"lackadaisium is everything i want to see in games: its personal, has a concise vocabulary of rules that it stretches in many clever directions, and tells its story entirely through play. " - Anna Anthropy, Auntie Pixelante
"Lackadaisium is absolutely perplexing, but also pretty excellent." - Indie Review
Lackadaisium is a surrealist adventure game with puzzle and action elements. It is autobiographical. Made stream-of-consciousness style during a six year-long depressive episode, it aims not just to be a fun adventure, but also to make you feel and confront all sorts of emotions (and lack thereof) that the author experienced during that time. The primary game mechanic is smashing your head against walls (if you are feeling depressed, my hope is that this mechanic will feel cathartic/relatable, rather than discouraging!).
Originally released on PC in 2010, it was featured on NPR, Indiegames.com, Indie Review, and more. Praised for its "unnerving ambiance" and compared to Yume Nikki, it is a very personal work. Now, its been ported to iOS and updated to be truer to the developers original vision, with almost twice as much content (mostly hidden "easter egg" content).
NOTE: this game explores mature themes of depression/anxiety, and has cartoon depictions of blood. It forces the player to smash their head against the wall over and over. It is probably not suitable for children.
Please consider donating to the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, to help find cures for depression and other mental health problems. https://ultimatewalrus.com/games/lackadaisium/bbrfoundation.html
About the author: Sebastian Janisz was a coder/designer on Disneys "Wheres My Water?" and invented the tracking algorithms for "Jedi Challenges AR." He has been making indie games for 20 years, and lives a semi-nomadic life with his artist wife, Liana Sposto, who sometimes helps him make indie games. Check out ultimatewalrus.com for more!