Lost Dimension: A Precognitive Whodunit.
Ben Franchi ’18 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer
In the not too distant future, a madman by the name of “The End” kills off a quarter of the world’s population. In order to combat this maniac, the world governments send a team of psychics, codenamed “SEALED”, to enter The End’s strange tower and shut him down for good.
However, all is not well within SEALED. Traitors loom within your ranks, threatening to sabotage your mission. As the mind reading Sho, it’s up to you to climb the tower and stop The End whilst making sure that the right SEALED members face justice, because if they don’t, you’re gonna have a bad time come the final boss.
Lost Dimension for the PS Vita plays similarly to Valkyria Chronicles. Players fight with a six-man squad in a strategic turn-based shooter. Different SEALED members play the parts of different RPG classes. You have your pyrokinetic, your medic, your tank; all the classic members you’d expect from a traditional RPG. You also have some unique characters, such as Agito, a teleporter who can make the battlefield his playground, or Zenji, an angry youth who can match his stats to someone near him. However, you only get one of each, and that’s where the draw of Lost Dimension really comes in.
Eleven characters, ten potential backstabbers, and only you can weed out the guilty. With each new floor of the tower you access, a traitor will arise in your group. By completing battles, you can peruse snippets of thoughts from those you fight alongside, allowing you to narrow down who might be a villain through repeated battles and process of elimination. If you are dead certain on who the traitor might be, you can delve into their mind and see whether or not they aim to stab you in the back. Could it be the scared young telekinetic? The hot-blooded telemetric American? Or the withdrawn levitating assassin? It’s up to you to find out, and take them out accordingly. Once they’re dead, they’re gone for good, and you better choose correctly, because if you play your cards wrong, that’s an innocent party member on the chopping block; and a traitor still hanging out in your midst. Each play through randomizes which party members are traitors, so no two players can help each other out in discovering who is playing Judas.
Lost Dimension came out under the radar, but after a few playthroughs, it stands as a diamond in a sea of handheld coal. Unique characters, a riveting traitor system, and challenging, strategic gameplay make this a game to hold on to for the coming winter apocalypse. It’s a game of Clue that constantly reshuffles the guilty party, and one that will remain a solid staple of the Vita should you dare to take on The End.