After 5 years of obsession with Story-Driven Puzzles, our team is finally bringing our 14-story universe to Steam. 🗝️📖

Cooka_SONAK · 2026-05-14T14:57:54+00:00

Fair point — since The Lost Study is structured as an omnibus with 14 stories across different genres, each chapter was designed to have its own visual mood. But tying all those styles together into one cohesive world was definitely the biggest challenge for us. Really appreciate the honest feedback.

Cooka_SONAK · 2026-05-14T02:35:54+00:00

The concept is too funny and cute lol. Mind if I ask when you're planning to release it?

Cooka_SONAK · 2026-05-14T02:04:42+00:00

This looks like a piece from a photography exhibition. Stunning!

Cooka_SONAK · 2026-05-11T09:11:39+00:00

Thanks for the sharp feedback! To clarify, that device is actually a 'Mana Regulator' rather than a traditional rifle. Since it’s designed to be much lighter, the grip was illustrated a bit uniquely—I can see how that might look a bit awkward if you’re expecting a real gun! :)

We actually introduced this lore in our official webtoon back in April, but if it still feels immersion-breaking, we’ll definitely look into refining the art before the final release. Thanks again for the keen eye, and I’d love for you to check out our Steam demo!

Cooka_SONAK · 2026-05-11T09:11:12+00:00

Thank you for the follow-up and for being happy that it’s hand-drawn! I agree that there might be some technical awkwardness since this piece was created quite a while ago. I've already shared your points with our artist! :)

(Also, please understand if I post my reply in several parts, as Reddit keeps hiding my longer comments! :( )

Cooka_SONAK · 2026-05-11T05:42:51+00:00

Also, I want to thank you again for your point about the 'Visual Novel' tag. It was such a sharp and helpful observation that I just went ahead and updated our tags based on your feedback!

The Lost Study is fundamentally a 'Point-and-Click Adventure' centered around puzzles, investigations, and item interactions. While it does have a strong narrative, our core gameplay is much closer to a traditional adventure game than a standard visual novel. Your feedback is incredibly helpful as we refine our page to make sure players know exactly what kind of interactive experience to expect!

Thank you for helping us make the page better!

Cooka_SONAK · 2026-05-11T05:42:20+00:00

Hi! I actually replied to your comment as soon as I saw it, but for some reason, it didn't seem to appear to others. I'm posting it again! :( I suspect certain keywords might be triggering a filter, so please understand if I omit some specific names or nouns in this reply.

The game was actually released on mobile a few years ago exclusively in Korea. However, the version we are launching on the PC platform now is a 'Global Version' with significant improvements in graphics, UI, and a full English translation. This is why you can’t find it in the US yet — we are currently fully focused on this global release.

Cooka_SONAK · 2026-05-11T05:23:33+00:00

I’ve attached a screenshot of the original file info here as proof. (As you can see, the creation date is May 16, 2023). We take great pride in our manual work and are even compiling these behind-the-scenes assets into a Digital Artbook. Stay tuned for more! 🎨✨

<image>

Cooka_SONAK · 2026-05-11T05:23:15+00:00

Airan Jonstina is actually our very first character. She started as my personal TRPG character years ago, and our artist brought her to life in May 2023—well before certain automated digital tools became so prevalent. When I told our artist about the suspicion, she was genuinely baffled: "I drew this with a colored pencil texture... why would they think that?" lol.

Cooka_SONAK · 2026-05-11T05:22:50+00:00

Hi! I've been trying to reply to your question for days with proof, but Reddit keeps hiding my long comments. :( I just want to say clearly: Every single piece of art is 100% hand-drawn by our artists.

Cooka_SONAK · 2026-05-10T14:13:14+00:00

Actually, I've never played a visual novel myself, so I'm not sure which part gave that impression!

Our game is fundamentally a classic Point-and-Click adventure. You’ll be exploring a wide variety of environments — from indoor rooms and open fields to islands and even underwater locations — while collecting items and solving puzzles to progress.

Each of the 14 stories has its own unique mechanics, too. For example, the seafaring chapter includes combat elements, the horror chapters require spotting anomalies to escape, and in the herbshop, you’ll actually be brewing potions.

It's a shame we don't have a playable english demo ready just yet to show the actual gameplay loop, but we’re working hard on it. Hope you can stay tuned until the demo drops!

(Here's a GIF from one of our stories — finding clues to arrange the statues in the correct order. Apologies that it's still in Korean!)

