Luto (PS5) | REVIEW | Grief, Horror & Healing

Developed by Broken Bird Games and published by Selecta Play and Astrolabe Games, Luto is a first-person psychological horror experience that delves into the raw and haunting emotions of grief, trauma, and death. The game seeks to immerse players in a deeply personal narrative, using horror as a lens to explore the profound pain of loss and the psychological toll of mental illness. By weaving a story that confronts anxiety, depression, and the lingering weight of bereavement, Luto aims to create an unsettling yet meaningful journey, challenging players to face the darkness within the human psyche.

In Luto, you embody Samuel Hale, a man trapped within the confines of his own home, unable to escape due to an unseen force that binds him to his surroundings. The narrative unfolds as a slow-burn mystery, with Samuel navigating a house that warps and shifts, reflecting his fractured mental state. The ever-changing architecture includes rooms appearing where they shouldn’t, corridors stretching impossibly long mirrors Samuel’s spiraling emotions, with each new space uncovering fragments of his grief and suppressed memories.

Gameplay mechanics revolve around exploration and puzzle-solving, as Samuel interacts with objects, notes, and sketches to piece together the truth behind his confinement. These mechanics, while simple, emphasize careful observation and environmental interaction, drawing players deeper into Samuel’s disorienting reality as he grapples with loss and seeks a way out.

The Gameplay ... Luto offers a compact yet rich set of features tailored to its psychological horror premise. The game focuses on narrative-driven exploration, with players uncovering cryptic messages, hidden truths, and symbolic elements embedded in the environment. Puzzles, ranging from straightforward to occasionally obscure, challenge players to pay close attention to their surroundings, enhancing the storytelling through environmental clues. The game also incorporates sensory horror, leveraging sound design and shifting spaces to evoke real-world fears like claustrophobia, monophobia, and nyctophobia.

While combat is absent, the experience prioritizes atmosphere over jump scares, though well-timed frights punctuate the tension. With a runtime of roughly four to five hours, Luto encourages replayability to discover hidden secrets, supported by a haunting narrative delivered through environmental storytelling and occasional narration.

The Presentation ... The presentation of Luto is impressive, blending photorealistic visuals with a surreal, unsettling aesthetic. The environmental design is meticulously crafted, with the house transforming into a labyrinth of dark corridors, eerie children’s rooms adorned with unsettling drawings, and impossible spaces that defy logic. These settings amplify the horror, using subtle elements like flickering lights, creaking floors, and shrouded figures that appear and vanish to maintain a constant sense of unease.

The atmosphere is thick and oppressive, masterfully balancing discomfort with moments of quiet dread, avoiding overreliance on jump scares. The soundtrack, composed of layered household noises and ambient tones, enhances the immersion, creating a soundscape that feels both familiar and alien. Voice acting is minimal, with Samuel as a silent protagonist, but a demonic-sounding voice on phone calls and a narrator with a commanding presence add depth to the experience. The narration, while occasionally intrusive, ties into the story’s themes, delivering key emotional beats with a tone that shifts from guiding to unsettling.

The Verdict ... I wholeheartedly recommend Luto to fans of psychological horror who appreciate narrative depth over relentless scares. The game’s horror is impactful, not through gore or constant frights, but through its ability to make players feel Samuel’s isolation and despair. The themes of grief and death are portrayed with remarkable sensitivity, humanizing the struggles of mental illness through environmental storytelling and symbolic imagery. While the pacing falters slightly in the final act, rushing some thematic resolutions, the overall experience is gripping and emotionally resonant. Luto succeeds in delivering a haunting, introspective journey that lingers long after the credits roll, making it a must-play for those ready to confront its heavy themes in a beautifully crafted, unsettling world.