Lakeview Valley

Lakeview Valley
N/A
Metacritic
83
Steam
76.461
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$14.99
Release date
22 October 2019
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
83 (618 votes)

Murder rpg set in the small town of Lakeview Valley. Become the most popular home-owner or succumb to your dark desires. The choice is yours.

Show detailed description

Lakeview Valley system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: Windows 10, 7, XP
  • Processor: 1.2GHz processor
  • Memory: 512 MB RAM
  • Graphics: DirectX 8-compatible graphics card with at least 32MB of video memory
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Storage: 1 GB available space
  • Additional Notes: Microsoft Xbox 360 Controller or Direct Input compatible controller

Recommended:

Recommended requirements are not yet specified.
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cunterella
cunterella

I tried so hard to like this game; "oh, a folksy small town RPG that's actually a mystery horror, that sounds fun." This game wasn't fun. I don't know if I was just dumb or bad at this game, but I was struggling constantly. I've played my fair share of indie horror games with confusing puzzles, but I felt like nothing was explained. Not that I wanted constant hand-holding, but like a hint, a pop-up would have sufficed. I like exploring games and learning from my mistakes, but it felt like this game punishes you for messing up (as in you better have a guide open in your browser otherwise you risk restarting the day). The story was the only thing that kept me coming back, but after a certain point, I gave up on that too. It doesn't really help that all the characters just feel like kinda grody with nothing super redeemable about them. A bit too edgy grimdark grinding for my liking, but if that's up your alley, then this is the game for you.

Life's Short, Be Kind
Life's Short, …

Firstly I want to say that I really wanted to give this a positive review, and I do want to state that I had a lot of fun. It was really challenging and interesting exploring all the endings and possibilities. Mastering the game and all that.

But it's so damn buggy that it just gets frustrating. Several times at the ending, the 'bad guy' would freeze at the last stage of the scene, soft locking me and forcing me to restart the VERY long process again. If that didn't happen, the bad guy would just... not do anything, soft locking me again. There were times I was trying to get 'blessed' and as I went to attack an enemy that was trying to kill me, Lil Bobby would just spawn in my lawn and take the shot, rather than being home like he should be.

I worked hard to get all the achievements, but despite fulfilling the requirements, they never proc (Getting, and growing all the flowers. As well as getting the secret ending with 'Uncle'). Other times when they do proc, they don't show up until hours later. The sheriff in game sees 'corpse', 'evidence nearby' and 'fingerprints', despite there only being a corpse. (Eg, shot someone with a shotgun, was not hurt in the process, was not seen, yet there's 'evidence with fingerprints' nearby.)

I just feel like the game was abandoned after it was finished, leaving it a buggy mess. It makes me really sad because I think the dev did a really good job with the Lakeview Cabin Collection, and I had a lot of fun with it. I was really excited for this, and despte having fun at first... it left me disappointed.

C@tMan
C@tMan

Ok i'd love to give this game a positive review but i just cant...i love the art style, the feel of the game world, the story ect but MY GOD it wasnt the game i was thinking it would be when i bought it! i was expecting a fun pixel art game where you role play as a serial killer (like Stardew valley but not so fluffy and nice) and take your time just messing around...THIS IS NOT THAT GAME! the fact is this game is WAAAAAAY too hard for what it is! you get 7 in game days too kill everyone, find all the secrets, buy everything off the creepy tree person AND actually learn all the lore?! how the F**K do you expect people to do all that when you make the game so hard to begin with?!

there needs to be free roam mode on this game where you can just go around at your own pace and role play as a killer instead of being forced too work out puzzles with literally no clues at all :(

literally if you want a game to just muck around in then dont buy this game...if you want a puzzle game where nothing is made clear and everything is super hard to work out then buy this game ^^

Annoying Old Party Man
Annoying Old P…

As a huge fan of Lakeview Cabin Collection, I was looking forward to this game. The concept seemed fairly interesting, some sort of mix of a pixelated grand theft auto game and a mystery game, with some gameplay and visual elements similar to Lakeview Cabin, all set in a very obviously Twin Peaks inspired location. The problems all lay in the execution of these ideas. There's a lot of tedium in this game, most of it stemming from the basic gameplay idea of having events tied to real time passing, forcing you to be in the right place at the right time or wait for certain events to trigger, combined with the time loop plot mechanic. In theory this all sounds like it could be interesting, but in practice it means a lot of trial and error, a lot of waiting, a lot of redoing things you've already done just to try to get a slightly different result, and it also affects the storytelling (which I'll get to) because it means major story elements are revealed to you in a pretty random order depending on your actions.

