First, let’s talk about the name of the game. Bardo is a Tibetan word meaning “Transition”, or moving from one point to another in a transitional state. So you could say the name Lost In Bardo, could also mean “Lost In Transition“.

I’m not entirely sure about the plot of the game, but the developers did release a playable demo on their main website which includes the first chapter of the game to give you an idea about what you’ll be getting into, so I downloaded it and played it through to the end to see what the game was all about.

You play as Sam, and from there… well, that’s pretty much all you know. You start the game in a strange medieval looking bedroom, then you exit out into a kitchen where you have to perform a series of tasks to move on to the next area. However, it is clear early on that you might be in a dream, jumping dimensions, or possibly you are dead.

The game doesn’t make it clear in the demo, but it is clear that the title Lost In Bardo plays on the theme of confusion and learning your way around the world and figuring out both the story and the world you are in as you progress forward.

Lost In Bardo is also full of puzzles, lots and lots of puzzles. There are only a few in the demo, but you will quickly realize that completing one puzzle leads you directly into another. So there is a lot of thinking, clicking, pondering and brain scratching as you try to figure out what you have to do. The demo doesn’t have a help system or a puzzle hint system, so in that regard, Lost In Bardo is similar to those old school classic point-and-click games where you would spend hours stuck on a puzzle as you try to figure out what to do next.

I eventually finished the demo, and looking back I can see that the puzzles made sense and the game gives hints for what you have to do, it is just a matter of trial and error of figuring out how to utilize those hints to get the results you want. If you are a fan of the old Sierra style point-and-click games like the Laura Bow Mysteries, Quest For Glory and Kings Quest, then I think a lot of you will really like the concept that Lost In Bardo has put together.

The development team has put together a gameplay trailer, so check it out to see what the game has to offer.

Lost In Bardo was already accepted by the Steam Greenlight community and is finishing up development for a launch at the end of 2017. If you are interested in learning more, you can visit Developers Backyard Team at their official website to download the demo to test the game out for yourself.