Skip To...
When I played the short preview of The Lift, something hit me: we’ve grown accustomed to games that put us in situations where we have to destroy something. Look at some of the coziest games out there, and there’s a chance that you’ll have to break a rock or cut down a tree. But The Lift doesn’t go down that road. Instead, it puts the player into the shoes of a supernatural handyman whose job is to renovate a plethora of things inside an eerie facility affected by a catastrophe. While I was sold on the concept when I heard the developers talking about it, I became enthralled with this soothing yet puzzling experience as soon as I got my hands on it.
Renovate, Repair, Repeat
While there are a handful of handyman simulators out there, none of them come close to how unique and engaging The Lift is. The preview kicked off with the tutorial session, where you, a Keeper —a fancy word for handyman —must solve a quick test to prove you are up to the task of keeping an advanced research facility in top condition. Here, the game introduces you to some of its simplest systems, such as changing a light bulb by dragging your mouse, opening panels, and changing power cables with a few immersive clicks. Once you pass the test, you’re off to your cryogenic chamber to get a long nap before you’re needed in the facility. Unexpectedly, a catastrophe strikes the facility, and you wake up to solve this supernatural conundrum.
Since it was a preview, the plot wasn’t complete yet, but it had a few details pointing to a larger mystery involving an organization and the catastrophe itself. However, in terms of gameplay, there was a lot to experience, and every bit of it drew me into the damaged corridors of this place.
As mentioned above, this is a handyman simulator. You’re not fighting or breaking things down. Your job is to fix everything you see, which is a requirement to progress to new areas. For instance, during the tutorial section, I had to increase the wavegauge, which is a bar at the top of your screen that shows how much you’ve fixed around the place. Once you fill the bar, the wavegauge’s level increases, and new areas open.
You can fill up that bar by changing a light bulb, fixing a bench, or just patching some holes in the wall. And before you think it gets repetitive, it doesn’t. The three hours I spent playing The Lift featured different renovation puzzles, which ranged from putting in a few screws inside a bench to fixing a massive generator to power the lift that takes you from one dilapidated location to another.
It’s a Tough Job, But Someone Has to Do It
Another highlight from The Lift, which made me scream at my screen as soon as the demo ended because I was way too immersed and didn’t want it to end, is the puzzle-solving aspect. Everything in The Lift is a puzzle. From fixing an electrical circuit to repairing a vending machine, and even opening a new area, all of it requires you to use your wits. And guess what? There are no quest markers, yellow paint, or a map you can use. You have only a datapad of sorts, along with the information you can find in notes or on signs pasted on the walls. The game is so immersive that if you want to fix something, you need to pay attention to the instructions near the device you want to repair.
Yet, that translates to the story and questing, too. In the second part of the preview, I played a part of the game that had progressed through the story a bit further. In it, I was in a larger area and had to complete several quests for different NPCs. One required me to get the area’s wavegauge to level 3. I started fixing a few things, but quickly noticed I didn’t have the tools to repair some of the stuff. So, I followed a different quest that unlocked a cleaning tool that removed the goo the catastrophe brought to the facility, thus allowing me to proceed.
In another instance, I ran out of screws, light bulbs, and cables, which led me to learn how to use the crafting station —a separate, in-depth gameplay loop of its own. You can find glitched-out objects, recycle them, and use the pieces you obtain to craft repair materials. Then, there’s the puzzle aspect, which, at least in the preview, involved finding many passwords to open lockers or doors to get to a new room. However, it wasn’t as easy as just getting the passcodes, as I also had to fix the locker before inputting any of the codes.
Overall, The Lift is one of the most surreal, yet enthralling games I’ve played recently, and one I can’t wait to experience again. Three hours were more than enough to sell me on the whole concept of this title, which I’m sure will be a blast to play once it fully launches. On top of that, it features an eerily beautiful style inspired by Soviet sci-fi with some Stranger Things on the side that will make this upcoming game even more memorable.