The pacing of the gameplay and story and how they interact is another major problem. This game has life simulator elements, which isn't a bad thing, and like I said it's very inspired by Twin Peaks. In games like Stardew Valley or dating simulators, you grow attached to the characters through talking to them during their routines, ultimately triggering special events as time passes and you get to know them better, which means you like them even more. And in a good horror story, you'd grow to like the characters before anything too horrible happens to most of them outside of the inciting incident. But, small spoiler below:

this game kills off the entire population of the village after only a few in-game days, meaning you'll see all these characters die off horrifically well before you even get to know any of them particularly well. Then you're sent back to the start of the week and get to try other paths to avert this outcome or find answers to the mysteries of the town. This storytelling decision is honestly not very good at all, and probably stemmed from wanting to have a lot of branching story possibilities and encourage people to try tons of different things without burdening the story with the consequences of those actions, allowing you to start fresh and try other things.

But what it really does is make everything you do in the game feel utterly meaningless, which very much takes away from the horror of anything going on, if we're meant to take the horror elements even a little seriously (this game does have a sense of humor, after all). And it makes it hard to care about any of the characters if you can be extraordinarily cruel to them, hurt their feelings, tear them apart with your own hands, watch them get slaughtered by monsters, see them tormented in hell, and then just hit the reset button on everything.

Beyond that major issue though, the writing is also kind of... quite bad. Lakeview Cabin had very minimal storytelling, as all the characters are mute and the stories are meant to be very simple slashers that copy their premises from popular franchises (admittedly with a clever metanarrative running through it all), but here there's extensive dialogue with every character and they're all characterized relatively deeply. The problem is none of their characters are very good or interesting. As well as just being obviously amateurish writing, there's a big current of misanthropy going through how everyone talks. Almost every character is meant to be pathetic or despicable, and it makes it really hard to care about any of them.

Again, in a life sim, you grow to care about all the little virtual people that live in your town. And in Twin Peaks, everyone had their own little inner lives you were privy to, and you cared about almost all of them, even the villains. You won't care about any of these assholes, and you won't want to save them. And honestly, some of the content of the game is just in bad taste, even for something meant to be horror. I won't go into detail, but it's something that would be more appropriate in an edgy teenage south park fan's crappy short story than an official game. You can explore gross and taboo topics in the horror genre, but you need to do it with a modicum of tact, and here these elements just feel like they're thrown in gratuitously and without any thought beyond trying to shock you.

So yeah, it's a repetitive game where you try to solve a mystery you don't care about to save a town full of people you don't like, where nothing feels like it matters and the stories being told are pointless, uninteresting and somewhat gross. I definitely don't recommend it, and it makes me somewhat dread the next Lakeview Cabin game if this downward trend in quality continues.

goob
goob

the most wholesome game on steam

Rue
Rue

Great game (story, unique art style, etc), but sadly, too goddamn buggy to recommend. Without doing anything that strange, you are likely to run into at least ONE show stopping bug during a standard play for a week. Comes in the form of softlocks when you die, npcs freezing in places and becoming non-interactable, or just straight up crashes. There are less severe bugs that you'll likely hit too -- important items disappearing and being unusable for the rest of the playthrough is a common issue, as well as getting stuck wandering slightly off the map.

If you want the experience of this game, find a few youtube videos showing off the cooler aspects. Save yourself the trouble of being up at 5:30am and doing everything you can possibly think of to overcome a game breaking bug.

yao8184
yao8184

GAMEPLAY:

Lakeview Valley is one of the best games ive ever played. its my idea of a perfect halloween time game. its dark, disturbing, fun, and repayable. sometimes its frustrating when you do a lot and restart a day, but that doesnt change it for me.

BUGS:

im not gonna lie, theres lots of bugs. most of the bugs ive encountered so far dont change gameplay at all. the worst one ive had just made me restart a day. the rest are small things like stuff spawning at the wrong time or invisible villagers.

OVERALL:

i absolutely recommend you buy Lakeview Valley (and the Lakeview Cabin games). ive never seen another game like it and i love it. worth every cent

Rude
Rude

It was as fun to play as it was buggy.
I probably softlocked myself about a half-dozen times, requiring an Alt+F4 to exit.

Your progress carries over, only if, you make it to the next day.
So if you spent half an hour min on a day and softlock after dying, you're going to have to redo all of it over. This happened to me multiple times on the same day.

Your best chance for not having to reset is to make sure you aren't dragging a body when you die, not dying after midnight as this occasionally results in the absent doctor, and dying after getting the sheriff stuck.

The final day also _appears_ to be a bit buggy, after you get an ending. If you continue your previous save, you'll either get a different ending or the option to travel back to the beginning of the week, retaining some of your progress.

Hardy911
Hardy911

Requested a refund.

It`s weird, slow, clunky and generally just feels odd - nothing makes sense and I don't like the overall pick A up and bring to B which you then give to C to get D and then ... concept of gaming. Just feels tedious.
Even on 66% sale I requested a refund - definitely not for me!

