Lifestream

Moby ID: 14993
Windows Specs
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Description official description

Father Randolph Holton, a Catholic priest, has disappeared. The son that no one knows about, John, goes to his father's home to search for him. He soon learns that his father had become obsessed by something he called the Lifestream. To find his father he must also dive into the haunting, terrifying truths that seduced him. What on earth is the Lifestream and how could it have caused his father's disappearance?

At first you play John in the present as he searches through his father's notes and his house (inside and outside) to discover his whereabouts. As the game progresses, travel back in time to play Father Holton.

There are many adventure type puzzles to solve in this point-and-click game. You'll find other characters to talk to and objects to find and use in this haunting adventure.

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Credits (Windows version)

39 People (28 developers, 11 thanks) · View all

Story & Concept By
Featuring the Voice of
Other Voices
Game Engine By
3D Renderings By
Featuring Music By
Additional Puzzle Design By
Designed by
Graphics and Rendering by
Additional Models & Textures Obtained Through
  • DAZ Productions
  • Renderosity.com
Library Book Texture by
"Behind the Paper Curtain" Article & Picture by
Herbal Information Obtained From
  • Joelles Sacred Grove
  • geocities.com/lovminney/herbs.html
  • stavacademy.co.uk/mimir/hersarticle.htm
  • flowers.org.uk/flowers/
  • herbsociety-stu.org/Mythology.htm
Music Book Notes Obtained From
  • angelfire.com/ga/georgian/
UP Logo by
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 77% (based on 7 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.2 out of 5 (based on 3 ratings with 1 reviews)

Imaginative, with a distinctly different story

The Good
I was impressed with this 'Indie' game.

First of all, the story is unlike any I've played before. It revolves around a sort of lateral world, called the Lifestream, where all of your dreams and wishes come true. Once there, though, you can never leave. Unless you make it one of your fondest dreams.

During the various Chapters, you will flip back and forth playing John, the son that no one knows about, and Randolph, the priest who discovers the existence of the Lifestream. Randolph is stuck in the Lifestream, and John's goal is to find him and get him out of there. Naturally there is another person woven into the plot with evil intent, so that adds intrigue and suspense.

This is definitely a puzzle-solvers game, so if you enjoy working puzzles of every kind you'll love Lifestream. You'll find puzzles that involve spelling out words, arithmetic, concentration, a slider, a maze and a few more akin to mini-games like Tic Tac Toe and Peg Jump.

Graphics are a mixed bag. When moving, a blurring effect takes place which can be disorienting at first. Everything comes back to focus when you get control again. Some of the places are beautiful and realistic, while others were obviously designed by a more amateurish hand. The character of Father Holton was wonderful and cut-scenes of conversations showed amazing lip-syncing. Then you'll meet the clerk in the post office whose character is blocky and lip-sync is done terribly. The interiors are all pretty good for the most part, except for the labyrinth-like tunnels and the hellish looking end game portions.

Music is entertaining and mostly in the background. Although there are few sound effects, some of those were realistic and some weren't. More often than not, you won't hear a sound effect when one should be there. Voices were done very well.

I liked the no-nonsense interface with easy to use inventory and save/load/exit feature.

Lastly, the ending finalizes everything .. but still leaves you with questions. So the whole gaming experience may stay with you awhile after you finish.

The Bad
Other than the few things I mentioned above, I can only say that some of the puzzles were silly - and almost seemed intended for children. Inconsistencies were present in graphics, sound and in the quality of the puzzles.

The Bottom Line
Lifestream is a nice game and one that I recommend to anyone who enjoys adventure games, especially those who like puzzles. For an independent developer, Unimatrix Productions shows potential. I look forward to playing their future games and watching how they advance in the construction and design fields.

Windows · by Jeanne (75959) · 2004

Trivia

References

There is an identical wall picture in both Lifestream and The Arrangement. Look for a painting of a monk.

The painting is interactive in Lifestream but is only decoration in The Arrangement.

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Related Sites +

  • Lifestream
    Official web site
  • UHS Hints for Lifestream
    Question and answer type hints give you only as much information as you need to try and solve the puzzles yourself. (Authored by a MobyGames member)

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 14993
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Jeanne.

Android, iPhone, iPad added by Pseudo_Intellectual.

Additional contributors: Patrick Bregger.

Game added September 29, 2004. Last modified February 22, 2023.