Image via Game Source Entertainment
Lost in Fantaland is a roguelike strategy game and deckbuilder that just made the leap to the Switch and, while it does feel like there’s potential, it also feels a bit like it isn’t 100% ready yet. The general mechanics seem sound! However the localization is unfortunately awkward, to the point it’s distracting or some cards you collect might be a little unclear as to what they do. As a result, it might feel a little clunky and in need of a few patches.
Lost in Fantaland is an isekai story. In each run, your avatar is transported into Fantaland to act as its hero. Your goal is to go through various challenges leading up to bosses, surviving long enough to beat the Big Bad. Once that’s done, the idea is you go through it again as someone else. Or, if you go through a run with the same job again, you can see a different outcome.
The story in Lost in Fantaland is barely there. This normally wouldn’t seem like a dealbreaker! The strategic roguelike Into the Breach isn’t terribly story-heavy, yet remains compelling. However some of the elements here are a bit egregious. For example, the description on the eShop mentions “choose one of six unique characters.” Except there aren’t. What you do have are three character roles, which are Mage, Trickster, and Warrior. These are broken down into six total specializations spread across them. So the Warrior has the most, with the options being Berserker, Brave, and Starshield Knight. Once you get into the game, you’ll read lines like “This looks like… a live stage in the wild,” “why am I standing on a sweeping robot,” and “sometimes we just get too excited to plan the route.”
When the localization gets in the way of gameplay and understanding what we can do, it’s not great! For example, you can choose a difficulty option that limits how far you can progress through the story. But instead of noting Soul Orbs determine character development, it refers to them as “the currency of growth.” While that’s obvious, cards with descriptions that read awkwardly can lead to bad choices. Charge Defense’s says, “Gain 8 Armor. When playing, if the number of playing cards reaches 3, gain 1 AP next turn.” Root Strike saying “Consume all MOVP and every MOVP consumed deals 4 damage” is a handy attack card, but if it comes up early you might not know that applies to movement. The space limitations mean that one like Throwing Knife isn’t as clear as it could be, since it only mentions “Deal 8 damage to the target up to 3 grids away in a direction” and doesn’t specify which directions are possible. The developer does seem aware of the situation, though a post on the Steam forum for it also admitted that AI translations were used in part initally.
It’s a shame, as the foundation in Lost in Fantaland isn’t bad. Each turn, you can move a limited number of spaces and have a set amount of AP you can spend on card actions. As the “hero” of Fantaland, you also have some mild precognitive abilities that allow you to determine if an enemy will attack or defend. The set roles determine your approach to fighting, with Mage of course being ranged and Warrior roles offering a melee, tank-type approach. Winning nets you more cards, and things like Artifacts and Items can influence your actions and survivability. Chapters involve selecting nodes on paths to proceed. Failure means a run is done. Standard roguelike, deckbuilder stuff.
Lost in Fantaland seems like its gameplay is rooted in fairly sound concepts, but it really needs a new localization or a fluent editor to go back through it. At best, it reads awkwardly and isn’t interesting. At worst, it might cause someone to not realize a card could be beneficial at first glance or until a player actually uses it. Perhaps in a few patches it could be worth revisiting.
Lost in Fantaland is available on the Switch, PS5, and PC.