Review – Lake

I’ve often had dreams of ditching suburbia and moving off into the woods. The fast pace of city life seems exciting at first for those of us who grew up in small towns. However, as the years tick on, and the rat race drags on, it can become overbearing. Maybe there’s something to living life at a slower speed?

Set in September 1986, big city software developer Meredith discovers just that. It’s been 22 years since she left her home town of Providence Oaks, Oregon. She got her degree and now has a successful job in the software industry. However, her dad, the local postman, has finally decided to take a much needed vacation. So it’s up to Meredith to fill his shoes for a couple of weeks, and maybe re-discover herself. I guess the postal workers union were a lot more lax about those things back then.

Gameplay boils down to driving around in your mail truck; delivering letters, making sure the right packages go to the right house, and doing “quests” for the locals. While it doesn’t quite meet the definition of a “walking simulator”, there’s not a ton of depth to the gameplay here. There are no fail states. Most of the aforementioned quests usually just involved agreeing to a scripted event, which then branches out the story. The whole point of Lake is to enjoy its narrative and scenery. It’s definitely a far cry from that other postal themed game.

The narrative can be a mixed bag though. First off, I really like Meredith as the player character. She comes off as sweet and genuine, which is backed up by some solid voice acting. She’s just adorable. The overarching plot though does come off as pretty tropey. The Hallmark Channel has made big bank making hundreds of cheap films on this very same premise. Big city career girl has a mid-life crisis, goes back to small town, finds love, and has to decide between her power job or a simpler life with the handsome lumberjack. Yes, Lake does indeed have a handsome lumberjack. Or you can also lez out with the local nerdy girl, because current year. Which, let me tell you, as someone who grew up in a small town in the late 80s and 90s, this wasn’t really a thing. Regardless of whom you choose, I found both romance options to be pretty stilted, awkward, and a wee bit forced. Which is a shame because I think the voice actors could have worked wonders with some better dialogue. Games really seem to struggle with this as a medium for some reason. I picked Robert as my husbando by the way, because he’s a loveable curmudgeon, like me.

Other character interactions are a lot better. Especially the dynamics between Meredith and her childhood friend Kay, and Kay’s aunt Maureen, as they reconnect after years being apart. There’s also a peanut gallery of other quirky townsfolk you can have funny and charming interactions with. You’re given a bunch of dialogue options to pick from during these events, and you can be a real jerk if you want to. Though it seems really out of Meredith’s character to do so.

I actually do like the story here, probably because it resonates with me quite a bit given my own situation. It’s like a warm hug emanating from my Xbox. There’s also multiple endings you can achieve. Though I feel like we’ve heard it all too many times before. It’s best to just enjoy the ride and don’t expect anything to break new ground. This is the airport romance novel of video games.

I think part of the problem is you have a Dutch team trying to piece together a rural American slice-of-life. Which is like me trying to write a similar story set in the Netherlands during the same time period. Even though I was like one-year-old when this game takes place, it still doesn’t scream “80s nostalgia kick” to me. It just feels a bit off. Proving you can’t really nail a period piece just by watching reruns of Gilmore Girls and Twin Peaks, or randomly dropping old movie references. What we have here is not terrible by any means. It’s a perfectly enjoyable little game. But it’s no Edith Finch in terms of its storytelling.

Overall presentation is alright, though fairly standard for a 3D rendered indie game. Lake’s cartoony Telltale-esque art style is certainly quite charming. All the main characters have unique designs that fit in well with the people they’re trying to portray. It also manages to offer up some truly stunning vistas with its snow globe sized recreation of a Pacific Northwest resort town. We also get a solid soundtrack with some great songs you can play on your mail truck’s radio. Though sadly, there’s not a ton of tracks here to listen to. Driving mechanics are surprisingly good, if not a bit limited. Delivering mail is also oddly more satisfying than it should be.

Unfortunately, Lake still suffers from a lot of technical issues, even though it’s been out for nearly a year at the time of writing. I noticed inconsistent frame rates throughout on the Xbox Series S. It seems to struggle to hit to 60fps for short bursts, then drops back down to the 30 ballpark. Though it’s mostly frame pacing issues, that result in a lot of jitter, that really hurts the experience. There’s a lot of object pop-in. While the Series S is not exactly a powerhouse, it shouldn’t struggle with a game like this. I also noticed a couple bugs. Notably in the photo taking mini-game. When I took my pictures to get developed, they all came back as black. I thought this was a joke that was part of the narrative, until I realized it wasn’t. So much for showing off my photography skills. Granted this is a Unity game, with all the caveats there in, and it was developed by a fairly small team. Though I still expect a bit more polish than this. Especially for $20 USD.

Overall, I think Lake is a satisfying game is you can look past its flaws. It’s a simple, relaxing character drama that invites you to sit back and enjoy its ride. There’s nothing too deep here. But sometimes, that’s just what you need. However, I do feel like Gamious could have done a little more to earn its price of admission. It’s a fairly short game, and the trailers seemed to hint at more interactivity than what we received. But if you’re looking for a relaxing game, and can grab it on sale or via Xbox Game Pass, it’s definitely worth checking out.

What works:

-Decent art design overcomes its relatively down key graphics to offer gorgeous visuals

-Great sound track

-Delivering mail is more engaging than it has a right to be

-Endearing interactions with a great cast of quirky characters, with solid voice acting

What doesn’t work:

-Romance options feel a bit awkward and forced

-Numerous technical problems

-Story is pretty tropey and cliched

-For a period piece, it doesn’t exactly scream 1980s