"Lucius" is a bizarre game. It's a third-person point-and-click murder mystery with a B-movie attitude toward the plot. Depending on what you expect from the game, it can either be awesome or a letdown.

Even after completing "Lucius" twice, I am not sure how the game wants to be perceived. It has a serious tone, but the things it delivers are absurd. In one scene, for example, a broken ceiling fan DECAPITATES a man! No, there is no rationalization offered; it just so happened that a regular ceiling fan, hanging and swinging on a wire, was able to cut someone's head clean off. The only thing missing was a cheesy one-liner from Lucius, like: "Be careful with fans—they can make you lose your head!" Instead, the tone was gloomy. Murder scenes are gruesome and grim, as much as their absurdity allows. This mismatch between the tone and what happens on the screen may be confusing, but once accepted, it can become comedic. It then starts to feel as if "Lucius" tells a joke with a straight face. A darkly humorous joke

The gameplay loop is simple: identify a victim, spot an opportunity for an accident or a sneaky murder, find and apply items to initiate it, maybe use superpowers, and enjoy a murder cutscene. Repeat for about 7 hours. Everything is heavily scripted, so there is no room for creativity. Some say it gets boring quickly, but as for me, I've enjoyed the game till the end. Not so much for the gameplay as for the sheer curiosity of how the story will unfold and what wacky ways of murder are there.

Most of the game is spent running around and searching for items in Dante Manor. The manor is spacious and can feel like a labyrinth at first. Although it's easy to get lost, its layout is logical and believable. It takes time to get used to, but that's due to how huge the manor is. Other than that, the manor is detailed and good-looking. I enjoyed walking around and looking at it. At one point, I was able to memorize its layout and navigate with no problems.

The manor is populated by the Wagner family and their servants. The main character is an antichrist, a devil's son, who is tasked with sacrificing the souls of the residents of Dante's Manor. In return, he is promised supernatural powers. And so Lucius, the titular protagonist, sets off on his murderous journey to kill one person a month until there is no one left. Inhabitants, or victims, have flat personalities and linear routines they follow unless it is their turn to be sacrificed. The simplicity of characters is both good and bad. "Good" because there is no sympathy for victims and you can enjoy murdering them without guilt. This point does not become apparent until Lucius decides to kill the old butler, who gives the impression of being the nicest man in the world. Killing him in a horrific freak accident was genuinely heartbreaking. But it's also "bad" for the same reason. The fact of murder has no bearing. Nobody seems to react to what happened to their friends and colleagues. Everyone just carries on normally. Only Lucius' mother and "so-called" father seem to freak out. It would have been so much more impactful to see how the household descends into paranoia, chaos, and despair. It would be cool to see character routines and dialogue change to show mental breakdowns. For example, creating moments where they cry, drown sorrow in booze, or reassure each other that "everything is going to be okay." It would make characters more human. Killing them would be much harder, and the fact that you are doing horrific things would be more apparent. It also would make the ludicrous ways they die so much more comedic. There is a big emotional difference between "an NPC gets killed by a player" and "a God-loving nun gets her head crushed with a piano by a six-year-old antichrist."

Gameplay-wise, "Lucius" is very similar to point-and-click adventure games: find items and apply them in a specific order. The difference is that "Lucius" has a free-roaming third-person perspective. It makes navigation around locations much smoother, but does not exclude pixel hunting. In fact, "Lucius" modifies "pixel hunting" into "prop hunting" due to the game not always being clear which exact object it requires. For example, there is a moment where a character asks for a specific bottle of wine. The character himself sits right next to at least three wine racks. None of the wines from them seem to satisfy him. Every other bottle in the house does not either. The solution is to go to a wine cellar, look at the wine racks’ year numbers, and then prop-hunt the only interactive bottle at the top of a rack. At first it might even be unknown that the mansion has a wine cellar! To deduce that "the bottle of "30's wine" is there would be another leap of thought. To somehow spot the only interactive bottle at the very top of a rack is ludicrous. "Lucius" has many moments where you can get stuck because the game requires a very specific action or item. This can be mitigated to an extent by going around the mansion and collecting everything that you can. Nearly every item is available from the start. It makes it much easier, since you can look into the inventory and see what object could perform the required task instead of running around and guessing. So, run around Dante Mansion and explore! Don’t be creative in a heavily scripted game; find specific items to solve specific actions. Sometimes, to complete murder sequence initiation, Lucius has to use his devilish super-powers, such as telekinesis, mind-control, or a fire ball. If these sound cool, they will not be after "Lucius." The "superpowers," like items, can only be used in specific situations. Pretty much like in a point-and-click adventure game.

Although the past paragraph painted a negative picture of "Lucius’" gameplay, the gameplay itself is not just bad. It shares the flaws of point-and-click adventure games, but it also shares what makes them good. Each murder is a little puzzle. The reward for solving a puzzle is a gruesome freak accident cutscene. If you enjoy point-and-click adventures or are a fan of "Final Destination" movies, you might enjoy Lucius as well.


All in all, it’s okay. "Okay" is the most suitable word to describe my opinion of "Lucius." It's bizarre, but not outstanding. Can be used to kill some time and innocent people. If you expect Hitman-like gameplay or a serious, engaging story, you will be disappointed. If you are open-minded to an odd point-and-click adventure experience, you might enjoy causing mischief in Dante Manor.

