After playing OMUT in a hotel suite off-site from PAX, one could say that I was tense. That game’s oppressive palette, brutal difficulty, and grim, folkloric inspirations all combined to leave me — while excited — also a bit exhausted. And this was at the tail end of the first, and busiest, day of PAX West. Between flying in, waiting in lines, navigating a new place, and trying to make it around the overcrowded Seattle Convention Center, I needed something relaxing.
That “something relaxing” couldn’t have come in a better shape than Megabit’s other game they showed me there: Lou’s Lagoon.
One could say I’m fairly well-acquainted with cozy, exploration-focused games. Last year’s Tchia is one of my highest reviewed games, A Hat in Time is one of my most played games on Steam, and I recently reviewed (though didn’t much like) Creatures of Ava. I grew up playing everything from Animal Crossing to Banjoo-Kazooie (which is cozy; I will die on that hill). That’s just the shortlist, but rest assured, I know “cozy” when I see it. And, as I sat down with Kemal Amet and Robert Koch from Tiny Roar (the developer of the game), I could tell that Lou’s Lagoon was it.
The game exudes a comforting atmosphere, from its many islands to their kind-hearted residents
The premise is not unfamiliar. On the beautiful “Limbo Archipelago,” the player character arrives in order to find her grandfather — the titular Lou — and to start your delivery service for the island. When you begin, naturally, the plane you can use to traverse the archipelago and make deliveries is in disrepair, as is the building you’ll use as a hub for your operations. In other words, you’ll need resources.
“Ugh, resources,” I hear you groan, perhaps as tired of resource-gathering, survival-crafting games as I am. But, thankfully, Lou’s Lagoon makes it fun to start your adventure. You’re given a Luigi’s-Mansion-esque vacuum that you can use to suck up loose resources — everything from plant life to wood to stone, and then you can reverse the flow of that vacuum to pump the resources into whatever you are trying to build. Something about the movement and feel is extremely satisfying, like those compilations you sometimes see on social media.
What’s more, there are no “survival” elements to speak of, meaning you can gather and craft and decorate to your hearts content. And that is because of one of the best decisions that could be made in a game like this: there is no HP bar. Nor is there a stamina level, nor is there a hunger meter. None of that.
I asked Robert about this decision and his response not only cleared things up, but also made a lot about Lou’s Lagoon’s design clear:
Well, everyone knows that you can’t just jump off a mountain; otherwise the character will take damage. Anything else would break immersion significantly.
Since we don’t have HP in Lou’s, we needed a different solution. After all, punishment helps support the game economy. For example, [in a game with HP], you need to constantly drink potions to heal yourself. And the risks aren’t as high when, as a player, you can’t die or lose anything. All of these simple possibilities are denied to us, but for good reasons.
And that is because we want to offer players a space where they can retreat. Our daily lives are already full of stress, and sometimes you just want to relax and have great experiences. Furthermore, this allows us to include many people, even players who might not be able to play as regularly anymore.
Robert Koch, Tiny Roar Co-Founder
And that just makes sense. Many games — including those favorites I listed above — might be easy, but they still can be frustrating. Dying in Tchia or Creatures of Ava, for instance, is always frustrating, despite its relative rarity and the relaxing atmosphere of the games. And so, to craft something that truly is relaxing universally — not to mention playable by as many people as possible — Tiny Roar (ironically) took the big risk to simply… Not punish the player (something much more akin to Animal Crossing).
There is no hunger meter, but what cozy game would be complete without cooking?
And the results are a game that actually does feel like an island paradise. My favorite example: when you interact with creatures in Lou’s Lagoon, you do so gently, simply using your vacuum to remove resource-rich materials from them. If the creatures take issue with that, they might knock you over, but they won’t hurt you. I hope Creatures of Ava is taking notes.
And you might think that, with a lack of danger, Lou’s Lagoon would get boring. While I can’t speak to that for the entire game — I only had a chance to play for about half-an-hour — I can say that I doubt that. It is the kind of game you can enter into, accomplish a variety of tasks, explore relentlessly, and make your own path. Danger is just one motivator for engagement (see my OMUT impressions), but exploration, completion, and simple beauty can all work just as well.
Even early into development, the movement systems of Lou’s Lagoon are top-notch and feel great
But that does beg the question: what do you actually do in Lou’s Lagoon? Well, Robert once again put it best:
In Lou’s, there are a variety of activities, but two main tasks stand out above the rest.
First, rebuild your uncle’s delivery service. This means gathering resources and delivering them to the residents of the Limbo Archipelago, expanding your delivery building, upgrading your plane, and solving the islanders’ problems. However, you can also simply relax on the beach, go fishing, or demonstrate your piloting skills.
The second task is to find out what happened to your uncle. Is he okay, and if so, where is he? We don’t want this part to be a linear quest chain; instead, we want players to discover on their own where Lou is.
Robert Koch, Tiny Roar Co-Founder
In short: the game is quite open-ended, with enough direction to always make sure you have something to do, and someone to help. I experienced this in just the few minutes I had the game: after repairing my home base, I soon encountered a grandmotherly figure (with a great design, reminiscent of Outer Wilds). She set me up with various tasks but, even in the tutorial, was light-handed with them. Everything could be done at my leisure, and something about the gorgeous environments and light suggestions made sure that I took the time to sit and enjoy it.
And after the long first day at PAX West, enjoy it I did. I’m never much for crafting, but the simplicity of the system had me set up a beach chair with an umbrella, and simply bask for a bit. It is certainly easy to luxuriate in the Limbo Archipelago.
Soon enough, though, I was whisked into the sky, piloting my grandpa Lou’s old twin-propeller delivery plane. I hardly need to say this, but it controls like a dream, and pretty soon I was weaving my way through goalposts (and something bouncing off of them) in the sky just to get the chance to fly it more. I flew over a bit of the game’s world, and marvelled at beautiful islands and villages that I yearned to have the time to explore in full.
The plane is fast, responsive, and glides with the grace to really let you soak in the Archipelago
But, alas, like the last seaside sunset on a vacation, I knew that my time with the game was coming to an end. There was still much to explore — the upgrade system, the true nature of the deliveries in the game, a dozen islands or more — but that would have to wait. As day turned to night, the game had to turn off.
Lou’s Lagoon is still some way off — the demo isn’t even slated for release until Spring 2025. It’ll be a long time before I can return to the Limbo Archipelago in earnest. But, already, the game promises to be memorable and relaxing, while also ensuring it remains engaging and enjoyable throughout.
Like any good vacation, the first thing I thought, after saying goodbye to Kemal and Robert (and Tom Green, PR extraordinaire), was “I can’t wait to go back.”
And when I do go back, the first thing I’ll want to do will be to visit this village. So cozy!
In these stressful times, in this chaotic world, I know a lot of people can and will benefit from a relaxing, simply game like this. I know I will; these games tend to always enter my life when I need them the most. And so, if you are one of those people, who might just need a breath of island air on your PC after a long day, I’d highly recommend wishlisting Lou’s Lagoon on Steam here.
See you in paradise.
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Graves
Graves is an avid writer, web designer, and gamer, with more ideas than he could hope to achieve in a lifetime. But, armed with a mug of coffee and an overactive imagination, he'll try. When he isn't working on a creative project, he is painting miniatures, reading cheesy sci-fi novels, or making music.
