AKIBA LOST (PC) Review

As narrative adventure titles go, I’ve found a wide variety of ones to enjoy over the years. From the excellent Walking Dead to Supermassive’s output and beyond, there’s far from a short supply to choose from. So when AKIBA LOST arrived in the email folder, I was immediately intrigued. A live action mystery title, the premise is intriguing, and the visual novel-style to the presentation makes things a little different than a full on FMV title such as Wales Interactive’s output. However, be prepared for a ride as this is far longer than we’d usually expect from a title in the genre; for better or worse.

We follow Daiki Shinjo, a game creator who is planning one final title based upon an event called The Akiba Vanishing. 13 years ago, six young girls were randomly abducted and, despite the police’s best efforts, were never found. One of the abductees was Shinjo’s younger sister, and he feels that by making a game about the case, it may invigorate renewed interest and someone may come forward with a clue or hint as to what really happened. He has other reasons for choosing this premise, but those are best discovered by playing. 

He recruits six actors to fill in key roles; Aoi, Shinjo’s younger sister who works in a maid café; Yukimi, a game streamer and artist at Shinjo’s development house Shirosawa Games; Moe, a food critic; Kokone, a local Idol and minor celebrity looking for more fame; Chihiro, a local shrine maiden and game tester; and Wakana, a renowned cosplayer of popular character Magical Schoolgirl Lilica. These were selected to match his game scenario design, and represent the potential abductees in the story.

Each chapter is broken down by day, and also by AM and PM slots. We get to see the perspective of each of the women as they go about their day, occasionally overlapping or directly affecting scenes. For example, Chihiro might be coming home from her shrine maiden job and get into trouble down an alley, but if we play another character they could affect who else is also in that alley at the same time, preventing her from danger. 

It’s simple enough, though a little more in depth than I was expecting. Some scenes are locked off until we find the activation key – highlighted in purple text – in another character’s scene. While we get short full motion video clips at key points, the bulk of the experience in AKIBA LOST is text based, with still photos in the background, occasionally moving motion-comic style. Others lead us to a game over, so we must go back to choose a different path.

Choices pop up every so often, and are key to getting to the end of each woman’s time slot. Some may seem benign, but we know if there’s still more to unlock but the character remains highlighted even after clearing their day. 

Clear all six scenes and we get a rounding off focusing on Shijo himself, which usually brings the bigger revelations. We can view the timeline at any point to see where we are, but can only directly affect the slot we’re in. Shinjo’s scenes are the cut off point for this. 

 As I mentioned, this is a longer game than I was expecting. Each AM or PM can take approximately an hour to clear fully, and with 7 days (plus prologue) you can get an idea for what to expect going in. As it’s predominantly text based too, I have found it best to play in short bursts, clearing one timeslot at a time. If the writing was a bit briefer I may have been able to stick it out for longer, but I get the sense the translation is very literal here. Not in a broken way, but in a very over-explanatory way. What could be said in a sentence stretches over multiple text blocks, and it can drag the experience down in my opinion. 

But the story remains interesting all the same, with twists and turns that kept me guessing. I was keen to see what was next, even if the slower pace had me drifting off at times. The characters all feel unique and have something interesting to offer, the side characters can be great in their own right (Koemanda for the win), and the addition of more investigative elements is a neat touch. 

At points we’re presented with a 360 camera POV of a scene, and can inspect various items, usually to find a hidden clue to move on. Again these can feel a little drawn out at times but they do at least mix things up a bit. And I did get a kick out of the few jumpscares we get in these moments too. 

Personally I’ve been enjoying this most on the ROG XBOX Ally X, as the book-like nature and shorter play sessions fit the handheld perfectly. It’s great to just pick it up and do a few scenes in between other games/events, and it’d make a great travelling companion.

Conclusion

AKIBA LOST is a different take on the visual novel/choose your own adventure game. It mixes real video and photos with mild detective elements, an intriguing story, and a good cast of characters. It can feel a bit dragged out at times, but the story has enough twists and turns to reel us back in with each new day.

This game was tested and reviewed on PC (via Steam). All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by the publisher.