Lugaru is a game that rewards players who think and react instead of players who mash their mouse button. Early in the game you can get away with just left clicking and spamming the reverse (counter) button in hopes of countering any moves, but later on, that won’t help you, specifically against the wolves. The game’s A.I is smarter than most people would expect in an indie game. It will counter many obvious attacks, and, eventually, counter the moves you repeat over and over again. In fact, the only way to win later on in the game is through sheer luck, or timing when to press the counter and/or attack buttons. If you don’t do this, the game will render itself so hard, even on easy mode, that it will probably render my review useless.
Lugaru was meant to be played on any PC or Mac system available and the graphics clearly show it. Lugaru’s graphics are reminiscent of the PSOne era. Luckily, it makes up for its graphics by providing features that weren’t found, 
or even thought of, in games of that time. When you walk you leave foot prints in the sand. When you pass through a bush you rustle its leaves and make noise. When you kill someone your weapon becomes stained with blood (if you used one). Wolves can use the scent of blood to detect you, making it harder to sneak up on them. There’s not even a health bar. You determine how close you are to dying by noticing how Turner acts, by the blurriness of the screen, and by how covered in blood Turner is. In short, Lugaru may have graphics from 2 generations ago, but it has A.I and effects that are just being implemented into games today.
The game is very short; you can beat it in 1 sitting. The story mode also feels unsatisfying, especially with an ending that seems like it belongs in an old action film. To counter this (see the reference?) the game has a challenge mode with 14 levels. This may not sound like a lot, but challenge mode can, and usually is, difficult, so just when you had trouble beating one level, you’ll have quite a few more to go.
