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Lost in Play 2022
Point-and-click adventure game
Lost in Play is a 2022 point-and-click adventure game that was developed by Happy Juice Games and published by Joystick Ventures. The experience uses cartoon-style visuals and gameplay to tell its story, without relying on clear dialogue or narration. Players control two children, Gal and Toto, as they explore their home and an imaginative version of their neighborhood through a series of loosely connected scenes. Puzzles and minigames are solved using clues and items collected throughout the game.
Development of Lost in Play began with Happy Juice Games as its first project, taking over three and a half years to complete. The majority of work was done by co-founders Yuval Markovich, Oren Rubin, and Alon Simon. The team aimed to represent the power of children’s imagination, emphasizing art and animation while keeping the game approachable for young players and those new to adventure games. To reflect this, they intentionally avoided a traditional narrative structure, giving it an authentic feel of a game created by kids. After several years of development, Happy Juice Games partnered with newly established publisher Joystick Ventures, who helped fund the expansion of the studio to finish the project.
The game launched on macOS, Nintendo Switch, and Windows in August 2022, followed by releases on Android and iOS in July 2023. It later appeared on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in August 2024. Reviews from critics were generally favorable, praising its visual style and inventive design, although opinions varied regarding gameplay length and challenge level. The title received nominations at the 38th Golden Joystick Awards and the 26th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards. It also won the Developer Choice Award at the 2022 IndieCade Awards. Additionally, Apple recognized it as the Best iPad Game of 2023 and awarded it an Apple Design Award for Innovation in 2024.
Crew
- Designer
- Yuval Markovich, Oren Rubin, Alon Simon
- Music
- Alon Kaplan, Naor Hazan
Details
- Developer
- Happy Juice Games
- Publisher
- Joystick Ventures, Snapbreak Games (Android, iOS)
- Platforms
- macOS, Nintendo Switch, Windows, Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
- Modes
- Single-player
