Although the title says Episode One there are actually no further episodes which is unfortunate as I thoroughly enjoyed Lethe. Koukou Studios is a Greek developer company and whilst their website does make mention of a sequel titled Lethe 2 Origins there is no additional information on the title.

The story revolves around a man who lost his father but gained new information on his own origin. He sets out to find answers to his questions but ends up ashore in a small (seemingly uninhabited) town. Pictures on the store page sum up well the location in Lethe: catacombs, prison cells, caves and mines. Everything to make your journey as nightmarish as possible.

It's a survival adventure game alright: no weapons just your wits, enemies to hide from and a linear path with puzzle-solving here and there. The chasing sequences and horror elements are familiar to those having already played Amnesia or Outlast. The spawn of the monsters chasing us is scripted and due to the atmospheric sound and music I recommend that you play the game as I did: with a headset on.

A novelty is the telekinesis ability we get later on that allowed the creators to include some more interesting puzzles. Under no means can we use this against our foes so if you thought this means waking up from our nightmare think otherwise. I expected a short game but didn't know I'd spend 5 hours with completing the story of Lethe whilst trying to explore every nook and cranny (which is a must as notes scattered around provide more information on the background).

Lethe is Steam Greenlight done right. The only downside is the save system it has - autosaving is done scarcely so it is recommended to look for radio transmitter whenever we can as they represent a manual solution. Otherwise Lethe is a surprisingly great game with some great jumpscares.

I have now finished episode 1 and decided to edit my review.

"Lethe - Episode 1" is a game very similar to the style of "Amnesia - The Dark Descent", meant in the best way possible. It has a great emphasis on (minor) puzzle solving and has a "hide and seek" style gameplay identical to Amnesia. The controls also feel natural as you explore the levels, and the physics are pretty good except for a few times when you have too many objects together in one place (things might bounce around a bit when trying to get past them).

The graphics are exellent and the creepy, near perfect atmosphere puts you in the proper mood for this style of game. If you decide to read the notes that are spread out through out the levels, you get a well written story that helps piece together the reason behind much of what is going on around you. If you decide not to read the notes, then not so much.

HERE IS WHAT PUZZLES ME!
The game does say "episode 1" which might alarm some people.
I have read other reviewers claiming that the game is 7+ hours long, but personally I managed to finish it in about 3.5 hours. I explored everything and didn't rush through the game AT ALL! So I'm EXREMELY puzzled that most reviews have so many hours of gameplay???
I even went back into the game and replayed the ending to double check that I didn't exit the game pre-maturely... but no I did finish it :/ So unless other reviewers has left their game paused for long periods of time, I got no clue why they have so much game time.

So do I think the game is worth $15-17 even with only 3 hours of gameplay...?
Absolutely!
I don't think you will come across a better indie horror game this year (especially considering all the bad indie horror games that has been released the past many months).

Can't wait for episode 2! :)

What an awesome game, didnt expect much but had a blast. It isnt too long, with some exploring you can finish it in 4 hours. Had a few hair raising jump scares, where I really gor scared, cause atmosphere is spot on. As far as gameplay goes this is polished game, using telekinesis felt the same as in Bioshock games for instance. Puzzles are short and sweet, they wount frustrate you and you will have to use some of the brain's activity. Graphics is also top notch, fits the style og a game perfectly. I recommend it all the way, even for full price its worth it. And not to spoil anything even if its called episode one, you dont finish on some cliffhanger, you get an idea what happened. Hopefully makers of this game will make other episodes, I would buy them on a first day they go on sale!

At first I wasn’t sure about the episode thing but checking with the dev they said if the game does well, they will go ahead with episode 2. This is a complete game and probably about 6-8hrs long, although for me longer as I'm rubbish at it. I'm not rubbish at the puzzles itself as they are quite easy. You have to flick switches and sometimes use your powers to flick the switches through gates etc. Near the end you have to think a little but shame they couldn’t have more difficult puzzles throughout the game. The bits I find difficult are when the women lurking around the corridors chases you and if you get caught you have to start that bit again and if you haven’t got to a save point you have to start everything from there again, I find this quite boring when you get caught several times but guess that could be me playing the game wrong or badly, Maybe some type of detector could be implemented, green for she cant see you, amber - be careful, red - she can see you....(run!!)