Sean Prime
Sean Prime

I'm Sean Prime and I approve of this game!

JforceG
JforceG

I like this game. It has its moments. I have a few gripes though.
1. The gameplay loop gets boring. Everything is good in concept, but it would be nice if there was more to do.
Stardew Valley for example has the gameplay loop of farming or fishing, or dungeon crawling while talking to villagers and such. In this game, you can fish, but it doesn't have a purpose. Its just, once you do the main popularity gaining tasks, there isn't much to do. You can kill people, but even that seems like an effort.
2. New game plus happens...Only when it doesn't and you get the wrong ending. There needs to be a way to access new game plus from the main menu. Otherwise youre stuck in an eternal loop of seeing the same ending and not being able to continue unless you decide not to get caught killing anyone.
3. Game breaking bugs galore! Especially on sunday. My character had to shit, and on sunday, if you try to sit, or wait to see the ending by sitting on the chair, you will be stuck on the toilet/rocking chair for all eternity. That means I have to wait until 12pm to see the ending.

PeculiarPip_TTV
PeculiarPip_TTV

This game is CRAZY. But I love it.

Naked Gaming (Official)
Naked Gaming (…

Overall fun game, I wish they labeled more items though as it is a pixelated game, so it makes it hard to identify things in your hand. Also more directional sign would be nice.

Lilium
Lilium

It's fun, but restarting the week , and having to watch the same commentary over and over and over again without a way(besides spamming the space bar) to make them go quicker... it's annoying. Some issues with the Sheriff getting stuck , as well as Bumbum, are a problem. Issues withBumBum attacking despite the requirements is a bit of an annoyance. But stabbing the shit out of him with the saber works as well.

With that said, pretty fun *quick* game that is nice for some time.

𝓔𝓿𝓪𝓽𝓼𝓾𝓰
𝓔𝓿𝓪𝓽𝓼𝓾𝓰

really nice game, but also some bugs that really need to be fixed like some itums just disappear when the scene switches.

WALKINGPUNCHLINE
WALKINGPUNCHLINE

Tons of fun and an excellent mix of comedy and horror!

KiTS
KiTS

This is very buggy. The developer, Roope, decided to put his time into LakeView Cabin 2 instead. I loved LVCC(43hrs), and this doesn't give me hope for the direction in quality for the future of these games.

My negative review is based only on the fact that this game isn't as polished and feels rushed out.

Redantc
Redantc

Moved into a new town, killed a bunch a people while naked on shrooms. Later decided to play this game

馮ormers
馮ormers

Very nice game , so much fun . And I can not wait to see my friend plays this game >0

Enel
Enel

This game is abhorrent on every conceivable level, you should definitely play it though

luuuucs
luuuucs

This game sounds like it has it all if you like murder mysteries, rpg and some light gardening.
In reality it feels more like it has nothing. It seems unfinished and is incredibly tedious. Why would I like dragging pieces of trash VERY SLOWLY one bY ONE to the junk yard??? Or finding someone's ball for a side quest - why can't I just carry it?? Nope, you have to slowly kick it to its destination.
You have to work too hard for any kind of progress with the steps rarely being obvious or even intuitive.
I ended up getting a refund.

AdD
AdD

You can grow flowers, go fishing and help a sad girl find her cat. Oh and murder, lots and lots of murder.

Darkwave
Darkwave

I just love the plot of this game

PhantomSavage
PhantomSavage

To call this a "Murder Mystery" is a bit of a misdirection. Yes, people certainly die, or at least one person does at the beginning unless you choose to add to that body count depending on your play style, but it never really feels like a "mystery" that can actually investigate and explore.

Your character cannot talk. When interacting with other NPCs, you are only given the predetermined lines that they speak, you have no dialogue options of your own nor do you have a way of interacting with any of the characters other than intended. This means when your bus runs over a woman on Day 1 (not a spoiler because it happens within the first minute of the game), you cannot actually warn anyone of the event.

My first instinct was to warn someone in town or the sheriff of what happened in the intro, but talking to any of them yielding no results. Next thing I tried was going to the infirmary, taking a med kit, and then tried to use it on her. You can only use items on yourself, not other people, so that didn't work. Finally, I tried dragging the woman's body into town for help, and was immediately attacked and killed by the Sheriff, because his coding was clearing reacting as if I had murdered the woman.

Honestly, I felt disappointed by this. It felt a little weird trying to do a "pacifist" run where the bus I was on runs over a woman and I was encouraged by the game and its residents to essentially just... ignore it... so I tried playing again as a murderer.