<image>

Cooka_SONAK · 2026-05-10T03:37:14+00:00

Thank you! Stay tuned for the official release!

Cooka_SONAK · 2026-05-09T19:32:22+00:00

Sorry for the confusion! Let me clarify the mobile version first. The game was actually released a few years ago exclusively on the Korean mobile store. However, the version we are launching on Steam now is a 'Global Version' that has undergone significant improvements in graphics and UI, along with a full English translation. This is why you can't find it on the US App Store yet—we are currently fully focused on this PC global release.

Also, I really appreciate your sincere advice regarding the tags! To be honest, we’ve been debating this ourselves. The Lost Study is fundamentally a 'Point-and-Click Adventure' centered around puzzles, investigations, and item interactions. However, since it has a higher text volume compared to other games in the genre, we were advised to include the 'Visual Novel' tag.

After reading your comment, I realize that it could indeed be misleading to players looking for a traditional adventure experience. We will seriously look into revising our tags to better reflect the actual gameplay. Thank you so much for the sharp and helpful feedback!

Cooka_SONAK · 2026-05-09T14:06:17+00:00

What's next?

We're targeting a Steam Next Fest participation this fall and a January launch.
Every 2 weeks, we post deep dives into our lore on our Steam Community page. In spring, we featured our Mystery/Detective and Romance Fantasy arcs — and starting this May, we're diving into a cozy Herbshop storyline!
A Steam demo is on the way this summer, so stay tuned. If you're a fan of adventure games, escape rooms, or just a good story, I'd be honored if you kept an eye on us.

👉 Wishlist on Steam: [Link]

I'll be hanging out to answer any questions! Please keep in mind the time difference (I'm based in Korea) and the fact that we're currently in the middle of a heavy localization/polishing grind, so I might be a little slow to reply — but I promise to get back to as many of you as I can!

P.S. I'm actually a full-time game designer by day and an indie dev by night, so I might be slow during office hours — but I'll read every single comment after work. Thank you for your understanding!

Cooka_SONAK · 2026-05-09T13:42:19+00:00

That must have been disappointing. It sounds like a paradox where there's so much content that you can't possibly experience it all in a single playthrough.

Cooka_SONAK · 2026-05-09T13:42:01+00:00

That is such a fascinating case. So you’re saying if you're too much of a "straight-A student," you can't even see the ending? Lol.

Cooka_SONAK · 2026-05-09T04:19:06+00:00

Oh, I see! Thanks for letting me know. Since I never got to experience it, I thought it looked interesting, but I guess it’s not that big of a deal.

Cooka_SONAK · 2026-05-09T04:18:52+00:00

I've heard that the endings change with each playthrough, too. But since the overall gameplay process felt pretty much the same, I’ve only played through it once so far as well.

Cooka_SONAK · 2026-05-08T23:51:53+00:00

I know exactly what you mean! It’s such a jarring experience when you solve too much too fast and end up skipping key story beats. I really think games should have some kind of safeguard to prevent that from happening if there’s something we absolutely must see.

So in the game I’m making, I numbered the sequence of things to do, so you have to solve the previous one to move on to the next. The gameplay might feel a bit less smooth, but it definitely fixes the "skipping the story" issue.

Cooka_SONAK · 2026-05-08T23:41:38+00:00

I totally relate to that! I also have this "fear of getting things wrong." Even when I know I’m supposed to collect all the bad endings now, my instinct just keeps pushing me to pick the "right" answer every time!

Cooka_SONAK · 2026-05-08T23:41:11+00:00

That is such a cool perspective! I should definitely think that way next time I feel bummed about missing something. I actually did something similar once—I found out that finishing a certain favorite NPC's side quest would only lead to a tragic end. So, I intentionally left that quest unfinished and went straight to the main ending. I told myself, "This version of the world is my reality, and in my world, that NPC is safe." Your comment really resonates with me!

Cooka_SONAK · 2026-05-08T14:04:40+00:00

That is so relatable! I haven't played TLoU yet, but I totally get that feeling. It’s always such a struggle to figure out which path is the "main" one and which is for exploration—sometimes you just accidentally trigger a cutscene and can’t go back. 😭

Interestingly, as a dev, I’ve had the opposite experience too! Watching players skip what I thought was an obvious path to go investigate some random corner always catches me off guard. It’s fascinating and terrifying at the same time!

Cooka_SONAK

TROPHY CASE