A great game that will satisfy every true adventurer but may be problematic for casual players.
1. Plot
Based upon a story by M. R. James "A warning to the curious" and celtic myths The Lost Crown follows Nigel Danvers an employee of a mysterious corporation called Hadden. The young man steals some top-secret documents and is being followed. He escapes to a seaside town of Saxton, on England's east coast. He finds out soon that the place he found himself in is being haunted by the echo of long forgotten past events. Fascinated by local legends Nigel starts a search for the last Anglo-Saxon crown hidden somewhere in the landscape. The Hadden Corp. finds Nigels hideout. Instead of punishing the frivolous worker his superiors order him to investigate and report every paranormal activity he encounters. On his treasure/ghost hunt Danvers meets a few interesting characters and is the witness of some disturbing events which even include a murder. He also uncovers some local secrets and learns stories about the past residents of Saxton.
the story is not trivial and can really suck you in, it gets a 10
2. Gameplay
The Lost Crown is an 2.5D* TPP adventure with a point-and-click interface. The gameplay is based on the interaction with NPCs and puzzle solving. The conversations can be problematic as there is no "skip" option and once Nigel starts to talk to someone you must hear everything what the characters have to say even if you have already spoken to them. The puzzles come at different art and difficulty. Some of them are story-based and force the player to run over again gathered information and clues. The player might also come across riddles that require the use of special gadgets or objects that can be collected and carried in Nigels inventionary. Most of the puzzles are no challenge for advanced players but people who are not into adventure games can get easily lost. I myself had sometimes to take a look into a solution to be able to continue. I think that a little "hint system" would help or the ability to choose a difficulty level at the beginning of the game. Very frustrating is also the movement of our protagonist – Nigel walks around just too slow.
the gameplay could use some improvement but it can still be satisfying though, it gets a 7
3. Graphics
TLC runs on Wintermute Engine which is dedicated for the development of point-and-click games. *The characters in The Lost Crown are 3D but all the backgrounds are in 2D. The entire game is in black and white but in fact there appear sometimes single colored objects. Most of the backgrounds are just pre-rendered pictures but some of them (especially the out-door environments) are based on real but heavily worked over photographs. You can't expect to experience any modern effects like HDR in this game but the special effects that e.g. follow the paranormal activities are rather convincing. I wrote "rather" because some ghostly appearance come at jump-scenes which seemed a bit cheap to me.
the graphics are not flawless but they perfectly fit the mood of the story, they get an 8
4. Sound
Most people that played TLC state that the voice acting is really bad. I think that most of the actors did a good job. Though there were times when the speeches felt incredibly emotionless. I guess you can like it or hate it. The music in this game was nothing extraordinary for me, just decent ambience. At times I just didn't noticed it but there were moments where the music added much to the mood and tension. When it comes to environmental sounds they are also nothing remarkable maybe except for the famous "cling" sound that follows a discovery/clue/solution of a puzzle.
the sound is rather nothing special but it fulfills its role, it gets a 7
5. Atmosphere and scare factor
The atmosphere is in my opinion (beside the story) the strongest point of the game. The black and white aesthetics and the overall look of Saxton and its surroundings give you a feeling of melancholy and mystery. The locations visited by Nigel are differentiated (caves, shores, forests, the town etc.) and are widely spread. That makes the world of TLC feel really big. When it comes to the creepiness you won't be scared to death all the time but the game offers loads of tension in the "night levels" when Nigel goes ghost-hunting. There were moments that made me almost jump of my seat. JustAdventure.com have put TLC onto the 1 place of the top10 most scary adventure games and not unduly. The player can't feel safe in this game as ghostly appearance and other disturbing events can come totally unexpected. Even when Nigel is sleeping calmly in his cottage (those who played the game surely know what I mean).
as I wrote above the atmosphere is absolutely perfect it truly deserves a 10
I had overall a good time with The Lost Crown although some puzzles proved to be almost too difficult for me and the pace was a bit too slow. I think that if you are a patient player and value atmosphere more than action give it a try. There is a high probability that you'll be satisfied with TLC.
Casuals beware.