Loretta is a psychological thriller that throws you right into the mind of a disturbed housewife. Your choices, often violent, determine how Loretta deals with the aftermath of her dead husband. The game lets you indulge in the character's murderous urges more often than not, but you can occasionally guide her down a less violent path and these choices change the ending of the game.
The writing is decent enough, and I appreciate the dialogue's era-appropriate feel for 1940s America. Loretta may not be a groundbreaking deconstruction of the noir genre, but it is engaging and suspenseful.
Loretta herself is fascinating to control. She's calculated, deeply troubled and determined to exploit a terrible situation for her own gain. She's a great villain.
The supporting cast is underdeveloped by comparison, with several of them coming across as props rather than people. The story fails to capitalise on the potential emotional weight of its deaths. While the core narrative focuses on Loretta's attempts to escape justice, building emotional connections with the victims would've heightened the tension throughout the game. It certainly would've added an extra layer of tragedy and desperation to Loretta's narrative.
Loretta's true weakness is that it lacks any meaningful interactivity outside of picking dialogue choices. It is (mechanically) closer to a visual novel or choose-your-own adventure book. Each new chapter is broken up with a minigame, but they are dull and are hardly worth highlighting. You will spend most of this game talking to people and occasionally picking a dialogue choice when prompted.
While this might not be a dealbreaker for visual novel fans (like myself), it's important to note that the game has very limited interactivity. As a result, you might find yourself feeling like a passive observer of Loretta's story rather than an active participant in her descent at times. While your choices do influence the narrative, the lack of any meaningful gameplay might be disappointing if you're expecting something mechanically complex or challenging.
I'm sure the lack of interactivity might limit Loretta's appeal for some, but I personally found it to be an enjoyable experience that doesn't overstay its welcome.
The writing is decent enough, and I appreciate the dialogue's era-appropriate feel for 1940s America. Loretta may not be a groundbreaking deconstruction of the noir genre, but it is engaging and suspenseful.
Loretta herself is fascinating to control. She's calculated, deeply troubled and determined to exploit a terrible situation for her own gain. She's a great villain.
The supporting cast is underdeveloped by comparison, with several of them coming across as props rather than people. The story fails to capitalise on the potential emotional weight of its deaths. While the core narrative focuses on Loretta's attempts to escape justice, building emotional connections with the victims would've heightened the tension throughout the game. It certainly would've added an extra layer of tragedy and desperation to Loretta's narrative.
Loretta's true weakness is that it lacks any meaningful interactivity outside of picking dialogue choices. It is (mechanically) closer to a visual novel or choose-your-own adventure book. Each new chapter is broken up with a minigame, but they are dull and are hardly worth highlighting. You will spend most of this game talking to people and occasionally picking a dialogue choice when prompted.
While this might not be a dealbreaker for visual novel fans (like myself), it's important to note that the game has very limited interactivity. As a result, you might find yourself feeling like a passive observer of Loretta's story rather than an active participant in her descent at times. While your choices do influence the narrative, the lack of any meaningful gameplay might be disappointing if you're expecting something mechanically complex or challenging.
I'm sure the lack of interactivity might limit Loretta's appeal for some, but I personally found it to be an enjoyable experience that doesn't overstay its welcome.
Dispiacere immenso per quello che è indubbiamente un ottimo titolo che però fa veramente fatica ad essere chiamato videogioco data la completa assenza di un vero e proprio gameplay, cosa anche abbastanza problematica per un gioco piuttosto lineare che non lascia chissà che spazio. Avessero messo qualche puzzle decente avremmo avuto una perla importante
Meh. The art's nice, but nothing else about it really grabbed me enough to keep going.
impressed by the stark, self-consciously OMINOUS presentation here, and the writing is solid, genre-literate, & overheated in the right places. there are WAY worse noir stories out there tbqh. loretta herself is compelling and layered but everybody else is v v flat, which only rly works with margaret.
outside the narrative design (which is great, to be clear — especially love the moments where u can choose to do something irreversibly unhinged) this is kinda shitty as a videogame; like why can't i click to move around and why are the chapters broken up with halfhearted captcha minigames? for a game about a housewife there is basically no attempt made to simulate the mundane detail of loretta's existence. but these are relatively minor problems; the result of insecurity abt making a visual novel more than anything else
outside the narrative design (which is great, to be clear — especially love the moments where u can choose to do something irreversibly unhinged) this is kinda shitty as a videogame; like why can't i click to move around and why are the chapters broken up with halfhearted captcha minigames? for a game about a housewife there is basically no attempt made to simulate the mundane detail of loretta's existence. but these are relatively minor problems; the result of insecurity abt making a visual novel more than anything else