This time, I killed the Bus driver, disposed of the evidence, and then just explored and talked to the townsfolk the rest of the game. I never killed another NPC again because I wanted to take my time to learn their behaviors and learn a bit about their backstories and characters, so I took things slow and methodical, dedicating my time to playing the game more like Stardew Valley by improving my home, doing favors, romancing some citizens, and earning popularity... at least long enough until I could start huntning each of the NPCs down one by one.

... but this didn't work out for me either, because as it turns out, the game week does not repeat, you only have 7 days before an ending event is forced upon you, and I wound up dying in the end of the game not for killing someone, but for "stealing" various objects from people's homes.

I had already spent 5 or so hours at that point and was somewhat frustrated by the outcome. I could tell the game wanted me to go places or do something, but there was a terrible lack of direction to tell me what I should or shouldn't be doing at any one time.

This is also a personal preference, but the story and setting, with what little I understand of it, is very dark, bizarre, and hard to understand.

After close to 6 hours of playing, I have come out of the experience neither feeling like a clue solving hero OR a formidable danger to the world around me... I just felt confused, creeped out, and bored.

Its a fun concept, but its not at all what I expected and it perhaps could have been executed differently and more effectively.

EDIT:
Did another run thru as murderer, I hadn't discovered Morgo or his upgrades in my first serious play through, which certainly helped with some of the more frustrating elements of the game (stamina, dragging speed, inventory, ect.), but there's currently too many bugs with the evidence system to be enjoyed in the way it should be.

There were a number of occasions where I had killed a villager, made sure I was never attacked back/took damage, and was always very careful I didn't leave any of my items or murder weapon behind at the crime scene... yet the recap by the sheriff that night would often claim "There are multiple pieces of evidence at the scene, but no fingerprints" or "There was blood at the scene not belonging to the victim" or "Found a murder weapon from a previous crime"... yet none of these were actually true, and because of it I, once again, felt cheated out of the ending I expected/desired.

I killed 4 people on my very first night, and despite leaving no evidence except in one case where I took damage from one villager, the Sheriff said "all signs point to [Protagonist]"

Its a fun concept but in its current state the game is too buggy to be enjoyed as intended.

ROYAL REBEL
ROYAL REBEL

Second review after playing the game extensively and previously giving it a poor review.

First thing to address about this review, if you are sensitive to themes about rape and incest, I highly suggest not buying it. While these themes are encountered late game, depending how much of it you wanna play, seeing these scenes playout without warning genuinely disgusted me at first.

Pros:
Game has various weapons to kill those in town including a chainsaw and a sword. Go wild. A lot of people in the valley usually change placement throughout the day. There is some drug use such as shrooms and one opportunity of stealing someone's dope if you find it. Sex scenes happen which can raise up your popularity or just give you the opportunity to kill someone naked. There is a lot of things to do within the game besides killing the people in the town whether it's going into the underworld, doing the after midnight tasks given by your Uncle or just ripping off the butterfly wings of the people in town.

Hell, if you figure out how to you can also sex-murder a good portion of the neighbors.

Cons:
Game gets really repetitive after the first two weeks, but you can usually find a new objective to do the following weeks. There can be visual bugs which can ruin the immersion of the game, and sometimes these bugs can be breaking. Transition to another part of the map can make the game permanently stunt you there making you replay the whole day thus erasing a whole day's of progress.

Now addressing the warning I gave at the start of the review, if you manage to find yourself in the underworld and having killed the certain people, you will find a scene of incestuous rape playout. I initially saw this scene without any warning and was disgusted beyond belief seeing it and knowing what was occurring. They did not move but the character placement and dialogue from both npcs was enough for me to fully understand what was occurring.

Also yeah, if you make your mother proud and she let's you talk to her, she will have sex with you.

This game is a bit of a hit or miss. If there was a way to give it a.... thumbs middle? It's not as polished as it should be given it most likely received it's last ever update.

byunbunny
byunbunny

**TRIGGER WARNING**
I had originally written a raving review of this game and I won't deny that I really enjoy lots of aspects of this game. However, in one of the endings I found an obvious instance of incest rape between two non-player characters. The use of rape was disgusting and unnecessary. The fact that the one raping their own sibling was NOT seeing this as a punishment AS WELL AS THEIR MOTHER WHO WAS WATCHING, was so perverse I haven't been able to pick up the game since. The evil nature and desire to hate the non-player characters could have been conveyed in so many different ways OTHER THAN RAPE, which only serves to degrade the victim, it means nothing else. I have requested a refund for this since it is so off-putting with little upside in comparison.

EGO CORE
EGO CORE

how do i refund this im not kidding

Anonymous
Anonymous

Its a really fun game, not for young ones tho.

