Lost Words: Beyond the Page | Switch Review

April 18, 2021 Zack Parkerson

2D indie platformers are a dime a dozen. Most of them are either joyous fun or difficult challenges, but a few of them try to deliver a poignant and meaningful story. Lost Words: Beyond the Page falls into this latter category.

The Power of Story

Sketchbook Games clearly had something to say about the nature of loss. You play as a young girl named Izzy going through the various stages of losing a beloved grandparent. It’s not easy to lose these heroes in your life, and I can’t even imagine having to go through it so young.

But go through it you do, and that’s where the unique hook of Lost Words comes into play. While there is the traditional 2D puzzle-platfomer gameplay we’ve all come to expect, it takes place in a fairy tale world. This world is being written by Izzy in her journal, and you get to come along for the ride. You even help guide the nature of the story, choosing its protagonist’s name and attire, or even the very nature of an ancient civilization you come across. Was this a land of philosophers or warriors? You decide.

The Strength of Words

That’s a lot of fun, and gives the otherwise simple gameplay a lot of flavor, but that’s not the only hook that comes from the journal conceit. You will also platform within the journal itself. Sentences form platforms for you to jump between, highlighted words will activate the next section to jump through, and you can even move words around to see their effects. It may sound simple, but it’s quite clever and cute. As the story gets sadder, you can see the effects in the pace of writing or the clutter on the desk around the journal. It’s really effective.

The actual levels in that fairy tale world are fairly simple. There’s an interesting idea where your character has a book of words, these words being spells. It’s a cute way to connect back to the journal, but these levels are only ever serviceable. While the story being Izzy’s coping mechanism is obvious, it’s not until later you see how powerfully the two tales interconnect. It takes a while, but you really do understand why the developers went with the dual-narrative structure.

For Every Beginning, There Must be an End

It’s little wonder that the story is as strong as it is, especially with an industry legend like Rhianna Pratchett at the writing helm. As strong as that prose is, it’s also the strong narration from Sidonie Maria Šakālis that pulls the story along. The range on display is remarkable. You can almost feel the elation as this young girl crafts her first story and the pain of every breath as the story gets heavier.

Lost Words: Beyond the Page is a great game about the tragedy of loss. We all have to experience it sooner or later, and the narrative here really sells how a young girl would grieve for the person she was closest to in the world. The gameplay won’t knock your socks off, but it’s not trying to. It has a beautiful message it wants to share, and you won’t regret being there for that message.

To hear me talk more about Lost Words: Beyond the Page, be sure to listen to Episode 339 of The Gaming Outsider Podcast around the 40:50 time stamp.

This review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy of Lost Words; Beyond the Page provided by the developer for coverage purposes. It is also available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Stadia.