Lost Horizon (video game)

Plot

In 1936, in the Khembalung Valley in Tibet, a detachment of British soldiers, sent out on an expedition by the British government to map the country, are ambushed by soldiers of the Third Reich at a monastery when they attempt to aid the monks there. Richard Weston, the son of the governor in Hong Kong and the expedition's leader, loses most of his men in the fighting while protecting the head monk as he leads them to a secret chamber, including Thomas Finch, who becomes separated from both Richard and the monk when the chamber's door seals shut. Before he dies, the monk hands Richard a key and instructs him that it must not be found. Richard discovers that the chamber contains carvings and much more that are not Asian in origin. Despite what he sees, he works to find a way out, and uses the key on a stone pedestal in the chamber, creating a portal. Richard vanishes with the key when he passes through it, with the portal closing behind. A few hours later, when the Germans have finished securing the monastery, their leader, Hanna von Hagenhild, a German countess and a scientist in the Thule Society, orders that the expeditions' source for the maps of the region in Hong Kong is to be eliminated along with any notes, with Triads used to do the dirty work, in order to avoid further disruptions in their work.

A week later in Hong Kong, Fenton Paddock, the pilot of a cargo plane and formerly of the British Army after being dishonourably discharged, after narrowly escaping death at the hand of the Tong branch of the Triads, after interfering in their smuggling business, is summoned to Lord Weston, Hong Kong's governor. Fenton finds himself hired to look into Richard's disappearance along with the rest of his team as an outsider, as the British government can't afford to do so without causing a diplomatic incident with China. Seeking maps of Tibet from his former employee, Yen Wuang, along with his notes on an expedition he took in the area, Fenton encounters his niece, Kim, while searching for them, before being forced to take her with him when the Tong pursue them for the maps and notes. While en route to Tibet, Fenton explains to Kim why he was removed from the army, and why he is heading to Tibet. Before reaching a village on their route, a German fighter plane shoots them down. After recovering from the crash, the pair look to Yen's notes for a safe place to rest from the cold, learning that he had visited the region with a British explorer, a Professor Arthur Hayes, in 1922, seeking a monastery supposed to be a mere myth. Determined to find it but noticing a truck driving through the mountains, the pair discover a German encampment near to the monastery, and rescue Thomas in the process. When the pair make their way into the monastery and the secret chamber within it, Fenton and Kim learn that Richard disappeared through a gate within it, and that to get in themselves, they need a second key that is hidden in another part of the world. Hagenhild, however, captures them both, with plans to pursue Hayes who holds an item that is needed to find the second key on a special map in their possession. Fenton manages to escape, but loses Kim in the process of trying to rescue her, believing her to be dead.

In Marrakesh, Morocco, Fenton works to free Professor Hayes, when he learns he had been arrested over tax problems with the French colony. After working hard to raise bail money to release him, Hayes reveals what he knows about the monastery and his expedition. Through his conversation, he reveals that the monastery hides the legendary Shambala, which contains an immense power. After their talk he decides to give Fenton the artifact in his possession, a green gemstone shaped like a dragon's eye. Agents of the Third Reich, however, make an appearance, killing Hayes and making off with the artifact, forcing Fenton to follow them back to Berlin, in which the city is in the process of hosting the 1936 Olympic Games. Needing entry to a local museum where the piece was taken along with the map he learnt of from Hagenhild, Fenton gains entry to the Olympic stadium and helps a friend in the games to win gold, while posing also as a member of the press. Infiltrating the lower levels of the museum during a party for Olympic winners, he finds out that the Piri Reis map he needs to find out the location of the second key, is actually being stored in Wewelsburg castle in Germany. Paddock, who recovers the gemstone, takes a train into the countryside, and infiltrates the castle. Upon finding the map, he combines the artifact twith the Piri Reis map, finding out that the second key is located in the Gujarat area of India. After dealing with a tiger problem, he finds the key at an old temple submerged under water, along with murals showing a man in a British uniform, helping the people of the temple, much to Fenton's confusion.

Fenton returns to Hong Kong to enlist Weston's support to stop the Germans, but he finds the governor has made a deal with them in exchange for his son's safety. Fenton and the key are taken back to the monastery by the Germans, where it is revealed that Kim is still alive and is being held prisoner. Forced to open the gate in the chamber by Hagenhild, Fenton, Kim, Hagenhild, and the rest of German soldiers, disappear, with Fenton separated from them. Awakening in a chamber, he finds himself meeting Richard, who appears like a ghost but reveals that both he and Fenton are in Shambala, and that he is in the past. Realising that Hangenhild is after the power of Shambala, Fenton works with Richard to assemble a talisman to use the power himself to stop them. Creating a dragon from the power of his thoughts, Fenton directs it to attack the soldiers, while Kim, who breaks free of her bonds, fights Hagenhild and kills her. With the threat over, Fenton and Kim promise Richard to inform his father of what has become of him, before sharing an embrace together.

Reception

Lost Horizon received generally favorable reviews from critics. On GameRankings it currently scores 81.10% based on 10 reviews, and on Metacritic 77/100 based on 24 reviews.