The graphics are very polished, no glitches, runs smoothly and looks amazing. Atmospheric graphics, done very well. I was interested when I tabbed out, it said dx9 in the window (Directx 9), we are on 12 now...but doesn’t matter as it looks good. The lighting and atmosphere in the game is done well, they have made good use of the unreal engine. The sound is very good as well and will have you on the edge of your seat.

There are a few bugs, I went through a fan once which I dont’ think was meant to happen and when you crouch you can’t crouch when on objects which sometimes becomes annoying, I hope they get rid of some of the bugs.

Overall I have enjoyed this game and is worth the asking price, its definately one of the better games of its type.

Graphics 9/10
Sound 9/10
Playability 7/10

Lethe is a blatant imitation of Amnesia the Dark Descent but they manage to do a pretty impressive job considering the challenge. It almost feels like an unofficial sequel, not as intense, but pretty close. The 'Monster Presence' music is pretty good, the gameplay is fluid and the levels seem well designed. Sneaking past the creatures can be pretty intense.

I have won that game on steamgifts.com now as for the review:

Pros:

+ Nice graphics and atmospehre
+ Smooth controls and preformance
+ Music was good and the sounds are accurate (footsteps)
+ Most saving point are manual (so the game doesn't save when you're about to die or meeting an enemy unlike other poorly desigined horror games)

Cons:

- I barely have any idea what the story is about since there is no voice acting in this game and all the info you get is through reading even though i have collected most of the notes in the game I couldn't bother reading them all.
- The visual effects when using telekinesis makes it hard to see what's infront of you, you can't run while using it and you can easily drop what you're holding... also there is no other way to carry anything without telekinesis.




Meh

~ Lack of enemies...but the game is quite short in general (about 5hrs or less).
~ No way to fight back except throwing barrels or so in your enemy's face.
~ No puzzles...or there were puzzles that were so easy that I can't even remember them.

Overall i think that game is worth the time and worth a buy on 60% off sale (or more) or a bundle.

Well, it's been a bit of a wait, but we horror-faithful may have just struck gold once again. Maybe not full-blown PLATINUM...but definitely gold. Finally, another first person stealth-horror game worthy of being mentioned in much the same breath as Outlast, Alien: Isolation, Among the Sleep, and, of course, both Amnesias (♥♥♥♥ you all, I loved Machine for Pigs).

In fact, there's Frictional's influence written all over this one; and believe me, that's far from a complaint. Penumbra, Amnesia, SOMA...there's plenty to put you in mind of ALL these games, as well as moments, mechanics, mapping, and imagery which harken all the way back to the glorious likes of the Half-Life, F.E.A.R., and Bioshock franchises (especially the latter).

But make no mistake: this is far more stealth than shooter, so if you're one of those namby-pamby types who can't hack games where you're pretty much helpless, best shove that pacifier back in your mouth and go back to blasting zombies with AK-47s like the pack o' wimps you are. This is a PROPER horror game, for people who want a truly immersive, scary experience. Wusses need not apply. (And man, is that save system unforgiving at times!)

I honestly thought I'd be waiting for Outlast 2 for a horror game this good, so given the recent bad news about that particular product being delayed 'til next year, this is a very, VERY welcome gap-filler indeed. We can only hope that future episodes: a. happen, and b. are every bit as good as this one.

Oh, and in case you were concerned, it's not nearly as short as the words "Episode One" might suggest: even the speediest of speed-runners (who surely shouldn't bother with mood-based games like this anyway) should take a few hours to complete it, while the rest of us slow-pokes can expect a nice six to eight hours of solid gameplay.

