Hell Hath No Fury…
HIGH Giving into Lora’s darker impulses.
LOW Technical issues prevented me from seeing one of the endings.
WTF Did she just bite off what I think she bit off?
Loretta Lou Harris (Lora, to her friends) is not doing well. Trapped in a loveless, adulterous
marriage in rural America during the late 1940’s, our titular protagonist (or is it antagonist?) sees
only one path to freedom — the murder of her husband. But don’t worry, this is just the setup.
In Loretta, player choice, for better or worse, is what molds the proceedings.
Across my three playthroughs, I found an uncommonly flexible narrative with subtle points of
articulation, each feeling genuinely different depending on the choices I made. However, this
same mutability proves to be more of a burden than Loretta can comfortably shoulder, as radical
tonal shifts and inconsistencies left me wondering exactly what I was meant to take away from Lora’s descent into madness.
Loosely structured as a point-and-click adventure with visual novel elements, storytelling is
clearly the developer’s priority in Loretta. As I explored the two-dimensional, pixelated
environments, molding my bespoke tale through environmental interaction and dialogue choices,
I was struck by how significantly the story and characterization of Lora changed across my
playthroughs.
Does she kill that nosy P.I., or does she play it cool? What about the stepdaughter that keeps
asking about her missing daddy? More importantly, does Lora relish the opportunity to
satiate her bloodlust by covering her tracks, or is she racked with guilt, unable to live with
herself as her body count rises? Questions like these make up the backbone of Loretta, and their
answers build a unique path for Lora through each playthrough.
These points of divergence are also surprisingly understated — I could never quite tell if a certain
decision led to a given outcome, or if it was the cumulation of multiple events that created a new
path. Contributing to this, there is an emphasis not only on choosing what actions Lora takes,
but also on how she feels about those actions.
For instance, my first playthrough (as a remorseful Lora) led to a satisfying conclusion — however, after exploring other options, I realized my ending was premature and that I had missed nearly half of the story due to my choices. On a subsequent playthrough, I made many of the same decisions, but one small tweak changed Lora’s outlook on her actions, resulting in a totally different outcome. The complexity of these choices helps to create the illusion of a living narrative and an atmosphere of possibility, where there are no binary choices and slight adjustments can have significant consequences.
Unfortunately, this emphasis on flexibility cuts both ways. There were multiple instances where conversations between characters simply didn’t make sense — they would reference events that hadn’t occurred, mention people they hadn’t met, or react in a way that didn’t make contextual sense. Perhaps these discrepancies could be attributed to Lora being an unreliable narrator (a fact established early on), but more often, they felt like scripting oversights within Loretta’s complex web of possibilities.
Furthermore, some of the dialogue comes across as clunky, with southern accents that felt performative rather than authentic, and some use of profanity that seemed forced. With storytelling being the primary focus of Loretta, any moments of inconsistency stand out. Wwhile these didn’t ruin the experience, they did seem awkward and distracting.
As an extension of these issues, major tonal shifts left me questioning exactly what the developer’s thematic intentions were. Loretta is not shy about broaching difficult and multilayered topics — subjects such as miscarriages and oppression are common throughout. However, on the heels of these intense and delicate moments, the player might be killing an innocent person with a shovel and hiding their body, or fantasizing about jamming a letter opener in someone’s neck, all presented with an edge of dark humor. The juxtaposition of these pulpier moments with more serious discussions led to a feeling of thematic whiplash that permeates the entire experience.
There are also some mechanical and technical oddities that detract from Loretta. Between each
chapter is a puzzle of sorts, with some symbolic link to the narrative — most of these are simple
and straightforward, but others involve timing-based maneuvers with a digital cursor. While I’m
sure these play fine with a mouse, the Switch’s notoriously fiddly analog sticks were not up to
the task, and these sections ended up feeling frustrating and frivolous. Additionally, at the end of my final
playthrough, Loretta would inexplicably crash to the Switch’s home screen every time. I was unable to get around this, and as such, I was unable to see the conclusion of my final run.
In the end, Loretta is a conundrum — its greatest strengths and its most pronounced weaknesses both lie in storytelling. For every moment that worked, I found a moment that didn’t. However, despite its technical issues and occasional lack of coherence, Loretta ends up as a successful experiment in form — even if I’m still unsure of the developer’s ultimate intended message.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
— Ryan Nalley
Disclosures: This game is developed by Yakov Butuzoff and published by DANGEN
Entertainment. It is currently available on XBO, XBX/S, PS4/PS5, Switch, and PC.
This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the Switch. Approximately 8 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed. There are no multiplayer modes.
Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated M and contains Blood, Violence,
Strong Language, and Sexual Content. This one is not safe for kids. Violence is a pervasive element throughout, and while the visual depictions of violence are generally not explicit, there are many explicit
descriptions of the violence. Additionally, there is at least one scene of implied sexual violence. Profanity is also a persistent element in the dialogue.
Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.
Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles. The subtitles cannot be altered or resized.
This game was completed in its entirety without sound during one playthrough, and is accessible. There is one scene during a specific ending that involves a puzzle with audio cues. I was able to complete this segment without sound, but it required some trial and error. Outside of this one moment, sound is not a major component in the gameplay.
Remappable Controls: No, this game’s controls are not remappable. This game does not offer a controller map diagram, but most of the controls are contextual. The left stick is used for movement and menu navigation while the face buttons (A,B,X,Y) are used to interact with the environment. Certain scenes use the ZR button for interaction, and the puzzle interludes in between chapters use the left stick to control a digital cursor.
Following this introduction, Ryan dove headlong into the 16 and 64-bit eras, culminating in the year 2000 with a fateful visit to the local game shop.On the recommendation of a saintly store clerk, Ryan picked up a copy of Deus Ex and, shortly thereafter, embarked on the vain quest to find a game that tops it.
This journey has led Ryan to GameCritics where he attempts to articulate why he still finds this medium so compelling.When not playing or writing about games, Ryan can be found watching competition reality television with his wife, their dog, and three cats.
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