GTA BOY
GTA BOY

you can kill children is this game

SlaZe
SlaZe

never though i would say this but here i go:

fompa

5/7

american boot
american boot

I AM SCHEDULED DUE TO MY INVOLVEMENT IN MULTIPLE CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY.

justinr93
justinr93

love it so goofy weird and simple wish there was a content rich sequel but its such a unique game its worth the 15 bucks

Anonymous
Anonymous

Wasted potential. I love horror/ dark humour and wanted this to be a fun game experience. But despite the many characters and monsters (which were very well-designed, I'll admit) there is no satisfying thread of a story to pick up, and the violence is totally cynical because the only thing it gains you is game cheats, basically. And non-violent tasks are tedious, obviously. Unless you like pixel violence, there's really nothing here.

DefineDestiney
DefineDestiney

You can play as a good boy/girl but the real story comes when you start killing.

Winnikit
Winnikit

Super fun game, would totally recommend. Killing and dragging away the body is a huge adrenaline rush. Only thing is that there's this (what I think is) a glitch. If you die past midnight and hit continue, you'll end up in the doctor's as usual, but there won't be anyone there. You'll just sit there dead in the office and you have to restart the game to get out of it. I've lost a lot of progress with this and I'm not sure if it is or isn't supposed to be there.

dk
dk

Fun game. I think it was made by an indie developer(s)? If so, I'm quite impressed. Gave me twinges of nostalgia while playing because it reminded me of games I played during the early 90's. I highly recommend this one too as I'm a sucker for a game that has multiple endings and different ways to play through the game.

Captain Obvious
Captain Obvious

I wish wish wish, I liked this game. The trouble is that I love it, and I wanted it to be as good as the Lakeview Cabin Collection. But the bugs are killing it for me. All I wanted was to wind down after a long day, and commit pixelated murder. But honestly, the whole thing is rushed, and it's not fun the 5th or 6th time, to have to restart the game and do it all over because of bugs. It's a mess, and I wish the developer had time to fix it. I took a break from gaming during the pandemic, and to come back to a mess like this, I'm gonna pass. This does not give me hope for the series. The idea is great, but if I can't play it, who really cares?

2008 pc gamer
2008 pc gamer

interesting I feel like the music at your home sounds like majoras mask great bay area

GlueHandsLuke
GlueHandsLuke

I don't know what's happening, I just hit people with my hammer

Tetskeli
Tetskeli

Matthew is hot.

The game is pretty awesome too. Its weird. It makes you laugh and feel disgusted in turns. The setting is cool, the immersion works and the story is intriguing. Murder is fun. That said, its also quite clunky and won't tell you anything about the mechanics, so you gotta figure it all out yourself. Sometimes there are game breaking bugs and you gotta restart the run and it feels frustrating. I once got stuck in a dark area filled with masks made from the faces of the villagers and I spent like 15 minutes trying to figure out if it was a bug or a feature (it was a bug).

Godofthechicken
Godofthechicken

While the game takes a little bit to get started, once you get into the meat and potatoes, it's an amazing game. It's atmospheric, tense, and downright disturbing at times. I've only played through once so far but it's been great. I can see the replay value. Give it a shot if you're into horror and have some time to invest in a quality game.

Dabeatlove
Dabeatlove

this game is so buggy & not worth it. really disappointment. annoyed.

LeapoldScotch
LeapoldScotch

Not a Single Game out there like this.

Sandbox RPG with immersive characters, reputation system and quests reflecting it. Work jobs for the townsfolk. Become friends and more if you want :) or dont help them. Learn the the story of all NPC characters, all with personalities, and dialogue that reflects your actions or lack there of. Do the main story, or don't!

Furnish your home, paint it, and grow plants in your yard. make tea from the plants you grow, shop at the local store and eat at the Diner, comb the beaches with your metal detector looking for treasure while eavesdropping on local drama. Help the fine folks of Lakeview Valley live their lives.

Or..

Give in to your sadistic perverse dark violent desires. Plan around anyone's schedule for the moment they are most vulnerable or guarded, and feed your blood rage. Every option in between works too, play however you want and don't assume the game isn't long enough because there is an option to reset the week which is needed to get further story and achievements.

The NPC characters are complex and offer much more than face value as real people do. This kind of attention to detail can only be done by someone passionate about what they create. I picked up Lakeview Cabin 2 because i love how unique and original yet nostalgic this Developer is. The lore alone has started a cult following.

The pixel graphics are beautiful and add to the old school slasher horror feel.

Rum
Rum

I laughed so hard at create a character when you could choose your genitals that my husband thought I was high. Im really enjoying this even though I have no idea what Im doing.

Menu Music
Menu Music

really great game, but also really super effed up. rating: disturbingly fun time.

Tired Mans
Tired Mans

very good game, surprised me a lot. Goes a lot further than you'd expect with the concepts it had in mind. The game kept me interested throughout, with multiple endings in store. Very unique and fun game.

