From the moment I saw the promotional screenshots for Lux Pain, I was intrigued. Layered images where you have to erase the top layer to reveal what’s lurking beneath , a unique concept but then again Lux Pain is ………..different !
The “game” is billed as a youth fantasy adventure but, in reality, I would consider it more of an interactive story where for the most part you’re role is to tap the screen to continue the storyline.
The venue is Kisagari City where a series of bizarre and paranormal murders stalk the streets. A powerful mind parasite (known as SILENT) is spreading through the population triggering the infected to commit horrendous crimes. As the character Atsuki you are despatched to the city to find and eradicate the source (or original) by FORT, the secret organization established to defeat SILENT. Armed with Lux Pain, a ring that only a very select can wear , Atsuki is granted the power of Sigma – the ability to influence the emotions of others. That attribute is what the game centers on – people’s emotions and your power to affect and manipulate other characters and the storyline by your options.
The interface is pretty cool and unobtrusive. The main menu contains new game, continue and extra. You have 3 save slots. The in game tools are plentiful employing different layouts for different scenarios. For instance when observing the map screens an info bar will appear along the top demonstrating location, hazard, person infected, psycho viewing, mail box etc. and when on the sigma screen there’ll be a health gauge, an option to switch between erase and search mode, time limit and quit sigma. There is also a card system inbuilt that whenever you get closer to characters these allow phone and email contact and basically share more info with you. A special mention however must go to the Yuzi internet café where you can access the city’s bulletin boards or forums and read some strange messages !
The downside of Lux Pain must surely be the lack of gameplay. At the beginning most of the time was spent scrolling the screen for the story to continue with episodes of rubbing my stylus rapidly trying to eradicate the cheese puff style worms. However the characters’ personalities kept pulling me back to play. What was going to happen to the postman with the unhealthy relationship with his keyring ? or how about the two policewoman who drink themselves into a stupor ? not to mention the angry gun collecting schoolteacher with the scary eyes.
Yes Lux Pain is a bit out there in terms of weird and whacky but it wasn’t long before I was engrossed. It dares to touch on issues other games avoid – group suicides, murder, jealousy , guilt and teen anger and while it has a PEGI rating of 12+ , I do feel because of some of the content it is justified and possibly generous as some of the topics are sensitive and the local high school pupils are heavily involved in the storyline.
Lux Pain does have another serious problem however and that is in the translation / localization. While the voiceovers are spot on , the on screen dialogue isn’t as good and at times I had to even take a moment to consider what had just been said and to what it really meant. However at times I did find it more charming than actually taking anything away from the game as will anime and manga fans no doubt.
The graphics are top notch with their cute anime character renders and are very appealing and pleasing to the eye.
Lux Pain might never be a huge success but it does deserve a lot of credit for tackling issues others sidestep and blending them in nicely to the story frame. While it may not appeal to the mass market I’m glad I got the opportunity to play it , even with it’s obvious weakness’ and if you too fancy a trip to the dark side then give it a go.
