be. Eventually getting stuck or as I experienced, accidentally finding myself way back at the beginning of a chapter after somehow flying through a small gap. Animals would consistently get stuck in walls, or at least, have their heads moulded inside solid objects, or once again, half in and half out of the map layout.
Flying was a bit awkward, but I got used to it, however the mountain goats jumping mechanics was awful and never seemed to register on the initial attempt at a jump. Lastly, the fall damage was extremely confusing. Sometimes, when jumping off a tiny ledge, I would immediately respawn, yet other times when I jumped off a huge cliff, it was perfectly fine. This was rather frustrating, yet almost amusing as to why I would respawn after jumping off a tiny step less than a metre high.
Overall, despite these bugs, the game as a whole is still stunning with gorgeous graphics, however it is a shame that such evident mishaps are still occurring frequently throughout the title.
Graphics & Sound
After touching on this throughout my entire review, in my opinion, Lost Ember's strongest point, by an absolute landslide is its strikingly beautiful and unique art. Its inescapable grace and relaxing essence simply cannot be ignored. The bright, vibrant colours fill players' screens, accompanied by the many living beings residing in these fields make this a nature lovers paradise.
The soundtrack is also rather memorable and paired with the graphics, elicits emotion, and draws players into the story. Even with the slightly confusing narrative, I found that the soundtrack alone was enough to pique my interest and recapture my attention.
Technical
This game was played with the following PC specs:
Intel i5-9400 2.9 GHz
16GB RAM
GeForce RTX 2060 6GB
1920x1080 resolution
HDD
Windows 10
Conclusion
Lost Ember is a unique experience that truly captures the natural beauty of the outdoors. The innocence of the animals paired with the poignant story ultimately creates a game I will not easily forget. However, its steep price and buggy areas are something to take into consideration before purchase. Despite this, all in all, I greatly enjoyed my playthrough and will certainly be revisiting the game to revel in its beauty and spend more time as each of the creatures. Lost Ember is a must play and is indeed, an animal lovers utopia.
Rating: 7/10
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I was having a bad week, and a rather bad day at the time, a friend gave me this game, said play this. I'm so happy I did.
This game is absolutely beautiful, even if short, the story is great. It had me crying for a good while at the end and after.
Play this game. That's all i can say.

My god, what a wonderful game, with a touching story it is one of the most beautiful games I had the pleasure of playing.
In a world where there is so much violence and so much evil it is these games that I need to play.
I recommend it to adults, because young people today will not be able to feel the message that this game has to offer.
The quality of the story is so good that it doesn't matter if the game has any type of bug or not.
I highly recommend it.

you can be a duckling

Lost Ember is a unique gaming experience and a must-have for all animal lovers. I became so totally immersed in this game that I played into the wee hours of the morning one night! Lost Ember is one of those games where you take your time and explore the environment to find relics and a variety of mushroom collectables.
The big adventure was to be morphed into the various animals around you from the slow sloth and giant tortoise to a mole or hummingbird. There were 6 legendary animals to possess, but I somehow missed them completely!!
The environment ranged from beautiful undulating hills, to a dust storm in a desert, snow high in the mountains or swimming down a raging river. It was so magical and such fun....and delights the child within us all.
The back story of an ancient culture was fascinating. You become emotionally invested in its story of rebellion, revenge and redemption. I guessed the ending, so wasn't surprised.
The graphics are stunning at times. Music was really good....loved that gentle piano at emotional moments. Controlling the animals could be a bit clunky, but nothing was impossible. At times, I got caught in rocks with my head stuck in it or morphed into the wolf at the wrong time, but going back to the last checkpoint was the best solution.
Quite expensive for the hours of play, but is replayable to get all the achievements and collectables. Not a perfect game, but getting better with each update. I was amazed to see the thousands of kickstarters in the credits. Highly recommend. 8.5/10