Lost Words: Beyond the Page is a beautiful, inventive and very touching narrative-driven platforming adventure where your words can have a dramatic effect on the game world.
With a narrative penned by Rhianna Pratchett, Lost Words: Beyond the Page is a puzzle platforming adventure set within the pages of a diary and the imagination of a young girl called Izzy. It tells the story of a young girl who writes about her life in her diary and who is also trying to write a fantasy story set in the magical land of Estoria.
The current demo build takes around half an hour to play through and allows you to get to know Izzy, an imaginative young girl who loves her family (and especially her grandmother). The game features sections that play out via the pages in the diary and sections that play out in the land of Estoria. In both sections words can be used in some very inventive ways to alter the game world and although the story of Estoria is made up by Izzy, it symbolizes the story of what’s going on in her life.
In the diary you run and jump across words and use them in lots of clever ways to allow you to progress. The Estoria sections are a little more like a traditional platforming adventure, but you can use words that you collect in a book to cast spells that alter the world in different ways (such as repairing a bridge). The sections of the game that take place within the diary are definitely the high point so far as they feel more playful and inventive than the Estoria sections. Both are fun in their own way though and the narratives tie in with each other very well.
It’s a wonderful game that combines a heartfelt story with childlike imagination and lots of inventive word-centric puzzles. It’s the sort of story that could only ever be told within a game and it’s a beautifully told one at that. Highly recommended.
Download The Lost Words: Beyond the Page Beta Demo Here (Steam)