Lost Dimension Review Summary

Engaging premise, solid turn-based tactical combat, a randomized traitor for replayability, an interesting skill tree, and good music are undermined by a story that lacks depth and interest.

Interesting story and premise: The story and premise are considered interesting, with twists and turns that keep players engaged.

Solid turn-based tactical combat: The turn-based combat system is intricate and satisfying, requiring careful planning and offering fluid tactical gameplay.

Randomized traitor mechanic adds replayability: The randomized traitor system makes each playthrough different, forcing players to learn all characters and encouraging multiple playthroughs.

Enjoyable skill tree system: Players find the skill tree system enjoyable and deep, with unique trees per character that encourage different playstyles.

Overall fun and enjoyable game: Players find the game very fun and enjoyable, with addictive gameplay and satisfying mechanics.

Story lacks depth and interest: The narrative is widely described as basic, bland, and predictable, with weak storytelling and poor explanation during the first playthrough.

Underdeveloped characters disappoint players: Players consistently feel characters are underdeveloped and one-dimensional, lacking the depth and personality they expected.

Game feels unfinished and unpolished: Several players describe the game as severely undercooked or half-baked, lacking polish in enemy and weapon design.

Crashes disrupt progress: Players report crashes after completing missions, forcing chapter restarts, and general instability.

Repetitive enemy designs: Enemy designs are repetitive and lack variety, making battles feel samey halfway through.

Randomized traitor each playthrough: Traitors are randomly determined in each playthrough, adding replayability. The first traitor is fixed on the first playthrough, but subsequent runs randomize suspects and traitors.

Turn-based tactical JRPG: The game is a tactical turn-based JRPG with an intricate combat system. Combat includes movement and positioning on a grid or field.

Skill trees per character: Each character has three big skill trees or categories to specialize in. Unique abilities like pyromancy or telekinesis are unlocked through these trees.

Valkyria Chronicles-like combat: The battle system is similar to Valkyria Chronicles, featuring turn-based tactics with free movement within range.

Visual novel style dialogue: The game features visual novel style dialogue scenes and detective elements. Dialogue occurs in a hub between missions.

Poor performance and low FPS: Players experience rampant framerate issues, stuttering, freezes, and sub-20 FPS during battles and movement, even on high-end hardware. Performance is inconsistent across systems.

Models fail to load: Multiple reports describe character and 3D models being invisible or refusing to load, making combat and gameplay unplayable. This is a severe rendering bug.

Frequent general crashes: The game crashes often on PC, with some errors and instant crashes on startup. Stability is a widespread concern.

Steam Deck compatibility problems: The game does not run properly on Steam Deck, often requiring tweaking or failing to launch. Some users report black screens or complete incompatibility.

Crashes on mission completion: Players report the game crashing consistently after completing missions, including black screens. This affects progress and is a major stability issue.

General positive recommendation: Many reviewers give a straightforward recommendation, often citing enjoyment and replayability.

Buy only on sale: Many reviewers recommend waiting for a discount, stating the game is not worth full price but good value at sale prices.

Recommended for tactical RPG fans: Fans of turn-based tactics and SRPGs, especially those with positioning and manual control, will enjoy the game.

For diehard JRPG fans: The game is primarily recommended to hardcore JRPG enthusiasts, with other players finding it less appealing.

Technical issues make game unplayable: Multiple reviews cite bugs such as invisible models and poor performance, leading to refunds.

Community fair range: $5.00 - $10.00.

Game completion: 20.0h.

The tactical combat and progression loop are repeatedly described as fun and addictive, making the core appeal immediate for many players. The main friction is a confusing tutorial, a money/EXP grind wall, and mixed reports that the combat can feel boring or repetitive.

Friction: Confusing, under-explained tutorial; Money and EXP wall forcing mission grinding; Repetitive vision mode; Repetitive dialogue and uneven pacing; Dull, low-budget visuals; Repetitive tactical battles in longer sessions.

Unlock drivers: Traitor decisions and branching narrative consequences counterbalance repetition by maintaining tension.

Tactical SRPG Tactician: Manually controls party members, studies positioning, and evaluates systems against other SRPGs. Motivation: Tactical positioning and turn-based combat. Stance: buy.

Social Deduction Story Seeker: Reads dialogue for suspicion cues, deduces suspects, and seeks single-player social deduction. Motivation: Uncovering the random traitor through social deduction and visual novel storytelling. Stance: buy.

Replay-Driven Achievement Perfectionist: Replays the campaign, restarts saves, and follows guides to reach achievements and true endings. Motivation: Completing achievements and seeing the true ending across multiple runs. Stance: buy.

Steam Deck: Steam Deck feedback is dominated by Proton/Linux compatibility problems. One user reports the game runs only after manual tweaking and community guidance, but others report it does not play correctly or goes black after the menu. The presence of hard launch blockers places the experience in the broken range despite some possibility of workarounds.

Linux and Proton: Linux and Steam Deck feedback is mixed but clearly rough. One user warns that the game's video format makes it unable to run under Proton on Linux, and multiple Steam Deck users report launch failures, black screens after the menu with Proton 9-15, or inability to play correctly. One reviewer says the game runs on Steam Deck only after community-linked tweaking, which shows some users can reach gameplay but only with workarounds. Overall, the game is not reliable out of the box on Linux/Proton and requires significant compatibility effort.

Comparisons to Danganronpa and Valkyria Chronicles: Reviewers frequently compare the game to Danganronpa for its traitor and death game mechanics, and to Valkyria Chronicles for its strategy combat. Other comparisons include Persona, XCOM, and Among Us.

Port of PS3 and Vita game: The PC version is a port of the original PS3 and PS Vita release, with the original versions delisted. The PC port offers visual improvements like 1080p and 60fps.

DLC adds missions and costumes: DLC includes additional mission packs, costumes, and items that can aid grinding and provide extra lore. However, some consider the base game complete without DLC.

True ending requires two playthroughs: The game mandates a second playthrough, often using New Game Plus, to achieve the true ending. Subsequent runs are shorter due to carried-over levels and are supported for multiple playthroughs and achievement hunting.

English dub only, no Japanese audio: The Western release lacks Japanese voice acting due to licensing issues, though fan-made undubs exist for other platforms. A Steam guide allows installing a Japanese voice pack on PC.