Lost in Vivo Demo

Claustrophobia is a pretty serious condition that affects plenty of people around the world, and even though it doesn’t really present any physical symptoms, the anxiety it causes can be quite damaging and stressful. Thus, people who suffer from all sorts of phobias prefer to avoid their fears for their entire lives, even though facing them would have a better overall effect.

Lost in Vivo is a first-person horror game in which your goal is to explore a sewer system in order to find your service dog. The whole goal is to face your anxiety and continue to move forward in spite of your fear. Naturally, the main character suffers from claustrophobia, which makes the whole thing a lot more scary and exciting at the same time, depending on your own views on darkness and tight spaces.

The sewers can be pretty disorienting most of the time, which is why you must pay close attention to where you are going to avoid going in circles or getting lost. Granted, there are not that many rooms or corridors, but it’s frustrating to forget where you have already been and have to go back multiple times. The environment changes every now and again as well, so it’s not as repetitive as you might imagine.

Every now and again things start to get serious, and that is when your character feels like he cannot breathe, or that he is being followed. It all depends on how you choose to interpret it, because it can all be part of the phobia and the brain’s ability to make up things. However, that doesn’t make the atmosphere any less pressing and creepy most of the time.

This is also thanks to the great level design, at least when it comes to how it transmits the idea of tight space and darkness. The actual graphics are not very impressive, unfortunately, but this can be fixed by the time the full game is released. The sound effects make up for the lack of detailed visuals, especially if you have a pair of headphones handy for the occasion.

Even if Lost in Vivo appears to be quite basic at first glance, the experience promises quite a few unnerving moments, especially if you also suffer from claustrophobia or anxiety. However, the game needs your support if you want to see it released much quicker, and you can help by backing the Kickstarter project.