Who knew delivering mail could be this relaxing

It’s not easy being a mail carrier. You have to get up early in the morning, stand outside in the cold, and run around all day. What’s worse, you have to wear a weird uniform. But, the good news is you get a break after delivering all those letters. You can do some simple tasks around your home, like cook dinner or clean your house. And, the most relaxing part of your day is probably when you get to sit down at your home and read a book, listen to a podcast, or check email.

Over the years, the USPS has established itself as the go-to place for mailing important documents to people across the country. However, many people take their mail delivery for granted, and don’t realize how much time and effort is required behind the scenes to make it happen.

The days of uniformed postmen are long gone, replaced by uniformed couriers, uniformed mailwomen, uniformed mailmen, uniformed mailwomen, uniformed couriers, uniformed postmen, uniformed postwomen, uniformed postmen, uniformed postmen, uniformed postwomen, uniformed postwomen, uniformed postmen? uniforms? uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniformed uniform

Robby is obsessed with video games. When he isn’t playing them, he is either talking about them on social media or persuading others to take up a controller. He’s on the internet so often that he could almost… Continue reading

Delivering mail in a peaceful lakeside village is a pleasant experience.
One package at a time, you get to know the locals.
It’s a lovely game with excellent narrative and voice acting.

Lake is a game about unwinding. About stepping away from the hectic pace of city life, from computers and phones, and reconnecting with your social self.

It’s September 1986, and Meredith, a programmer who has relocated to the big city to work on cutting-edge software (at least for 1986), is asked by her father to fill in for him while he is on vacation for two weeks. In the lakeside US hamlet of Providence Oaks, he’s the local postman, and you’ll be delivering mail in his place.

Life is Strangely Ordinary

Error 403: Mail is not permitted.

Lake is a story-driven game that allows you to relax and enjoy yourself. Each day, you are given a list of goods and letters to deliver, and you must drive about town dropping them off. It’s just a regular situation that mimics daily life, with no mystical or supernatural aspects, and that’s OK every now and again.

Other than the choice you’ll have to make after two weeks: to remain or go back into the fray, there’s no major core plotline to follow or huge narrative objective to strive for. You speak with individuals when they answer the door and reconnect with old acquaintances in the town where you grew up to help you develop an opinion on that decision.

Kay, your childhood best friend and someone who has lived the polar opposite life to you: she remained in your community, had children, and works at the local diner, while you moved to the big city to create a career for yourself.

Make sure everyone gets a copy of the handbook!

Talking to the locals will help you find yourself in certain ways, and it seems that you will have enough freedom to make your own decisions. I’m a people pleaser by nature, so anytime someone asked for my aid, I was happy to oblige.

During my two weeks in Providence Oaks, I assisted a cat lady’s feline friend recover from an overabundance of cupcakes, enabled a young mechanic to see a horror movie at my home since her parents wouldn’t let her, and worked to halt deforestation and apartment construction.

We’re going to have a great time together.

There’s no need to worry about missing out.

When I play a game, I want to get the most out of it by seeing all there is to see. I’ll go out of my way to make sure I don’t miss anything, and I won’t need a second playing to reach a section of the narrative where several routes diverged.

There are branching options in the discussion and even certain selections that may lead to romance whenever you speak to someone in Lake, but I never felt like I was losing access to other sections of the game.

If you just deliver all of your parcels and mail every day, you’ll be sure to get all of the game’s essential interactions, which is not to be overlooked in terms of how it relaxes the mind and reduces FOMO-related tension.

A lovely and peaceful experience

(This sequence of pictures makes it seem as though I stole her cat, but I promise you that I did not)

Lake is, first and foremost, a peaceful game. It allowed me to take my foot off the gas pedal of daily life for a few moments and enjoy the basic, real relationships with the locals.

The graphics, which are bright and colorful with playful shadows and a peaceful overall atmosphere, assist to bring this experience home. Even if you’re technically still working in the game, it’s like taking some time off.

The game’s somewhat cartoony aesthetic suits it well, and when it zooms in on people during talks, you can see that a lot of effort put into the lip-syncing, which complemented the narrative flawlessly.

A film with a lot of fish in it.