"Lucius" is a bizarre game. It's a third-person point-and-click murder mystery with a B-movie attitude toward the plot. Depending on what you expect from the game, it can either be awesome or a letdown. Even after completing "Lucius" twice, I am not sure how the game wants to be perceived. It has a serious tone, but the things it delivers are absurd. In one scene, for example, a broken ceiling fan DECAPITATES a man! No, there is no rationalization offered; it just so happened that a regular ceiling fan, hanging and swinging on a wire, was able to cut someone's head clean off. The only thing missing was a cheesy one-liner from Lucius, like: "Be careful with fans—they can make you lose your head!" Instead, the tone was gloomy. Murder scenes are gruesome and grim, as much as their absurdity allows. This mismatch between the tone and what happens on the screen may be confusing, but once accepted, it can become comedic. It then starts to feel as if "Lucius" tells a joke with a straight face. A darkly humorous joke The gameplay loop is simple: identify a victim, spot an opportunity for an accident or a sneaky murder, find and apply items to initiate it, maybe use superpowers, and enjoy a murder cutscene. Repeat for about 7 hours. Everything is heavily scripted, so there is no room for creativity. Some say it gets boring quickly, but as for me, I've enjoyed the game till the end. Not so much for the gameplay as for the sheer curiosity of how the story will unfold and what wacky ways of murder are there. Most of the game is spent running around and searching for items in Dante Manor. The manor is spacious and can feel like a labyrinth at first. Although it's easy to get lost, its layout is logical and believable. It takes time to get used to, but that's due to how huge the manor is. Other than that, the manor is detailed and good-looking. I enjoyed walking around and looking at it. At one point, I was able to memorize its layout and navigate with no problems. The manor is populated by the Wagner family and their servants. The main character is an antichrist, a devil's son, who is tasked with sacrificing the souls of the residents of Dante's Manor. In return, he is promised supernatural powers. And so Lucius, the titular protagonist, sets off on his murderous journey to kill one person a month until there is no one left. Inhabitants, or victims, have flat personalities and linear routines they follow unless it is their turn to be sacrificed. The simplicity of characters is both good and bad. "Good" because there is no sympathy for victims and you can enjoy murdering them without guilt. This point does not become apparent until Lucius decides to kill the old butler, who gives the impression of being the nicest man in the world. Killing him in a horrific freak accident was genuinely heartbreaking. But it's also "bad" for the same reason. The fact of murder has no bearing. Nobody seems to react to what happened to their friends and colleagues. Everyone just carries on normally. Only Lucius' mother and "so-called" father seem to freak out. It would have been so much more impactful to see how the household descends into paranoia, chaos, and despair. It would be cool to see character routines and dialogue change to show mental breakdowns. For example, creating moments where they cry, drown sorrow in booze, or reassure each other that "everything is going to be okay." It would make characters more human. Killing them would be much harder, and the fact that you are doing horrific things would be more apparent. It also would make the ludicrous ways they die so much more comedic. There is a big emotional difference between "an NPC gets killed by a player" and "a God-loving nun gets her head crushed with a piano by a six-year-old antichrist." Gameplay-wise, "Lucius" is very similar to point-and-click adventure games: find items and apply them in a specific order. The difference is that "Lucius" has a free-roaming third-person perspective. It makes navigation around locations much smoother, but does not exclude pixel hunting. In fact, "Lucius" modifies "pixel hunting" into "prop hunting" due to the game not always being clear which exact object it requires. For example, there is a moment where a character asks for a specific bottle of wine. The character himself sits right next to at least three wine racks. None of the wines from them seem to satisfy him. Every other bottle in the house does not either. The solution is to go to a wine cellar, look at the wine racks’ year numbers, and then prop-hunt the only interactive bottle at the top of a rack. At first it might even be unknown that the mansion has a wine cellar! To deduce that "the bottle of "30's wine" is there would be another leap of thought. To somehow spot the only interactive bottle at the very top of a rack is ludicrous. "Lucius" has many moments where you can get stuck because the game requires a very specific action or item. This can be mitigated to an extent by going around the mansion and collecting everything that you can. Nearly every item is available from the start. It makes it much easier, since you can look into the inventory and see what object could perform the required task instead of running around and guessing. So, run around Dante Mansion and explore! Don’t be creative in a heavily scripted game; find specific items to solve specific actions. Sometimes, to complete murder sequence initiation, Lucius has to use his devilish super-powers, such as telekinesis, mind-control, or a fire ball. If these sound cool, they will not be after "Lucius." The "superpowers," like items, can only be used in specific situations. Pretty much like in a point-and-click adventure game. Although the past paragraph painted a negative picture of "Lucius’" gameplay, the gameplay itself is not just bad. It shares the flaws of point-and-click adventure games, but it also shares what makes them good. Each murder is a little puzzle. The reward for solving a puzzle is a gruesome freak accident cutscene. If you enjoy point-and-click adventures or are a fan of "Final Destination" movies, you might enjoy Lucius as well. All in all, it’s okay. "Okay" is the most suitable word to describe my opinion of "Lucius." It's bizarre, but not outstanding. Can be used to kill some time and innocent people. If you expect Hitman-like gameplay or a serious, engaging story, you will be disappointed. If you are open-minded to an odd point-and-click adventure experience, you might enjoy causing mischief in Dante Manor.