The pre-release marketing for Lorelei and the Laser Eyes has suggested a particularly abstract experience. Strange trailers tease"unconventional concepts","patterns, patterns, patterns", and"puzzles, puzzles, puzzles", hinting at an otherworldly concept and"maze of deceptions" all in eerie black and white.
So how does Lorelei compare? Its premise is actually rather simple to explain. Playing as a young woman known only as Signorina, you must explore a maze-like hotel filled with bite-sized puzzles. She's been lured here by an artist called Renzo Nero to view his"magnum opus", though it soon becomes apparent Nero may not be referring to a singular piece of art but perhaps the hotel itself.
Indeed it's easy to feel overwhelmed at first. The hotel can be openly explored in large chunks and with so many puzzles thrust upon you, finding solutions is an intimidating prospect. Which puzzles to focus on first? Where do you even begin looking for the answers? How can you be sure what information is noteworthy? Eventually, though, the pieces click into place as you realisething.
Like its protagonist, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is an elegant, classy affair and after a brief playtime I'm equal parts confused, intrigued, and disturbed. If I can overcome my own fear of numbers, I just might make it through.