DirtyFishy
DirtyFishy

Sadly a confusing and buggy mess of a game, which is a real shame because the Lakeview Cabin Collection is certainly worth getting. This game however is a bizarre frustrating mix of weird and confusing to play. It feels like a pixel version of Deadly Premonition in both quality and bugginess.

I'm going to hopefully get a refund if I'm lucky.

I gave up after getting stuck in an infinite loop that caused somebody to get stuck in a bear trap and then report me to the sheriff, where he decided to kill me.

Edit
Didn't get my refund so I guess I'm going to go eat shit.

Cosby's Lawyer
Cosby's Lawyer

Frustrating bugs around every corner, ill change my review if its worth the endings i get

Taco Bellmont
Taco Bellmont

This is essentially a half finished good game that hasnt been updated in over a year and will probably never be finished if were being honest. Buy it on sale if your curious

More Details:
Its unfortunate because the cat and mouse you the serial killer vs the sheriff trying to catch you while you attempt to cover your tracks seems extremely promising but the sheriffs behavior can be very bugged at times. The writing is seriously fucked up in all the right ways, and is the best part of the game imo.

goddamn these vampires
goddamn these …

This is easily one of my favorite games. Imagine if "build your place in the community" games such as Stardew Valley or Animal Crossing took place in a town with a dark secret... and were very, very frightening and violent. The game opens with a bang, so you know exactly what you're in for, and then it puts the player into a very calm, almost cheery setting where the focus among most of the villagers are various sidequests, aids for your house, and greetings. Most will talk about the Lake Day that coming Sunday, a date a mysterious man in your yard warns you about on your first night. And speaking of the nights, if you go walking around town when the sun is down, you'll get a big surprise...

The open-world mechanic is very fun because it lets you explore the village and choose exactly what activities to do and people to help. The game's map essentially resets every so often (you'll know when it does), so it is perfectly possible to focus on various ways of being in the town at different times, letting you see the full force of possibility and option available. Or you can take off your clothes, do shrooms, mess around with various items, and wreak havoc. That's okay too.

Another thing to talk about is the music. There are only a few pieces of music in the soundtrack that repeat a lot, but fortunately for the player, they are all incredibly good. The main overworld theme is cheerful, calming, and invigorating all at once, and could get stuck in your head for hours if you aren't careful. The rest of the music builds the atmosphere and feeling of mystery in the best way.

Ultimately, this game is simple yet deceptive. The gameplay is easy to get into, and you can always just start doing things around town and worrying about what they'll mean later. Yet at the same time, the story, environment, and characters all have many layers, and if you end up down the path of peeling them back, you aren't likely to forget what you find...

Rim Jobs Steve
Rim Jobs Steve

Criminally underrated gem. Thought I was done with the good and evil ending... But no; the plot thickens and the lore becomes deeper on each playthrough. There's some glitches and bugs that need to be fixed asap as it makes it a bit frustrating to play, and a few tweaks to improve the gameplay; but other than that, a very bizarre and unique experience.

MetalDeeds
MetalDeeds

I could go on a rant about what I don't like about this game, but it's better to just say it's like playing a game and the game itself is trying it's hardest to slow you down and confuse you.
You are told literally nothing, it's all a complex layer of trial and error.
It's not really a murder mystery OR a life-sim, it just sorta... exists, and it isn't good.

Kocheu
Kocheu

The theme and the trailer are great.
Great game in theory, but awfully boring mess in practice

BinarySplit
BinarySplit

I really like the premise. There's a lot that could be fun here. The execution of this game ruins it though.

Main problem: The game revolves around trial and error - but failure is too punishing, and retrying things is too slow. You try something, make a mistake, and it's basically unrecoverable - either you have to restart the day, or miss out on this playthrough. You'll be restarting the day often, and every time re-doing several minutes of busywork before you can make another attempt at whatever you were doing.

Second problem: a lot of stuff isn't obvious and you'll miss a lot or be unable to figure stuff out. You'll probably need to read forums/guides to actually progress. Hardly anything has any in-game hints to direct you to where to find it. I never even managed to get fishing or gardening to work, or figure out where to use half the items.

Lastly: it's full of bugs. Characters get frozen ALL THE TIME. Multiple times per playthrough. Inventory items will occasionally just disappear, characters will be stuck in "butterfly mode", or unable to talk to you. Sometimes they'll teleport on the minimap. Sometimes they'll instantly notice a dead body even though they have no line-of-sight.

