“They say all is well in the world of sickness, but we know all is sick in the world of wellness.” – Jack Freestone
Overview
Lily’s World XD is a psychological horror experience that has players trawling through a found laptop that used to belong to a girl who has been missing since 2004.
Developer: Sondering Emily
Released: 17th September 2026
Price: £10.75
Platforms: Windows
Available on: Steam
Engine: Unity
Narrative
Lily’s World XD allows players to snoop through the laptop of an ordinary teenage girl, Lily. The device was found in a dumpster and appears to have been untouched since 2004. By exploring various files and websites, and chatting to one of Lily’s former friends, Iris, it soon becomes clear that Lily has been missing for a long time, and that something sinister is going on. Lily began behaving strangely after getting involved with The Radiant Path, an exclusive and demanding wellness organisation, and her increasing involvement with the group seems to have played a role in her disappearance.
Lily’s story is delivered gradually via documents, photos, audio files, and messages, amongst other things, and the entire game takes place within the confines of the laptop screen. The narrative explores a range of heavy subjects, including (but not limited to) disordered eating, emotional manipulation, physical harm, and mental health struggles.
Gameplay
Lily’s World XD has gameplay similar to titles such as Emily is Away or Emily is Away Too and has players play detective by trawling through the contents of a long-abandoned laptop. On starting up the device, players will find desktop icons for things such as photos, emails, messages, a journal, audio, and a web browser. These must be thoroughly explored in order to reveal the full narrative and all its details. Some things can be accessed instantly, and others are password-protected or otherwise restricted until later in the game. There are some fun touches too, such as a dress-up browser game and other minigames.
At times, the game breaks the fourth wall and removes the player from the confines of the game, opening things such as YouTube videos in their actual browser. It also takes information from the player’s Steam account (friend names, for example) and inserts these into the game to really boost immersion and give the player a personal experience. This is a fun touch, if a little creepy!
The most prominent part of the gameplay is the messenger application in which the player can chat to Iris, who teams up with the protagonist in a bid to uncover the truth and find her old friend. While searching for clues about what happened to Lily, details of her life and well-being before she vanished are also revealed, painting a sometimes tragic picture of the young girl and explaining, to some extent, how she got caught up in a troublesome group such as The Radiant Path.
The closer the pair come to solving the mystery, the more dangerous the situation becomes, and an unknown entity reveals itself to be watching every move they make. Eventually, the pair must contend with someone trying to hack into the laptop, threats being made, and other such interference that adds to the drama and urgency of the situation.
Styling
Lily’s World XD takes place on a laptop that is over a decade old, which is reflected in the retro styling. The desktop icons, explorer windows, and website all look suitably of their era, and this is emphasised by the types of things available to snoop through, such as an MSN-style messenger application and a MySpace-esque social media website called Palster. The colour palette is very fitting, with slightly garish fuchsia as a prominent feature in Lily’s customised desktop!
The music and sound effects in the game are mostly diegetic, consisting of computer sounds, voice recordings, and complete songs that play through websites and the like. This helps build an immersive experience and places the player firmly at the desktop.
Summary
Lily’s World XD is a dark and original game that has a lot more to offer than its simple premise suggests. It offers a thrilling mystery narrative that explores important issues, a nostalgic retro aesthetic and setting, minimal but clever sound design, and unique gameplay that will keep players engaged for 3 to 5 hours. I started playing and could not stop until I’d uncovered the truth about Lily. It is a gripping interactive fiction that I highly recommend to fans of narrative games.
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