Letter Lost Review

Have you ever been somewhere that doesn’t feel like it actually exists? Think about the last time you went to a government office, a big box store after 10 p.m., or a mall. Places where time seems to move differently, conversations sound slightly off, and everyone looks like they’re following a script. That’s the feeling Letter Lost captures better than almost any game on the market.

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‍Letter Lost is a weird game, but the one thing its developers absolutely understand is what it’s like to go to a liminal space. Part job sim, part puzzle game and part horror, the title has a lot going on. But it nails almost everything it sets out to do, and has a strangely relatable atmosphere to boot.

Unlike a lot of genre mash-ups, Letter Lost doesn’t hide the fact that its world is odd. You start the game in a dungeon, and have to solve an extremely simple puzzle to escape. Instead of being rewarded with a weapon or an explanation as to why you were imprisoned, though, you get a job at the post office that’s located above your room. If that doesn’t key you into the fact that something strange is afoot, your first couple of virtual days will. 

‍Letter Lost’s minute-to-minute gameplay is actually pretty realistic. As a newly minted postie, your job is to sort letters and packages, and to respond to the inquiries of customers. That aspect of the title plays a lot like other job simulators. And as you can probably guess, it’s satisfying. Stamping outbound mail while sorting through stuff headed to your small section of the world is intrinsically enjoyable. There’s a surprising amount of depth to the systems, which, like those in Papers, Please or Thank You For Your Application, operate under an ever-changing set of rules. Despite Letter Lost taking 10-odd hours to complete, its core loop of waking up to do a humdrum job never gets annoying or old.

There’s a lot more to the game than roleplaying as a work-a-day Joe, though. At the end of every in-game week, time resets and you’re thrown back into the starting cell to begin your job anew. The patrons you encounter become increasingly odd, and the items you stamp stop being mundane. Your task quickly becomes figuring out exactly what’s up with Kharnym Isle, all while continuing to manage the day-to-day minutiae of a post office. You have to open people’s packages and scour every inch of your workspace to discover puzzles, then figure out the solutions to them using your brain and whatever clues you glean from the game’s dialogue.

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‍Letter Lost isn’t fun in the traditional sense, but it’s an extremely satisfying title. The game avoids the pitfalls of its contemporaries by not dwelling on politics or body horror. Instead, the atmosphere is undeniably creepy, and there’s always something unexpected for you to contend with. Whenever you think you have the game figured out, it throws a new narrative thread your way, or makes you contend with some strange mechanic. Uncovering the mysteries of the game’s world is challenging and rewarding, while its job sim elements keep the experience marginally grounded in reality.

For everything Letter Lost does right, though, its presentation leaves a bit to be desired. The visuals here are decidedly sub-par, and the sound design could’ve used some more time in the oven. There’s also an abundance of bugs that serve as occasional annoyances and which are no doubt being patched. Nothing about the game’s audiovisual aspects are awful, and it speaks volumes to the overall quality that the title still nails the atmosphere it was going for. Still, buyer beware, you will have to contend with plenty of unintentional oddities.

So after all is said and done, Letter Lost is absolutely worth playing. At least it is provided you’re marginally interested in its genres. Its quality isn’t in question. Presentation problems aside, Letter Lost succeeds because its mysteries never stop unfolding. Every time you answer a question, the game gives you a new problem to solve. The game is consistent in tone, but constantly finds ways to surprise you without it ever feeling random. The game’s vibes are similarly immaculate, as it makes you feel like you’re in one of those places that shouldn’t exist but somehow does.

But, at risk of stating the obvious, not everyone will appreciate what’s on offer here. Letter Lost is a slow paced, methodical game that requires you to use your brain. You can’t brute force your way through puzzles, or simply blast annoying patrons with a shotgun. That’s part of the game’s charm, though. Letter Lost feels like being trapped in one of those places that shouldn’t exist, but somehow does. It’s occasionally frustrating, always strange, and impossible to stop thinking about once you’ve left.