The Lantern of the Laughless Saint Review Summary

Engaging gameplay and excellent voice acting evoke Morrowind's spirit with rewarding exploration, but unpolished jank and broken co-op hold it back.

Game is fun and engaging: Many players describe the game as fun, enjoyable, and engaging, with several noting it is amazing or great. This positive reception indicates strong core gameplay appeal.

Voice acting is excellent: The voice acting is consistently praised as excellent and phenomenal, with all characters voiced and no AI. This adds to the immersive experience.

Captures Morrowind spirit: Many reviewers note that the game captures the Morrowind spirit better than Skyrim and shows clear Morrowind influence. This nostalgic appeal resonates with Elder Scrolls fans.

Exploration is rewarding: Exploration is described as fun and engaging, with a world full of secrets and things to do. The open world allows for free exploration and emergent events, making time pass quickly.

Rich lore and worldbuilding: The game is praised for its deep, well-thought-out lore and detailed worldbuilding. Players appreciate the care and love put into the world, making it feel deep and immersive.

Game is unpolished and janky: Multiple players report the game feels rough, janky, and unpolished, often describing it as broken or bugged. These issues are pervasive and expected in early access, but they detract from the overall experience.

Graphics and texture glitches: Textures fail to load correctly on some items and in certain environments, with visual glitches like clipping, pixelation, and holes in terrain. These issues are widespread across platforms and settings.

Co-op multiplayer is broken: Co-op experiences numerous bugs, including desyncs, enemies not syncing, progress loss, and character resets to level 1. These issues make multiplayer unreliable and frustrating.

Selling items causes freezing: Selling items causes significant freezing, sometimes up to 10-15 seconds, and can even lead to crashes when selling in bulk. This is a frequent and disruptive issue that hampers trading.

Performance issues and crashes: Performance varies wildly between boots, with frame drops, crashes, and even infinite loading screens after death. These technical problems hinder gameplay and can lead to save file loss.

Co-op and multiplayer core: The game strongly emphasizes co-op and multiplayer features, including couch co-op, seamless co-op, and full campaign co-op. This is a major selling point for players.

Elder Scrolls-inspired experience: Multiple clusters compare the game to Elder Scrolls titles, specifically Skyrim, Oblivion, and Morrowind. Players note similarities in gameplay, world design, and overall feel.

Combat with depth: Combat is grounded in first-person mechanics with blocking and unarmed options, and is described as punchy and satisfying. Enemy types include frog/toad men wielding machetes or curved swords.

Rich NPC interaction: NPCs feature voice acting, dialogue options, and varied motives and interaction styles. This enhances the early game and contributes to a living world.

Deep inventory and trade: Players have access to item descriptions, an inventory system, and various trade mechanics like selling and thieving. This supports a rich RPG loop.

Frequent crashes and freezes: Multiple players report the game crashing or freezing during gameplay, sometimes within 15 minutes. This is the most commonly reported issue.

Performance issues and frame drops: Players experience frame drops and general performance issues, indicating the game may not be well optimized for various hardware configurations.

Poor optimization overall: Players note that optimization is lacking, with the game causing heavy CPU usage when opening the map. The game also runs at very low FPS on low-end computers.

Crashes fixed by driver updates: Some users resolved crashing issues by updating their graphics drivers, but other bugs remained. This suggests a compatibility issue rather than a universal bug.

Linux compatibility issues: On Linux, players encounter texture loading failures and highly inconsistent frame rates, though some report the game runs well with Proton.

Mixed recommendations overall: Reviews are split between cautious recommendations and outright warnings, with many suggesting waiting for patches.

Wait for patches or fixes: Many recommend waiting for patches before playing or buying, especially for coop features, indicating the game feels unfinished.

Recommended for Elder Scrolls fans: Several reviews recommend the game to fans of older Elder Scrolls titles or those who enjoy janky RPGs, citing similar flaws and appeal.

High recommendations from some: Some reviews strongly endorse the game, calling it worth the price and a great RPG for Bethesda lovers.

Advise buying at own risk: Some suggest buying only if you see potential and want to support the developers, accepting current imperfections.

Game completion: 200.0h.

Session length: 3.0h.

Players initially enjoy the co-op gameplay but encounter game-breaking bugs like progress resets and lag, causing enjoyment to drop sharply. Solo players have a smoother experience, but the co-op focus is marred by technical issues.

Friction: co-op progress reset on rejoin; co-op desynchronization; shopkeeper lag and freezing; selling interface causing 10-second freezes; repetitive background music loop.

Unlock drivers: co-op bug fixes; performance optimizations; selling interface improvements; audio variety updates.

Coop Seeker: Plays exclusively or primarily in coop mode, values progression persistence and synced world state. Motivation: To enjoy seamless cooperative play with friends. Stance: no buy.

Bethesda RPG Veteran: Explores open world, engages in combat and quests, enjoys detailed world and character progression. Motivation: To recapture the immersive RPG experience of classic Bethesda games with modern quality and coop. Stance: buy.

The Windows <8GB VRAM cohort reports playable performance with notable frame drops in certain scenarios.

Windows <8GB VRAM: positive. Game runs but experiences major FPS drops around ocean and enemy AI areas.

Steam Deck: The game suffers from severe performance instability and texture corruption across multiple Proton versions, with frame rates varying from 100+ to single digits between boots. While one user reports flawless operation on Linux, the majority of feedback indicates a broken experience requiring extensive tinkering.

Linux and Proton: Linux/Proton compatibility is mixed: one user reports severe texture and performance issues across multiple Proton versions, while another reports a perfect experience. A third ambiguous comment expresses a desire for Proton support, but no specific failure is described. The overall evidence points to minor required tweaks for reliable play.

Evokes Morrowind spirit and comparisons: Many reviewers draw strong comparisons to classic Elder Scrolls titles like Morrowind and Oblivion, often stating the game captures their spirit better than modern Bethesda games. The game is frequently described as a true successor to the Morrowind experience.

Developers responsive and active: Reviewers consistently praise the developers for being highly responsive on Discord and bug forums, actively pushing patches and addressing player feedback. The team is described as caring about quality and community input.

Early access polish issues: Players note the game is still in early access and early development, with unpolished aspects and bugs that remain unresolved despite claims of fixes. This leads to some disappointing first impressions, but is often seen as expected given the stage.

Developer dedication praised: A small team of developers is noted for working non-stop on updates and fixes, showing strong commitment to the project. Reviewers acknowledge the effort and dedication behind the scenes.

French language support missing: Advertised French language and subtitle support is reported as non-functional or absent, which frustrates French-speaking players expecting the feature. This is a specific localization gap that needs attention.