A nightmare both figuratively and literally.
Horror games have had a resurgence over the years, and far be it for me to complain about that. I love the genre. I will say we’re getting a bunch that seem to follow the formula of using first person shooters and jump scares as a format, which works, but I miss the older days of puzzles and traps. So when I stumbled upon Lithium: Inmate 39, I noticed it had a unique, abstract art style and it looked to be more about surviving and puzzles then I’m used to seeing these days. Would it be worth playing though? The results are extremely mixed.
Black and white
What LI:39 has going for it is its lack of color and extremely weird aesthetics. It’s not so much the environments that are obscure, as players will be going through an asylum, underground tunnels, and other scary or downright typical horror convention locations. The character designs are what really got me interested. The main character looks like some sort of weird rat like golem. Enemies that appear are half horse, half hands, or other odd monstrosities. Boss enemies are even odder, with huge head screaming children, or gut pulling, face-on-stomach monsters. It’s the most visually appealing aspect, and it’s what I probably enjoyed the most.
MSRP: $9.99
Price I’d Pay: $2.99
Multiplayer: N/A
How long to beat: 4+ hours
Gameplay is set as a typical third person style, but with static cameras much like the Resident Evils of old. When the controls for this work right, its fine. When the camera changes and suddenly the character is shifting to turn around without player’s action, this leads to death. There were countless times the camera completely got me killed, because I couldn’t see an enemy, or a mine, or a trap. Speaking of traps, everything is out to kill the player. Running into holes where hands pop out, candles, or spike pits. The game will go above and beyond to kill the player, and it’s almost to the point of being unfair. Luckily, the checkpoint system is decently abundant the majority of the time, so replaying long sections is never a big factor, but it still doesn’t cut down on the frustration.
While not dying, the key gameplay elements that players will do the majority of the time involve platforming, puzzle solving, boss battles, and occasionally fighting enemies. Now, as the rat like default character, there is nothing that can be done to fight enemies aside from using the environment to deal out death. Though there are keys throughout specific areas that allow players to transform into a monstrous human like goliath, that for a time can kill with his hands, or if there is a gun or machete, can use that as well for a duration of time. Trying to use a gun though is extremely floaty in aiming, and for some weird reason any direction input when aiming moves him forward. Why I couldn’t tell you, but it once again leads to more frustration.
Death and decay
I’m disappointed to say this game wasn’t as good as I was hoping it would be. I like what the devs attempted to create, and for the price point, it’s a rather lengthy experience. It’s got a creepy feeling and has some unique enemies and designs. Though it feels like a gauntlet of stress and unfair elements. Not to mention the glitches I ran into, from a swinging rope that went crazy, to the camera getting stuck. A quick exit to the menu and continue fixes this, but it just adds up to an experience that I walked away from wanting to see to the end, but simply couldn’t. If the developers can take note, perhaps fix the glitches, and simmer down on the constant death traps littered around every corner, I’d jump back in. As it stands, LI:39 is only for the utmost curious and those that want to test their patience.
Favorite moment: Solving a boss puzzle or figuring out how to proceed was great. Some of the bosses are freaky.
Worst moment: The constant frustration of trial and error gameplay, camera, and glitches working against me.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