So, perhaps the biggest question of all: is it worth seventeen bucks? Simple answer: Yes. Yes, it is.

Verdict: 9/10.

(PS Loved the pissing mechanic, but in all sincerity, does our humble protagonist never feel the need to ♥♥♥♥?! A minor quibble, to be sure...)

An underrated horror gem which due to lack of marketing may not be recognized by many survival horror fans out there. You play as a man who descends into the depths of a dark abandoned mine to find the truth about his past. The plot takes some inspiration from Frictional Games's Penumbra series for storytelling and the Amnesia series for its settings and atmosphere, and both of them are done in a good way.

The environment and settings are spooky and foreboding with excellent use of sounds and other background stuff which does a great job in immersing yourself in the game. You find small notes in each level detailing the backstory of what happened in the mine with some clues of your connection to it. The developers have added a handy feature of a small note collection HUD in the status bar so that you may not miss any accidentally before exiting a level. I really liked this feature and wish it gets incorporated in more games often for people who are story enthusiasts in a horror game.

The graphics are beautiful to look at and the game makes excellent use of lighting and shadows to create a truly atmospheric feel. In some areas its literally pitch black dark and I had to hug the walls and move forward so that I didn't get lost. Another thing I have to say is that the game is extremely well optimized and I did not face even the slightest hiccup while playing it and maintained a constant 60 FPS. I have played a lot of indie horror games and I usually face FPS drops or stuttering issues in almost all of them.

The game is excellently paced between exploration and enemy encounters and it never feels whether any of the two things is being overdone. It makes the game more unpredictable as you never know when something or someone may jump at you from the corner. The game gives small cues to let you know when the enemy is around you and it never felt frustating to me in any of the enemy encounters I faced. It never became too repetitive or too frustating. There are small puzzles thrown into the mix from time to time but they are not that tough to solve. Some of them revolve around monster encounters and it really keeps the tension up so that you don't mess up at the last minute. Also, the game does not have much jumpscares so that's a great welcome as its starting to become too much oversaturated in today's horror games.

The only issue I had with this game is that story could have been explored and dealt with in more detail. In the end, I had a few unanswered questions which were not explained properly in the game. However, as this is "Episode One" and the developers have told us that the second one is in the works, maybe we'll get to tie up loose ends in the next episode. On the contrary, I have heard that the 2nd episode will not have much to do in terms of story with the 1st one and will be a completely different story set in the 1st game's universe. So, we will have to wait and see on what the developers hold for us.

Overall, I would recommend this game to all horror fans who would love a scary adventure in the likes of the Penumbra and Amnesia games with an excellent balance of scares and storytelling. I give it 8 lanterns out of 10.

Super under the radar for most people I come across. Great game and atmosphere. I found myself reading every little note I found and taking a ton of screenshots just to capture moments in the game. Very well made and some interesting things happen in the story that make you just say, "wait... what?" especially if you take the time to read notes and learn about small tidbits of story wherever possible. Some parts are challenging but who wants a game that's too easy! Looking forward to future episodes for sure!

After reading some of the comparison's of this game to Amnesia:Dark Descent I have to say that comparing the former to the latter is lunacy.I think that this game resembles a LOT of other stories,level designs,and music.AND?

The point of ANY game is whether you had fun with it or not.If you didn't then just say it wasn't fun for you and quit attacking dev's that actually CARE about their customers and their work.

IMHO this offering has a unique and well delivered story and the uncertain nature of the horror presentation is awesome.More importantly I had a BLAST playing it.

The sound design is spot on and creepy.The controls(mouse and keyboard)are well done.The graphics are beautiful and traversing the levels is very smooth.AND you can jump in this one....YAAAAHHHOO!

Considering the size of the Dev team this game is BENT!(That's a GOOD thing)Given that I have purchased games with much larger Dev teams and MUCH bigger budgets that just CRAWLED I think this one is above average.Very few of this genre have me wanting to play it more than once...this one does.Like AMNESIA:DARK DESCENT! Enjoy! 9\10 for me.