Hopefully Lakeview Valley 2 is better, because this would have been really fun if the game design was more forgiving.

xubiod
xubiod

i recognize the appeal, but for me it didn't entirely hold up

sorry

Darkemu
Darkemu

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sure, your character can have booba AND pp simultaneously and you can dispatch your least favorite NPCs at a moment's notice, but it's unfortunately too chock-full of bugs. i've gotten stuck at the edge of the screen too many times with no way out but to restart the day and multiple midnight encounters wherein i am in the middle of engaging in unspeakable things with the townsfolk when the clock strikes 12 and suddenly, they are butterflies but they retain an invisible form i can't interact with and i either lose popularity from their dissatisfaction or they murder me - and these are only among other bugs i've encountered.

while i enjoyed the absolute debauchery and the genocide of an entire town (as separate things) to a degree, it's frustrating in very Lakeview fashion. half the time i can't tell if i'm just doing trial and error or if something is actually breaking in the game. be my guest to take the Valley for a spin if you're down for hours of "WTF IS HAPPENING"

Lokiare
Lokiare

A well thought out and very secretive game. From murder mystery to demonic possession. This game is a little bit more than what it seems to be on the outside.

grrblah
grrblah

It's weird to me that more people aren't talking about this game. There's just so much to it. I would compare it to Kindergarten except less funny, more horror, and more to do...probably. If you like the other Lakeview games you should absolutely check this one out. If you're a fan of horror games definitely check this one out.
I have been wanting a open world horror game for a long time and this is probably the closest to that I've found. It's really amazing how they were able to have so many ideas and things to do whilst still keeping all of it in a small town and having it all make sense.

pyro007
pyro007

there needs to be more games like this one

kianasjohnson
kianasjohnson

Fun game, I do wish it was longer than week though. I hope a sequel is in the cards, maybe with a different town and mystery to uncover.

Yanno
Yanno

Stardew Valley, but you are murderer.

demar182
demar182

In short, this game is Stardew Valley with stronger themes.

pekull
pekull

I'm angry. This game could be so good but my experience with it was just so frustrating.
Bugs and freezes forced me to ctrl+alt+del out of the game several times causing me to lose 30+ minutes of progress every time. I can't even refund it because I really wanted to give it a chance and kept playing (which is my fault, I know).
It's sad that the developer didn't manage to patch all game breaking bugs and glitches since it is such a unique experience and many aspects of it are so fascinating.
I'll keep playing and try different approaches and maybe change my review at some point, though.

TheGamingYogi
TheGamingYogi

Best game to work off anger and stresses of the day. Let your inner crazy out lol

JoelNotSoPsycho
JoelNotSoPsycho

unfinished and buggy as hell but interesting. Buy on sale only

VoltaicFox
VoltaicFox

I got a refund after about 45 minutes. I was really excited for this game, but it ended up being fairly disappointing. It's hard to know what to do, and experimenting isn't that fun when everything just goes so. Slow. For instance, you try to take trash to someone, you have to drag the trash. Very. Slowly. And it takes so long to get around town even on the dirt bike.

In edition just... bugs. It's so easy to glitch out the sprite art or get stuck on things. Overall a 4/10 for me.

(P.S. The gross sound effects were more annoying than funny as they played all the time. A joke is only funny so many times.)

cattyh28
cattyh28

Off the wall, odd game with strange humour. It plays out as a groundhog week, but builds over a few groundhog weeks into a multilayered mystery that you will be sorry to stop playing.

Odd
Odd

i cucked the blonde man hahaha

GoTime
GoTime

I think I would really love this game if it wasn't so outrageously glitchy. The concept, art, and gameplay are all really, really interesting, and I don't even fault anyone who's able to love this game despite that, but I can't in good faith recommend it myself. I've had NPCs not appear where they're supposed to be, NPCs talking to other invisible NPCs, and other weird stuff like my character's face appearing through the diving helmet. I've had the fishing minigame completely poop the bed and make it look like I've caught a fish when I have absolutely nothing. I've had NPCs act as if I never did the quest I just completed for them the previous day. I've had things like the lipstick become unobtainable because I'd dug it up and then died that day, but the game thinks I still have it when it reloads. No glitch has been completely game breaking, but they are so frequent and obvious enough that it has ruined my experience. I think I would at this point rather watch a Let's Play or read the Wiki instead of trying to play myself.

Ali
Ali

EDIT: I was a little harsh, considering it's one dev.

This is the most bug-ridden, broken game I have ever played, and the dev shows no signs of returning to fix it. I really want to recommend it, but until the dev returns, I can't.

It's a real shame, because there's so much promise here, but I restarted countless times over sixteen hours, and was met with each playthrough breaking irreversibly. Without fail.

The atmosphere and horror in this game are second to none, really, and I love the setup. I just can't recommend this unless you get it for mere dollars during a sale.

