Lily is a stealth-action game where you play a father guiding his daughter through a torn city as you attempt to avoid mysterious and sinister invaders. The game tasks you with ducking behind cover and avoiding guards hungry for your blood as you trek your way to safety. The story comes through mostly text, a few voiced-over lines, and charming drawings. These pieces appear in Lily’s journal and apply context for some of the less blatant story elements. This was a really clever way to provide the story and still keep subtlety.
The characters and environments in Lily were all beautifully made, and the animations are consistent. From within the very first few moments, an emotional bond is made with Lily, and you feel obligated to protect her. The enemies pose an immediate and imposing threat whenever they appear. I was never caught by a guard, but I feared what they might do to me if I had. One of the greatest parts of Lily came from the game’s sound design. The ambient cues and mellow soundtrack really brings you into the world. The heavy slam of the guards’ boots as they searched for you and Lily capitalized the amazing time spent journeying through Lily.
There are a few moments that broke the immersion in Lily, but they weren’t breaking and detrimental enough to sully the experience. The emotion and immersion that guided me through the short hour-long experience was well worth the downfalls of the game. It would really be a shame if this experience was not given a fair try.
Download the student game here.
Played it? We’d love to know what you thought about it.
Here’s a nice let’s play of Lily by KillinPixels
This article is written by @ButNotThatGuy
