The Lost Child Review for Nintendo Switch

The Lost Child is a first-person role-playing game in which you explore dungeons and solve puzzles with a hint of detective work. Is it recommended that El Shaddai fans play the sequel on Switch? And now, the verdict is in.

Since the Nintendo Switch was released, no new Etrian Odyssey games have been developed. That’s too bad, because the games in that series are among the best dungeon crawlers for Nintendo systems. If you enjoy first-person dungeon crawlers, you’ll need to look elsewhere.

• Developer: Kadokawa Games
• Publisher: NIS America
• Price: $49.99

The Lost Child is passable, despite feeling like a rip-off of Shin Megami Tensei, and Labyrinth of Refrain is a good option. The original game, El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron, came out in 2011, and this one is a spin-off of that. The Lost Child was developed in part by the same team that worked on that other game. Although those who have played El Shaddai will appreciate the references, newcomers to the series won’t miss out on anything.

Concept

The player assumes control of Hayato, a young man who works for a publication devoted to paranormal research by the name of LOST. In this game, the players are tasked with solving the mystery of a series of suicides that have occurred in the Tokyo area. During his research, Hayato encounters a mysterious woman who introduces herself as an angel sent to help him capture ghosts.

A large portion of the game is spent exploring dungeons in Japan’s many alternate dimensions. Besides Hayato and Lua, the player can also recruit astrals—angels and demons—to join the fight. The maximum number of astrals in a party is three, with a reserve of six for switching purposes.

The astrals in The Lost Child are classified by type and strength, much like the demons in Shin Megami Tensei. Depending on their nature, Astrals can be either good or evil. For instance, water astrals have a great advantage over fire astrals. By using the ability “Astral Burst,” which combines the attacks of all equipped astrals, one can capture astrals.

Gameplay

Astrals gain more power with each level. You can earn good, dual, or evil karma from battle and use it to level up spirits. A specific flavour of good karma is more appealing to each astral variety. You can store up and draw upon your accumulated karma whenever you like.

These astrals gain combat experience and new abilities over time, so they should be rotated frequently. If an Astral is willing to engage in combat, they can learn almost any skill. Turn-based combat is used, which is fairly standard for games of this type. If you’re just looking to take a stroll through a dungeon, you can activate the automated combat mode.

Graphics & Audio

When it comes to the visual presentation, The Lost Child is par for the course for a JRPG. There are many traps and secret doors to discover, making dungeon exploration feel like something out of Etrian Odyssey. The actual dungeons are substantial, if unremarkable. While the game’s sprites are all still images, the voice acting is generally quite good.

Switch Issues – The Lost Child Review for Switch

I was playing and noticed that the text size was a bit small when using the handheld mode. The Switch and Switch OLED versions are compatible, but players using a Switch Lite may find the screen size too restrictive. There were no alarming bugs or crashes during my use, so the performance seems fine. Transfer times were very fast between zones.

Conclusion

For those who enjoy first-person dungeon crawlers, The Lost Child is an enjoyable distraction. It’s a serviceable RPG; the story isn’t great, and games like Shin Megami Tensei have more interesting combat, but it gets the job done. It has a suggested retail price of $50 but is frequently on sale for much less.