Lotus Lantern: Rescue Mother [Review]
Unstable Games’ roguelite, published by 663 Games, is a fun way to tide yourself over until Hades II launches.
Lotus Lantern: Rescue Mother. Credit: Unstable Games / 663 Games.
Based on Chinese folklore, Lost Lantern: Rescue Mother is a Hades clone that hews close to its inspiration. From the isometric perspective to the combat to the systems, this is Hades through and through. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, however the game’s balance gives it a bit less staying power.
Goddess Sanshengmu gave birth to half-mortal Chenxiang and was punished for it, imprisoned under Mount Hua by her brother, Erlang Shen. Chenxiang, now a teenager and student of Monkey King and Great Sage Equal to Heaven Sun Wukong, has vowed to save his mother and sets off to defeat his uncle and rescue her. Other immortals offer him help as he battles his way to Mount Hua, and with each defeat he is reincarnated by the titular Lotus Lantern.
Lotus Lantern: Rescue Mother. Credit: Unstable Games / 663 Games.
This story should sound familiar—Hades protagonist Zagreus was also on a journey to find his mother—but this isn’t where the similarities stop. Lost Lantern’s gameplay systems are nearly identical to Hades. Chenxiang can choose from a series of unique unlockable weapons, each with its own special ability (here a technique). On his journey, he finds artifacts that are spells, of which you can equip four. Spells can be triggered when you’ve filled up enough of your energy gauge. A nice touch is that you can individually upgrade spells with relics, gems that add various stat boosts or attack perks, which then will unlock more powerful versions of the spells that consume more energy. You can also collect godly favors that grant you various elemental bonuses to combat. One of these boons is granted after you clear each room of a level, and like in Hades, you are then given an option to choose what kind of reward you’ll seek next.
Lotus Lantern: Rescue Mother. Credit: Unstable Games / 663 Games.
Despite the similar gameplay and structure, Lotus Lantern’s weapons, here called sects, did feel unique. For example, one is a set of orbs that revolve around Chenxiang; another is a set of clones that follow him around and repeat his actions. Each weapon favors a different playstyle and it was fun to learn each one. Likewise, creating synergistic combos using the elemental powers and stat boosts is very rewarding and made me feel powerful. The only issue is that some of these will make you too powerful too early. After a little bit of practice I was able to breeze through my first playthrough, totally ruining all the bosses and defeating Erlang Shen. Hades makes you work a little bit harder for it.
Lotus Lantern: Rescue Mother. Credit: Unstable Games / 663 Games.
Lotus Lantern is nice visually. Characters and enemies are 3D with subtle outlines, designed in a non-exaggerated but color cartoon style. The environments have broad fields of color and shadows with a more cel-shaded look. It all has the feel of an animated film. Unfortunately, the game’s UI is a mess. Likely because the developers didn’t account for localization, text names and descriptions frequently overlap in the game’s various menus. It detracts from the rest of the game’s clean visual style. I can also tell that the dialogue is much better than what the imperfect translations let on.
While it won’t offer as much playtime as Hades, Lotus Lantern is still very fun and will entertain you if you’re looking to scratch that itch. Imitation is the highest form of flattery and Lotus Lantern does a good job of it without quite reaching the same heights.
Lotus Lantern: Rescue Mother is available now on Steam for PC.
Overall Score: 7/10
Played on: Steam Deck