The voice acting of the majority of the characters is likewise excellent. Except for the above-mentioned cat-lady, I never had the impression that anybody was trying too hard to create a stereotyped character, and they all seemed genuine, including their motives and drives.

What is the gameplay like?

You’ll spend the most of the game traveling about in the Goose, your faithful postal truck, delivering mail to locations marked on your map, apart from the narrative options. You may glance at the minimap in the corner of your screen or open a larger version that shows you all the places you need to go that day.

Small note: I found it odd that the game utilized RB to access the map, which is normally done with Select/Menu.

The Goose is a mythical creature. It makes a honking noise. Now I understand!

I was skeptical of the game’s voice line at the beginning about not requiring the map soon enough since I’m famously terrible at orientation, but when the second week began, I already knew the streets by memory.

It’s a very large region, but the lack of roadways makes it simple to traverse. Driving is a pleasurable experience, with a world that seems alive thanks to other vehicles, pedestrians, and even animals.

There is a fast-travel system in place and also an auto-pilot, but you’d be doing yourself a disservice by relying on those too much. Though auto-pilot is useful if you want to send a quick tweet – EDITOR’S NOTE: Don’t text & drive kids!

This is the map. Without it, I’d be lost.

A few of small problems

So far, I’ve mainly been singing Lake’s praises, but there were a few rough edges in the Xbox Series X version I played, but let me preface this by stating that the most of them will be addressed on day one or shortly afterwards.

When I was fast-traveling from one place to another, I experienced some vehicles that appeared to hover above the road, images that wouldn’t show up, and the loading screen freezing on me. (See, I warned you about using quick travel.) KARMA!)

The elderly fisherman even transformed into a much smaller replica of himself at one point. But none of them were game-changing, and the final one was just funny.

All of the problems I discovered have been reported to the developer, and they should be addressed shortly.

a little fisherman

What could’ve been more perfect?

Although playing the game, I did have some observations. For example, while I was pleased with the lip-syncing, I felt the characters’ facial expressions lacked feeling. Even though the voice performers do an excellent job, joy, sorrow, and rage did not transfer properly visually.

Keep in mind that this is a tiny indie company, and what they’ve already accomplished is very remarkable.

The second issue is Meredith’s walking pace; she’s a sluggish walker, and although there is a “run” option, it’s more like a slightly quicker trot. However, in a game about slowing down and soaking in the scenery, I can overlook this.

Finally, the camera seemed shaky at times. For example, if you were going down a staircase, it would show you the rear of the steps.

All of these flaws are minor annoyances in an otherwise fantastic game.

Em, get out of the way! You’re obstructing the flow of traffic!

Achievements

Lake only contains hidden accomplishments, and the most of them are difficult to overlook if you complete all of your parcel deliveries on a daily basis. There are a few contextual ones you can earn, such as locating a man with a metal detector, climbing the watchtower, or visiting the white church on a hill, but they’re easy to miss and you’re unlikely to require a second go.

Near the conclusion of the game, you’ll have to make one last decision, which will result in one of three possible accomplishments, so make a save file on the last playable day for efficiency’s sake.

For completists: On my first playing, it took me around 6-7 hours to complete the game.

Conclusions on Lake

Pros The visual design is really beautiful and relaxing. A stress-free experience that allows you to relax and unwind. Cons have a lot of interesting individuals to connect with. At the time of writing, there were a few small glitches. It wasn’t particularly replayable.

4 out of 5 stars

Lake is a unique game in that it encourages you to slow down and take in the scenery. Despite the fact that there is nothing supernatural about it, chatting to the locals had a wonderful soothing effect on me, and I was honestly disappointed when the credits rolled. Take a trip to the lake if you need a break from your busy daily routine.

Lake has real human connections, a cheerful visual art style that is like a balm for the spirit, and a story-telling style that is free of tension. After you’ve finished playing it, you’ll undoubtedly feel more calm.

Lake is now available for $19.99 on PC and Xbox 360, with additional platform versions on the way.

Disclaimer: This game was tested on the Xbox Series X. The developer supplied a review copy.

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When you think of mail carriers, it is typically not a desirable job. Who wants to spend all day on their feet, on hard concrete, making their way through oncoming traffic? But for one San Francisco-area postal worker, the job is more than just a job.. Read more about lake game switch release date and let us know what you think.