Loco Parentis / 孤女咒怨 Review Summary

Excellent co-op and story with a tense atmosphere, but frequent crashes, poor optimization, and persistent bugs spoil the experience.

Co-op multiplayer praised highly: Players consistently highlight the co-op mode as a major strength, describing it as tense, exciting, and fresh when played with friends or a team. It adds significant value to the overall experience especially in the horror genre.

Engaging and well-thought-out story: The narrative is described as interesting, well-constructed, and surprisingly good, with some noting it is non-trivial for an ordinary apartment setting. A detailed script and solid voice acting enhance the story experience.

Scary atmosphere and sound design: The game's atmosphere is repeatedly praised for being frightening and immersive, often enhanced by excellent sound design that includes whispers, darkness, and position-dependent audio. This creates genuine scares and tension.

Fun and never boring: Players find the game entertaining throughout, with varied mechanics and a balance of horror and fun elements. The game remains engaging even with occasional faults.

Quality visuals and environments: The graphics are praised as excellent for an indie title, with great visual design, detailed environments, and even a creative main menu. The world is immersive with high interactivity.

Frequent crashes and instability: Players report the game is very buggy, frequently crashes shortly after starting, and remains broken even after patches. These issues affect both single-player and the general experience, making the game feel unfinished.

Co-op has many bugs: The second player in co-op experiences numerous bugs like screen issues, inability to walk, walking through walls, falling off the map, black screens, and getting stuck on death screens. Each death can force a restart from the menu, making co-op nearly unplayable.

Poor optimization and FPS: The game is poorly optimized, with horrid performance and frequent frame drops from 60 to 2 FPS at unpredictable times. Some players report the game runs at 20 FPS or less, making it hard to enjoy.

Co-op connectivity issues: Online co-op suffers from connection problems, making it difficult to team up with friends and wasting time trying to connect. Invites are unreliable and the game must be restarted if a partner disconnects.

Story is unclear and weak: The story is considered unclear, mediocre, and weak, with predictable twists that fail to engage players. This contributes to a lower overall impression of the game.

Co-op gameplay is core: Many reviews highlight that the game features cooperative multiplayer, often for two players, and it is a key design element. Some reviewers note that co-op is the primary mode, with one player using the flashlight and the other the gun.

Horror with puzzles: Reviews describe the game as a horror title with puzzle-solving elements, ranging from simple to more intensive puzzles. The puzzles are part of the progression, requiring hints and clues to advance.

Loop-based level design: The game features a loop-based design, with an infinite stairwell or three-floor loop that can feel repetitive. Some reviews mention playing in circles, and the setting is often confined to stairwells and halls.

VR designed but optional: The game is designed for VR, and while it can be played without VR, the controls seem optimized for VR. Some reviewers feel it's better with VR, and one notes it's remapped for non-VR, indicating VR is a core part of the experience.

Doctor chapter distinctive: A specific doctor chapter is frequently mentioned, involving collecting severed limbs and placing them on an altar, and assembling a mannequin. This chapter appears memorable and unique, with some mentioning a surgery knife and throwing items to distract enemies.

Poor optimization causes lag: Multiple clusters report that the game is poorly optimized, leading to lag, frame drops, and stuttering even at low settings or on high-end hardware. This is the most common issue, affecting overall gameplay experience.

Frequent crashes and freezes: Crashes occur frequently, sometimes shortly after starting, after trigger completion, or during normal play, causing the game to become unresponsive or freeze. Some crashes lead to a black screen or require force quitting.

Unstable framerate and jitter: The framerate is inconsistent, with drops as severe as 60 to 2 FPS even in simple scenes, and cursor movement can be jittery even when FPS is high. This affects aiming and overall feel.

Co-op mode has severe lag: In co-op play, the host experiences severe lag, and there are frame drops and black screens on death, which hampers the multiplayer experience significantly.

Black screen issues in gameplay: Players encounter random black screens and black screens on death or in co-op, which can lead to freezes or require restarts. This is a disruptive visual bug that affects visibility.

Co-op recommended for fun: Multiple players find the game more enjoyable and manageable in co-op, especially with friends. They highlight that the game is harder alone and that co-op adds laughs and fun.

Not recommended to buy: Several players strongly advise against purchasing the game, calling it a waste of time and money. They suggest saving money for better alternatives.

Co-op has connectivity issues: Some players advise against co-op due to poorly made multiplayer and connectivity problems. They recommend avoiding co-op mode until the developer fixes these issues.

Highly recommend for co-op horror: Players who enjoy co-op horror games highly recommend this title for its co-op mode. It delivers a unique co-op horror experience that stands out.

Consider sale price: Some players suggest buying the game only on sale or at a low price, as it may not be worth full price. They mention a sale price around 1700 yen as acceptable.

Game completion: 7.0h.

Story completion: 6.0h.

The game offers early fun in co-op but suffers from escalating bugs and optimization problems that make it unplayable later, especially in the 'Medic' chapter.

Friction: bugs; poor optimization; co-op connectivity issues; repetitive level layouts; no autosave; co-op item restrictions.

Cooperative Social Player: Plays exclusively in co-op, tolerates bugs and cheap scares for shared laughter and social bonding; uses flashlight/gun split with a friend. Motivation: To enjoy a unique co-op horror experience with friends, valuing shared moments over technical polish. Stance: sale.

Technical Quality Critic: Attempts co-op but is blocked by crashes, connection issues, and progression bugs; likely plays a variety of games and compares technical quality. Motivation: Expects a polished, functional co-op experience; frustration with major bugs drives negative feedback. Stance: no buy.

Horror Atmosphere Enthusiast: Engages with the story, puzzles, and atmosphere, playing either solo or co-op; tolerates minor bugs for the horror narrative. Motivation: Seeking a linear, atmospheric horror story with engaging puzzles and tense moments. Stance: buy.

Missing language support: The game lacks Spanish and Chinese localization, and English translations are poor. Reviewers specifically ask for Chinese support and better translations.

VR design praised but limiting: Multiple reviewers note that the game is designed for VR and works well on Oculus without lag. However, this VR focus may explain the lack of graphic settings, which causes issues for non-standard monitors.

Short gameplay length: The game is described as short, with playthrough times ranging from 3 to 7 hours depending on the player and mode. This is a common criticism among reviewers.

Atmosphere praised despite graphics: Despite rough graphics and low-quality assets, the atmosphere is well-crafted and reminiscent of horror classics like Silent Hill and Outlast. Some reviewers recommend it for horror fans.

Co-op mode is peer-to-peer: Reviewers report that the co-op mode uses P2P connections, making it difficult to match with random players. The mode is best enjoyed with friends, and it is a core part of the experience.