It's hard to me to point out a favorite game development team, but a huge contender would be Simogo. In 2019, this Swedish team released Sayonara Wild Hearts, a pop music interactive album that was so cathartic of an experience that I couldn't get enough words to describe how much I loved (besides being the best game I played on 2022). Perfect aesthetics with perfect gameplay, this combination made me follow the team and wait for their new creation in the future.

And then, five years later, what I played was completely different and outside of what I expected to come from them. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes doesn't have the same amount of colors, beats or frenzy action from Sayonara, but the mystery I encountered on this black-and-white hotel was, probably, one of the best video game mysteries I solved in years, specially for the part of me that loves puzzles and escape room.

There isn't a former introduction to the world of Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. You start the game and you meet the woman you will control during the game, outside her car with a big mansion in the horizon. The controls are really simple — just a directional input and a button being used in different ways through context — but your goal in the game is not. Until my second hour, I was just walking, solving puzzles, collecting documents and assimilating a lot of the concepts presented in the narrative.

The real truth is that I shouldn't say too much about what happened in that hotel, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is a game to be experienced, not told about. But, even if I wanted to, I don't think I could. As good mysteries are, this one has a lot of pieces, but how they match and what's their true meaning is your job.

There are some interesting themes discussed during this non-linear narrative (like what means to be an artist or the power of true memories), but what really happens is to you to discover. Seeing theories from other players in the web, and realizing how different they were from mine and how they make sense even so... It's great how the same game can make us find our own truth.

If I can't talk a lot about the plot, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes also shines in its marvelous gameplay. Taking inspirations from different types of puzzle and exploration games, you will be presented of a scenario really close to an escape room. During your journey through the hotel, the woman get items like keys and, but also find a lot of books, notes and other documents. And, obviously, locks from different types, including ones that will only open with the right number or word.

As a big fan of escape rooms myself, I truly enjoy the puzzles that were presented in the game. The Simogo team had an amazing job of connecting them in some way to the plot (or at least, the themes that are presented during the story), an amazing feat of a genre that is known for out-of-place enigmas. No puzzle felt unfair, and the game awards the ones that pay attention to every detail you encounter. Even if you are a master of puzzles, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes will have something that will make you surprised.

For example, one of the first moments that got me unprepared is how the game breaks one of the golden rules of escape rooms — a key or code is used for one lock only, and can be discarded after it. But not here. There are some important names and dates that aren't only crucial to the plot, but also the starting point for solving a lot of the puzzles presented. Once I realized that and started paying more attention in the actual answers I was getting, a whole new layer opened up for me.

The fame Lorelei and the Laser Eyes got was "the game that you will take notes" — and it's true, but not that much more than others in the genre. Of course, you will probably find more plot connections between the puzzles if you write everything down, but the game itself has a lot of quality of life features to help you with the enormous amount of things to remember. You can look into every document whenever you want from the "Photographic memory" option, and the game register all your dead ends in the "Mental notes" section.

And I need to be careful not to spoil the surprise (and believe me, they are incredible surprises), but one of the highest moments in the game for me is how Lorelei and the Laser Eyes present the players with different and remarkable interfaces, inviting you to explore the same location (and more) in new ways. This not only just stacks one more layer in the already amazing storytelling, but also allows for more puzzle types to be included in a natural form.

I don't like to write about Simogo games because they always get me with no words at the end. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is a unique experience that uses the medium and the genre at maximum to tell pieces of a mysterious and interesting story — and asks you to fill in the missing parts. With perfect aesthetics that keeps getting better and fair puzzles that never underestimate the players, I don't think I can recommend enough a stay at this hotel: for those who like to put their minds to work, or at least for the ones that can't sleep without finding the truth.