Review: Lost Dream Darkness (Nintendo Switch)

Lost Dream Darkness is an adventure game developed by Morning Shift Studios and published by Ultimate Games. Unfortunately, there isn’t much to this game, so buckle up for a short review.

I wanted to enjoy this game because who doesn’t want to play as an adorable fox? But, sadly, this game is empty. You play an unnamed fox trying to find the light without much of a story to direct you. I don’t necessarily mind this because the game’s description states, “Lost Dream Darkness tells a silent story about a world eaten up by a sudden darkness.” I guess you can use your imagination and fill in the blanks about what world we’re in, what the darkness is, where it came from, and why.

However, with the lack of story, there was also a lack of direction. The game begins by dropping your fox character into a dark area. It doesn’t explain the controls to you (unless you open the menu), and it doesn’t tell you what your goal is. There are two buttons, but only three are used: move your fox, move the camera, jump, and attack. There are zero enemies, so you never need to attack anything. In fact, you rarely need to jump.

For example, I died in the first area because I didn’t realize I had gone over a ledge into the water. Lost Dream Darkness doesn’t have hit points or lives, so I respawned again at the beginning. However, I then learned that I couldn’t go into the water. At the end of the first area, you need to jump into a pool of water, which spawns you in the middle of a lake in area two. It made no sense that I could only go into the water when the game needed me to, but there was no indication to do so.

Anyway, that’s all there is to the game. You move your fox through the five different areas, each getting brighter than the last. There isn’t much to look at or explore. You simply go from point A to point B. The graphics were nothing special. However, the soundtrack contained ambient rain and nature noises. I enjoy those sounds, so the music gets an A+ from me.

I thought the ending would give me a quick boss battle since I never got the chance to attack anything. However, when your fox reaches the end, the game simply ends. No credits roll; it brings you back to the main menu. And voila, you’re done with the game within twenty minutes.

Will I ever turn Lost Dream Darkness on again? No. Do I see potential if the developers ever toss a few enemies or hazards? Yes. Unfortunately, this game doesn’t have enough to make me care about its silent story or protagonist.