Sometimes low stakes vibing with a sense of progression is all you want out of a game. To chill yet effect change all the same. Lou’s Lagoon is the next up and coming game to let you do just that.
Lou’s Lagoon is obviously its own game, but it’s also got quite the interesting mixture. Part Animal Crossing, part My Time at Sandrock, part flying game, and add in a dash of No Man’s Sky — yes, really – and you’ve got Lou’s Lagoon.
Your uncle has disappeared and you’ve turned up to figure out what happened to him and to rebuild his delivery business at the same time. Set in an archipelago of islands full of mystery, you’ll be building up and connecting people from all around.
The throughline of the game is the mystery of what happened to your uncle, but the meat of the game will be rebuilding, repairing, and improving the various islands and the inhabitants you meet along the way.
Collecting resources is very No Man’s Sky-like in that you’re “vacuuming” things up with your Swirler 2000, like wood debris and metal parts, to then use to craft things later. Also, what else are islands but a planet analogue with the sea and air between standing in for space? Alright, reaching a bit here.
Those resources can then be used to repair or build structures, repair stairs to reach new places on an island ,and pretty much anything and everything in-between. You can even craft your own decorations and furniture. There’s cooking and a science station, too.
The most unique thing you can repair and upgrade, however, is your plane that’s unlocked after you repair it.
Using the plane isn’t simply a quick travel system, as you will be actively flying it around the archipelago of Lou’s Lagoon. The brief time I had with it showed a simple control set that will be difficult to master if you’re wanting to challenge yourself.
Timed challenges can be found throughout the sky that see you flying through rings. You’ll need some serious practice to complete some of them, let alone set a good time.
With all of those tools in hand, that’s more or less the basis of the game. You go around collecting resources, doing quests for people you meet along the way, find and upgrading more things along the way so you can explore even more.
I’m always a sucker for a game where I can collect some sort of resource or do a quest to then upgrade some sort of town or building. That tangible result of my effort that has a permanent physical affect on the game world is never not satisfying.
Thankfully, Lou’s Lagoon is full of things like that.
It’s a game of exploration, growth, and connection set in a beautiful backdrop. There’s a mystery to uncover and plenty of secrets within many of the islands to find as well. You can go where you want, when you want, at your own pace — comfort gaming you can curl up with any day.
I think this game will speak to anyone looking for their next cozy game fix. Lou’s Lagoon smartly mashes together a few systems with its unique island hopping world to make for a compelling game.
Lou’s Lagoon was previewed at PAX West 2024.
