I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: thank you Annapurna for not being afraid to publish games that are truly one of a kind. Games like Cocoon, Stray, Neon White, and The Artful Escape all provide engaging and yet completely unique experiences. So when I heard that Simogo (the developer behind Sayonara Wild Hearts) was once again teaming up with Annapurna to release a new puzzle game, I knew that I had to check it out.

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is unusual right from the get-go. There’s no real setup or context for what’s happening or even who you are. The game simply begins by thrusting right into its world. In this aspect, it reminds me a lot of Myst. You control a woman wearing sunglasses and chic 1960s styled clothing who has to leave her car in the woods during the night, only to arrive at a lavish-looking hotel not too far from her. There’s no big cinematic introduction, no narration, no story of any kind for that matter… at least first.

Eventually, the woman encounters a mysterious man who seems to know her quite well and calls her “Signorina”. She knows nothing of this man, other than there seems to be something off about him. He invites her to explore the hotel and at times goads her into seeking out specific information before teasing her with more cryptic information. There is a story in Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, but it’s one that you’ll only be able to piece together by finding all the clues hidden around the hotel and connecting the dots.

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is a completely non-linear game. You can choose which areas to explore first, and depending on what you find, this will determine which puzzles can be solved first. Nearly every door is locked when you first arrive, but after thoroughly scouring the environment, you’ll be able to find notes and clues hidden in nearly every corner of the hotel. However, it’s not always clear (especially in the beginning) which note will hold the crucial information needed to open each lock you encounter, but that comes with keen observation and deduction, much like Return of the Obra Dinn.

In fact, I can’t remember the last time I had to take such diligent notes during a video game. Please know that I mean this with the highest of praise. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes has well over a hundred puzzles, but they’re incredibly clever. None of the solutions are unfair or obtuse, and the answer to every puzzle can be found somewhere within the game. This is why exploration is so incredibly important. While it is possible to correctly guess or stumble upon the right answer from time to time, that’s not what makes Lorelei and the Laser Eyes so engaging.

While it is true that most of the solutions to Lorelei and the Laser Eyes revolve around numbers, people who aren’t the strongest in math (like myself) need not fear. This is not strictly a math-focused game. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the vast majority of the answers can be solved by using logic or even thinking outside the box at times. Throughout the game you’ll find yourself using Roman numerals, contemplating riddles, playing with perspectives, and oh so much more.

Now you don’t necessarily need to constantly jot down observations on a notepad (although, that made things much easier for me). Lorelei and the Laser Eyes has a feature where everything you encounter, be it a locked door or a note scribbled on a torn piece of paper, will go into your “Photographic Memory”. This is extremely convenient for permanently logging all of the information you encounter, but it also brings me to the biggest gripe I have about the game. For some reason, there’s no dedicated “back” button to allow you to quickly and easily exit out of puzzles or menus. While this might not seem like a big deal in theory, in practice it’s annoying.

Throughout the game, you’ll constantly have to pull up your Photographic Memory in order to check your collected clues, books, and notes, but there’s no way to simply back out of all those menus once you’re done. You have to navigate all the way back through each menu until you’re able to exit out of the whole menu select screen.

The same goes for puzzles. I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to pull up my notes to try to solve a lock combination, only to accidentally reengage with the puzzle I was trying to find a solution for. Instead of being able to hit an exit button, I had to scroll through each gear, lever, or numeral on the puzzle lock in order to get to the latch, and then watch the failed attempt animation before I was finally kicked back out. Suffice it to say, this becomes aggravating after a while.

Thankfully, that’s my only real issue with Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. The rest of the game is a treat. It features a highly stylized art design that’s clearly an homage to early gen games from the 1990s to the early 2000s era. This is evident with its fixed camera angles and rudimentary vector graphics. The majority of the game is in black and white, but has some pops of red to denote things of importance, giving the game a striking appearance.

The sound design is also well done. It takes a minimalistic approach, with no voice acting or bombastic scores. However, what is present serves the game well, with its subdued sound effects and a musical score that’s appropriately tense and foreboding.

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is one of those rare gems that you don’t often see in puzzle games. It doesn’t hold your hand or coddle you at all. Instead, it encourages in-depth exploration to gather all of the information needed to get past obstacles. The best aspect of this game, by far, is the fact that all of the pieces to the puzzle are provided, but it’s up to the player to uncover them through logical thinking and cleverness. There’s nothing more exhilarating than having that “eureka” or “a ha” moment after piecing together something that seemed almost impossible at first glance, and there are plenty of those moments to be found in Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. If you’re at all a fan of ingenious puzzles, then do yourself a favor and pick up your trusty notepad and pencil, and dive into Lorelei and the Laser Eyes.

Graphics: 8.0 I highly stylized art style that pays homage to classic games with its fixed camera angles and rudimentary vector graphics.	Gameplay: 8.5 The puzzles are fantastic, with the solutions requiring the use of logic and thinking outside the box, rather than having obtuse answers. The lack of a dedicated button to allow you back out of puzzles and menus is annoying, though.
Sound: 9.0 There’s not too much in the way of sound design, but what’s present in the minimalist soundscape is appropriately tense and foreboding.	Fun Factor: 9.0 A completely non-linear adventure with brilliant puzzles and no hand-holding whatsoever. A must-play for puzzle enthusiasts who love exploration.
Final Verdict: 8.5

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is available now on PC and Nintendo Switch.

Reviewed on Nintendo Switch.

A copy of Lorelei and the Laser Eyes was provided by the publisher.