Part visual novel, part turn-based RPG, ATLUS and Lancarse’s latest offering, Lost Dimension, takes place in a modern-day world that is only days from utter destruction. The planet is threatened by a terrorist known only as “The End,” a mysterious, mystical being who shows up and promptly obliterates half of the world’s population. He challenges the planet’s leaders, insisting he will destroy what remains unless someone stops him.
Enter the S.E.A.L.E.D. team – a group of highly-trained psychics assembled by the United Nations who are tasked with ascending The End’s tower and destroying him, thus saving the world. Each psychic has a special ability such as levitation, teleportation, pyrokinesis or telepathy. Using these powers, the team must group together and climb floor after floor full of hazardous robots and obstacles. The worst of these hazards (and the game’s major driving factor) is that one of your teammates is a traitor, and the only lead you have is Sho’s “Vision” power which allows him to foresee events and ultimately determine the identity of the betrayer.
Hoping for spoilers? Sorry – the traitor is randomized every time, so pay close attention.
The game alternates between heavy stretches of conversation and mission-based sorties. I grew to love the downtime I had between missions where I could just chat with my teammates and get to know them. Camaraderie can be increased by frequently chatting with members at specific times, and new conversation paths can unlock as you go.
Beyond the visual-novel style that is laden with hundreds of conversational paths between the characters, the RPG-portion will have you grinding through turn-based combat over a series of missions. Assemble a team, use their abilities, level up and unlock new ones. You’ll move and position your team strategically around the map, being sure to minimize damage taken, maximize damage dealt and keep your sanity levels high. Using any psychic abilities or getting hit will temporarily reduce your sanity and can cause your character to go berserk, dealing insane amounts of damage to friends and foes without any player input.
At the end of each floor, The End forces you to “delete” one of your teammates in order to ascend. This is where knowledge of the traitor comes in handy. This action is permanent, and you won’t be able to use that character anymore (although you will retain their abilities in the form of an equipable item). It’s best to remove the traitor, but unless you’ve been paying close attention you do run the risk of deleting an innocent teammate.
Every floor reveals a new traitor, facing you with a tough call every time you wish to progress. It’s a very cool system that encourages multiple playthroughs.
Once I got used to the combat system, I was really interested in seeing how characters could synergize with one-another. Having so many unique characters at your disposal leads to some very interesting ability combinations, and understanding how each character’s range and personal stats is crucial to defeating tougher boss fights.
The age of the internet has largely changed how we play games. Whether you’re stuck on a puzzle or you simply feel that your current run is less than optimal, rest assured, there is a stranger on the Internet who has documented the answers you seek. Lost Dimension tries to scoot around that and make a game that feels fresh each and every run.
Recommended for: Fans of strategy-based RPGs, people who want an entertaining story, unique combat and the added stress of having to willingly sacrifice one of your teammates every couple hours.
Not recommended for: People looking for fast action, a game without a ton of text, people who dislike over-the-top voice acting.
Lost Dimension is available for PS3 and PS Vita.
