REVIEW: ‘Lost Epic’ Is Tedious but Aesthetically Pleasing (PC)

Lost Epic is a 2D side-scrolling souls-like action RPG from publisher-developer oneoreight. The game takes place in a world where humanity wages war with the gods. You play as the death-defying knight called the God Slayer who travels to the realm known as Sanctum to challenge the Pantheon of Six Gods that may determine the fate of the world.

The game’s story is what you’d expect a typical souls-like to have; a good story setup, interesting characters, impeccable world-building, and lots of lore. Only this time, as a Japanese game, Lost Epic is filled to the brim with Japanese and anime-inspired themes and narrative elements most fans of this genre will be satisfied with. Besides that, the game offers many interesting side quests, which are admittedly more interesting than the grand narrative that doesn’t go anywhere until you defeat the major gods. Unfortunately, as a result, the story ended up being entirely forgettable, mainly because it does not offer anything new, so you’ll be paying more attention to the gameplay, which carries most of the game’s weight. 

The first thing the game tasks you to do is to select your character. To its credit, the game offers lots of different characters to choose from, each with their own unique outfits and accessories. However, customization for these characters is unfortunately non-existent, at least from the get-go, so you’ll be limited to only choosing one of the several default characters along with their voices. This is because customization in Lost Epic can only be done by finding materials that can be used to craft accessories, from essential items like armor to vanity apparel like masks and outfits. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t make it easy for players to find necessary materials, as I quickly learned.

For one, learning how to acquire one of the most critical items in the game, the health potion, is entirely left up to you to figure out. While the game tells you you’ll need herbs to make health potions, it doesn’t tell you what herbs you’ll need specifically, despite the game featuring lots of plants used for crafting. What’s worse is that the game only gives players three potions after each death which is not close to being enough to face the several challenging mobs it throws at you. As a result, you’ll have to go farming and crafting every time you die in battle, which quickly gets frustrating. Other critical crafting items like the item you use to upgrade your weapons aren’t revealed to you early on, so you just have to pray that you somehow run into them while you fight difficult mobs.

My biggest problem with Lost Epic is how little is explained to you and how tedious it is to perform the most basic actions. It’s as if the game actively tries to prevent you from playing as you’ll increasingly run into one roadblock after another, be it trying to acquire potions, crafting items, or even finding where to go. To be clear, the game’s difficulty isn’t the main issue, as I believe the game offers a decently fair challenge once you’ve figured out and acquired the tools you need to face it head-on. However, that’s, unfortunately, easier said than done.

As for combat in the game, like many souls-likes, Lost Epic offers players various weapons and abilities to use. The player first starts with a standard sword and a powerful attack that doubles as a parry attack, but as they progress, they’ll acquire more weapons (some from bosses and others found throughout the world) and unlock more skills. Combat is also fast-paced, smooth, and responsive, save for the awkward rolling feature that needs to be timed well to be effective in fights.

Speaking of fights, Lost Epic also features many epic battles, mostly from bosses who are really well crafted and serve as highlights in the game. Leveling up is also pretty straightforward. Players level up the usual attributes such as Stamina, Strength, Faith, Constitution, and more using the in-game currency, which provides skill points. Of course, leveling up enough attributes will net you more skills, but it’s only fair to point out that you’ll be doing a lot of leveling up before unlocking new skills.

In terms of visuals, Lost Epic sports impeccable art direction with excellent vibrant backgrounds and intricate anime-inspired character designs. It’s just unfortunate that, while well-designed, many character models for enemies are repeated a lot throughout as reskins with minimal changes. Supporting the visuals is the game’s highly melodic soundtrack which I enjoyed specifically because of the songs that make you feel like you’re playing through a fantasy adventure anime.

Overall, while I’d like to say Lost Epic is a marvelous souls-like game that deserves to be played by everyone, it, unfortunately, isn’t. The game has excellent elements like a great soundtrack and engaging, challenging gameplay; however, it’s also incredibly tedious to progress, many of its mechanics are left unexplained, and the story is incredibly dull and forgettable. As a result, the game is unfortunately tough to recommend to those who aren’t already obsessed with souls-likes despite its pleasing and inviting aesthetic. 

Lost Epic is out now for PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.