DaRmaZat A Lost Man: Chapter 1 drags you into a bleak, monochrome nightmare set against the backdrop of the Great War. Developed by Studio Arkos and released on June 26, this purebred narrative point-and-click puzzle game strips away the explosive grandiosity often associated with military shooters, opting instead for an intimate, agonizing look at desertion and survival.
A Deserter’s Awakening
The journey kicks off with a jarring sensory assault. An airplane roars overhead, followed by the deafening crunch of metal and shattering glass. A military ambulance lies ruined, though its first-aid equipment miraculously survives the blast. As a lone soldier, you awaken shortly after the smoke clears, marooned in a desolate field surrounded by scavenging crows, trapped between two treacherous front lines. Your ears ring with a high-pitched buzz, and your trembling hands are visible in the dim light.
You are a deserter. Driven entirely by the burning desire to make it back home to Paris to see your beloved Eugénie – an emotional incentive kept alive by a worn letter you carry with you from the very start – you must navigate a landscape slipping away into madness.
Objects and Information
Not long after narrowly avoiding a dangerous dog, you arrive at a farm, a basement, and the crumbling church overseen by Brother André. Gameplay here is a classic point-and-click affair. Most of the time, you’ll scour the environment for objects like a ladder, shears, bandages, a stray tree branch, a bone, and even a discarded pistol, alongside a myriad of other items displayed in the inventory bar at the bottom of the screen, where they can also be combined. However, exploring the area also leads to plenty of dead ends.
The real key to advancing lies not only in finding new objects, but also in manipulating conversations between the various characters you encounter. Speaking to one person often unlocks entirely new dialogue options with someone else, making information itself a crucial puzzle-solving tool. However, truth be told, the progression is rigidly linear. When an individual blocks your path, your dialogue options often dry up until the game decides you’re ready to move on. While this rigid structure makes sense from a development standpoint to prevent catastrophic softlocks, it forces a fair amount of trial and error and backtracking to complete objectives in the exact sequence required. Some players will undoubtedly miss having a bit more agency.
Even so, this conversational routing adds remarkable depth to the puzzles. Piecing together new information and revisiting earlier conversations feels rewarding, making it one of the chapter’s strongest and most memorable mechanics.
Hand-Drawn and Lore-Rich
Along the way, the game also treats you to an incredible wealth of historical lore surrounding World War I. Originally written in French and translated into English, the script weaves historical details seamlessly into the narrative. It details the devastating impact of the war on everyone, including ominous references such as the Big Bertha artillery guns and the derogatory Allied propaganda referring to the Germans as the Huns.
Visually, A Lost Man is a spectacular achievement in stark minimalism. Rendered in a crisp, native 2K resolution with excellent ultrawide support, the entire experience is fully hand-drawn on paper. Accompanied by an immersive, somber score, the black-and-white art style builds an incredibly atmospheric, ghostly world that perfectly underscores the tragedy of the era.
Clocking in at roughly six hours of content for this opening chapter, the experience packs plenty of lore to digest and items to combine. Backed by a welcome array of manual save slots, the overall presentation feels incredibly premium for a boutique indie project. However, it is not without its frustrations. At times, the design feels a bit obtuse, with some puzzles that rely on overly complex logic and feel unnecessarily confusing. While Studio Arkos wisely included an option to skip some puzzles entirely when you hit a wall, a more granular, organic hint system would have been a far better solution to preserve the progression flow.
Final Thoughts
A Lost Man is a niche, methodical title, and its first chapter is a deeply compelling, artistic experience that balances historical grit with clever narrative design. The hand-drawn presentation is gorgeous, the side characters are subtly haunting, and I left the experience feeling thoroughly satisfied with the content on offer so far.
With its challenging puzzles, historical mysteries, and text-heavy narratives, Studio Arkos has delivered a remarkably strong opening chapter. Aside from occasionally obscure puzzles and the absence of a dedicated hint system, there is very little to complain about. This is a slow-burning, somber yet ultimately gripping journey into the fringes of war that proves the point-and-click genre still has plenty of emotional weight to carry – provided you have the patience for it.
Additional Information
Release Date: June 26, 2026
Reviewed On: PC. Download code provided by the developer/publisher.
Developer: Studio Arkos
Publisher: Studio Arkos
Relevant links: Available via Steam.
