Lorelei and the Laser Eyes

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is a puzzle-adventure game set in Hotel Letztes Jahr, a remote manor holding dark mysteries. In order to investigate the place and enter new rooms, you’ll have to engage with a sprawling maze of interconnected puzzles. Staged with a striking, eerie atmosphere, this intricate system is deeply tied to an elaborate story.

Most of Lorelei’s puzzles rely on a mix of observation and lateral thinking. Even though they’re plentiful, they’re usually short. For instance, you may find a letter next to a locked gate, its contents highlighting a specific year: this will probably be the 4-digit combination for opening the lock. There could also be some entry-level arithmetics involved, e.g. you may have to subtract the age of the sender to find their date of birth as the real code. The experience could remind you of escape room puzzles, delivering bite-sized “aha” moments.

The information you need can often be extracted from your immediate environment, but it can also be encoded in documents acquired in a different location. The game delivers this material through a wide array of channels, such as letters, journals, movie posters, or even bug reports. There’s a part of the menu which keeps track of everything relevant and that you can browse at any time, similar to a point-and-click inventory. It is best used in tandem with your own memory and a pen and paper at hand.

Solving the puzzles will grant you keys or information which can unlock new parts of the hotel. This will also help you learn more about the characters, slowly untangling their threads like in a detective story. Progress is designed to be non-linear, so if a riddle gives you trouble, there’s a high chance you can ignore it for a while and follow another lead instead. However, it all converges towards a single ending which eventually requires near-full completion of the puzzles.

The game is packed with many quality-of-life features: several maps, a progress percentage, a list of objectives updated in real time, and (befitting the venue) shortcut passageways making navigation in the hotel easier. However, there’s no hint system, and multiple puzzles are randomized in such a way that you won’t find direct answers from online walkthroughs. Controls may also feel somewhat unwieldy, since there’s a single action button aside from directional inputs.

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes’ narrative is complex, fragmented and time-blurred, its story dabbling in esotericism. With stylish visuals and mesmerizing sound design, the game’s dark atmosphere calls back to surreal arthouse films. The silent main character herself has agreed to take part in an obscure art project, and some sections include strong nods to video game history. The jumpscares are close to none, but the imagery gets unsettling at times, with depictions of blood, death and trauma.

This description was written by Oriane Tury.