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Lydia (Switch) artwork

Lydia (Switch) review


"This is the second time I predicted the teddy bear would be the villain, and I was wrong again..."

Lydia (Switch) image

I'm going to cut to the chase on this one: Lydia is a depressing piece of interactive fiction. That's not a criticism, per se, because the game aims for a downbeat sort of mood, and for a very good reason. The titular character here appears to be your average child: neighborhood friends, a favorite teddy, seemingly loving parents, and a fear of monsters. However, your perception of her plain, "normal" life diminishes as you advance through the plot...

You don't get far into the experience before magical reality elements set in. Lydia ventures to a fairy tale land in her closet, escorted there by her teddy--who makes a rather irritating, pigeon-like coo when he speaks. The bear hopes to find a particular monster that her father mentioned; one that will kill her if she "misbehaves." While in this fantastical realm, she spots a massive, ugly frog who more or less seems benevolent. Somehow, though, she believes he may be the monster in question. Not long after that, she convinces an obviously drunk knight to confront the amphibian, to awkward results...

It should seem obvious to players straight off that the knight represents her father, a man who seemed decent enough to tell her silly bedtime stories and affectionately refer to her as "monkey." However, the exchange between the knight and frog tells you not all is right in Lydia's house, and the subsequent scenes only confirms that suspicion...

Lydia (Switch) image

Lydia is none too subtle about its themes. After the first surreal closet segment, you end up back in the girl's room while loud music and ruckus beats through the walls. Obviously, her parents have thrown a party and concocted the monster story as a means to keep her in her room while they make merry with dozens of other drunks. Unlike titles such as Among the Sleep, this one doesn't hide its vicious reality behind a survival-horror facade, but comes right out and tells you the more unrealistic sights you see are nothing more than the coping mechanisms of a neglected little girl.

I'm of two minds about the game dropping this revelation on you not even halfway through its campaign. For one thing, it tells you that it's not going to sugarcoat a serious subject. However, the storyline insists on continuing with fantasy elements past this point, and the symbolism just doesn't hit the same now that you've seen past the veil. What's the point of returning to the dreamland when you've already seen through the veneer?

I'm not going to argue that this story's subject matter isn't important or poignant. Hell, even the gloomy, heartrending atmosphere the game builds sits perfectly in line with its message. My main beef here is that the game phones in its interactive elements. For one thing, Lydia doesn't walk so much as slowly drag across the screen, apparently as a means to pad out the already short title's length. The way Lydia inches across the screen harks back to Dear Esther and its plodding pace, and no adventure piece should do that.

Worse, you occasionally receive unnecessary dialogue choices. For instance, when talking to one of the party attendees later in the proceedings, you can choose to be frightened, annoyed, or polite. It doesn't matter which of these moods you strike because the result is the same and has no effect on the plot or ending. Though this feature gives you the impression you're experiencing a deep tale, it's sadly illusory at best.

Lydia (Switch) image

All the same, I have to applaud Lydia for one thing: it doesn't simply make the point "alcoholism bad, child abuse bad, no do bad thing." Rather, it outlines the effects of substance abuse on children by showing you a heartbreaking event from Lydia's teen years, followed by a devastating (and completely unsurprising) conclusion. During this scene, one of the characters faces a cold, harsh reality, and the look of grim realization on their face perfectly caps the experience off.

Yeah, interactivity up to this point remains minimal, but the good news is the game only lasts about an hour. Products this direct and linear really work best when they're kept brief, and this one gladly wraps up before it can ever overstay its welcome.

So where do I stand on this offering? Somewhere in the middle... Games that touch on serious subjects are more common nowadays. The thing is there are plenty of other offerings out there that cover these grim subjects while providing content that more firmly takes advantage of the medium's strengths. The aforementioned Among the Sleep springs to mind, as well as Papo & Yo. Lydia definitely hits some good, strong narrative notes, but its interactive elements leave something to be desired.



JoeTheDestroyer's avatar
Staff review by Joseph Shaffer (April 09, 2022)

Rumor has it that Joe is not actually a man, but a machine that likes video games, horror movies, and long walks on the beach. His/Its first contribution to HonestGamers was a review of Breath of Fire III.

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