Review: Leila

Leila is a captivating and honest experience. Its humble gameplay resonates, and the cruel nature of humanity is explored. Though none of the themes are uncomfortable, piecing together the private layers of someone’s life is a little intrusive. As such, it feels like you are reading someone’s diary, and that is never a good thing.

This story-driven adventure was developed by Ubik Studios and published by NAISU. It is a single-player game with a puzzle edge. Each unique element of the protagonist’s life is highlighted from a surreal perspective. Accordingly, it is somewhat dreamy even if the underlying tones are tough to swallow.

Leila tells a humble tale. 

Laying your soul out and telling your most personal secrets is often hard. Yet, this is exactly what Leila must do. She is presented with the latest and greatest gadget for AR. This tool delves into your subconscious and allows you to revisit key parts of your life. The problem for the hero is that they get to witness every dirty secret as well. 

Though some of the layers were fun and silly, many have a dark twist that should remain hidden. Whether it was an unwanted love affair, feelings of pressure and failure, or not knowing where you stand, this game explores it all. This vast tapestry of intrigue can be explored in any order. Moreover, you can skip some of the more challenging moments.

Odd puzzles. 

Leila delivers hours of surreal and dreamy gameplay that can often be confusing. This doesn’t help the methodical puzzle element, and I was left scratching my head repeatedly. Searching for clues or finding images hidden in the world was the wrong side of challenging. 

The obscure nature of each task left me reaching for the hint system, and that was disappointing. Maybe it was a skill issue, but I think the desire to be unusual and weird took things too far. The developer needed to be more deliberate in their approach to prevent frustration and confusion from setting in. 

Leila has a beautiful aesthetic. 

The hand-drawn imagery is incredible. Furthermore, the emotions are well delivered, and each theme is beautifully presented. Though the AR world can be strange, I think the blend of unusual images and familiar scenes works exceptionally well.

The audio is captivating and weird. An eclectic blend of modern and dated songs punctuates each chapter of Leila’s life. Alongside this, you get a dreamy soundscape to complement the odd themes that unfold.

Simple controls, but a glaringly awful bug. 

Leila has a great UI and an easy-to-follow control setup. Moreover, the inputs are responsive, and the helpful hint system was appreciated. Unfortunately, though, I discovered a glaringly awful bug during one of the chapters. This prevented me from progressing and caused me to reset my game. Thankfully, this chapter can be avoided, but I was frustrated that an otherwise well-polished game was tainted.

Replay value and longevity were limited. Though there are plenty of achievements to unlock, there are a finite number of chapters to explore. I managed to push through the story in around three hours. Each level was great to witness, and the action spiralled into surreal madness. This kept things fresh even if the game was painfully short.

Leila is an interesting experience. 

Leila’s dreamy but often weird nature was an interesting experience. Each chapter has creative license, and this was fantastic. Though the developer treads some taboo areas, things never go too far. My biggest disappointment is the game-breaking bug. This may be an Xbox-only problem, but it needs to be ironed out. Despite this shortcoming, I enjoyed it and recommend buying it here! Can you explore Leila’s subconscious and heal her soul? Search for clues, interact with old flames, and put regrets to bed.