Please return to this, dev.

thaine
thaine

story is dark and interesting. but it's extremely buggy. after losing a few save files, i've hit my limit of jank.

toastedlemon666
toastedlemon666

I love this game besides the constant needing to re do days because the doctor has broken and cant heal

Dragonsoul
Dragonsoul

Achievements are bugged. otherwise fun game

Sid Vile
Sid Vile

This game has a TON of bugs, and hasn't received an update for some time.
BUT
This is one of my favorite games I have ever played. I loved the world, the lore, and the absolute freedom. I can easily recommend this to anyone who enjoys horror elements as well as the rpg elements in games like Stardew Valley.
There is a HUGE amount of secrets waiting to be discovered, and going into this blind made my experience incredible.
If someone is stumped or needs help, don't hesitate to shoot me a message. I have been peeling this game apart since I started playing it and would love to help you to enjoy it as well.

DannyDarko
DannyDarko

Very unique game, worth the price for sure

Anonymous
Anonymous

my first play through i for some reason found a way to kill everyone that owns a shop idk why but it was fun

Devang
Devang

An open world 2D sandbox game that focuses on freedom of approach. Has multiple endings, depending on how the player chooses to approach it. The specific endings are a bit obtuse to get and as such will require a guide. Its atmosphere has a very mysterious, foreboding vibe which is what drew me in.

Socks
Socks

Stardew valley but I get to be a menace to the entire population and hell too.
Boy I sure love the smell of death in the morning

Ricochet
Ricochet

As much as I love the Lakeview games, I'm only 0.6 hours in and I can't even access certain menus because they bug out :(. Hopefully this all gets fixed after Lakeview Cabin 2 comes out.

MyDeadOblivionAx
MyDeadOblivionAx

A lake with an angry sheriff and mythical beasts

Piss Redfield
Piss Redfield

cw: rape, incest

Played this game a bit when it came out and remembered it having some stuff that was a little much, but coming back to it? Kind of unbelievable how gross and un-fun it it gets. Most people just complain about the gameplay elements and bugs, which are a problem, sure, but I was willing to overlook all that if it weren't for the BEYOND unnecessary incestuous, pedophillic rape you can see in the hell dimension. I honestly don't really know what more I can say about it because I'd obviously rather not go into a lot of detail about it. Just wild, overly dark and gross shit that drains all the fun and enjoyment out of what was otherwise a pretty promising, weird little horror life sim game.

dicedrop
dicedrop

A fun game with some dark secrets. Worth mentioning that the game has lots of different endings depending on how you play it and what choices you make. Also you can wear peoples faces as flesh masks so that's pretty cool.

Tarrute
Tarrute

Kinda shit tbh, not very fun, puzzles are obtuse, I have no idea what the goal is :(

Ellie<3
Ellie<3

Fun game with disturbing yet interesting storyline, replayability is a factor in this but you may need to google some stuff to help you with some gameplay.

Phoenix-King
Phoenix-King

Don't bother this game is trash, bugs, cheap death, can only save at the end of day, which led to the cheap death and wasted time.
Don't even buy on sale, I love reverse horror but I can't recommend this garbage to anyone. Very disappointing, and one of the worst games I have ever played. 1 out 10.

Djamel
Djamel

When the game gave me the "INVENTORY ABILITY" I was like: Ok so that's a great game.

Grinnning33
Grinnning33

This game is a joy! So much fun and massively replayable, with a deep story, interesting characters and great gameplay; Lakeview Valley is a hell of a good game!

Battury
Battury

So I bought this assuming it would be a meme game, you know? Stardew Valley, but you kill everyone. WRONG! The game is fully realized, worth playing multiple times (you kind of have to) and has a ton of fun secrets to find and interesting approaches. It's pretty sandboxy in that you can choose whatever goals you want for yourself and go about them in really creative ways. It plays like a really, really good game your one friend made themselves, or like the beta to a solid game. It's got jank, but nothing game breaking. Sometimes the jank even works in your favor and you find yourself grateful, lol.
If you're interested in the game but not sure if you want to buy a game on the memeable premise, buy with confidence knowing that the game has a very unique identity of its own with an engaging story in a fun sandbox.

Space Sloth
Space Sloth

Violent, messed up, and enjoyable. This is not your average simply "kill people and continue on" RPG. For example, when I kill NPCs in other video games, I don't really feel that bad -- but in this game, I do. Every character is relatively important and contributes to the story. The game had some triggering and dark elements, so this is definitely more for a more mature audience. Overall, this is a good game. People often compare it to Stardew Valley, in the sense that you can befriend the villagers and whatnot. But you can't farm here or fish or anything like that. You venture onto a journey where you choose good or evil, with the game leaning you towards evil. Then the outcomes of the villagers solely depends on that important decision you make. To reiterate, really fun game but not for kids, in fact, for people who can handle getting their brain effed up.

SnagglePuff
SnagglePuff

Not sure why I can write a review for this... i never owned this game but i love the collection in general. will see in the future.