Lucah is a game I'm incredibly glad I pushed myself to finish. The art-style instantly captivated me, and the game's presentation and cagey ethos made it feel like something an old friend and I made together in a parallel universe.

As a raw character action/souls-like game, Lucah is okay. The raw act of fighting stuff is enjoyable enough, but it becomes quite repetitive by the end of the game, especially when you have to slog through nonstop combat arenas with no variation in area hazards or enemy attack patterns... but in a weird way you also find yourself forgiving the game just because you want to see where it goes.

The only major short-coming of this game, in my opinion, is that it hides a great deal of its writing and presentation in the NG+ mode. When I saw the first of what I would call 'tone poems', it made me realize this entire game has something to say about interactive mediums, as well as many complex and troubled subjects relating to trauma and personal guilt.

The bummer for me is that outside of just seeing these text/tone poems, and maybe some achievements, there's not really any reason to replay the game; the combat is rote enough that I can't see myself slogging through another few hours of it, even with the benefit of a full game's worth of abilities. This is a major shame in my opinion, but it doesn't make me think any less of the game as a whole, just to feel a bit wistful about what could have been.

I would heavily recommend this game to anyone who is interested in its art-style or the themes or religion and personal guilt/trauma it explores. I would also heavily recommend playing to the end and getting to at least the first 'sacrament' to see if you like what the game is putting down in terms of artistic expression.

This studio has a second game out, and while I'm almost always nervous about getting excited for new releases, I have to say I'm genuinely curious about what they were able to pull off next. This game feels like a great proof of concept, and if they nail the landing on their follow up, this could be a pseudo-franchise of great value.