“I’ll remember you, even after I die.”This quote, delivered half-way via Lost Records: Rage and Bloom’s first “tape,” is maybe essentially the most concise and poignant option to convey what Don’t Nod’s newest title is about. Lost Records is a recreation that revels within the melodrama and contradictory nature of adolescence. It understands the craving all of us as soon as needed to be utterly unknowable and one-of-a-kind whereas additionally being fully-understood, accepted, and liked. Within its eight or so hours, insecurity and conviction stroll hand-in-hand whereas the assumed invincibility of youth is stretched to its breaking level. How can one summer–how can life–feel so eternal but completely fragile? Such is the magic of our teenage years.Lost Records captures this phenomenon stunningly, but would not accept being a recreation merely pushed completely by nostalgia or reminders of what it felt wish to be younger within the ’90s. At its core is an eerie, supernatural thriller that spans practically three a long time and threatens to devour the 4 girls concerned in it–one that guarantees violence and the reemergence of occasions maybe higher left forgotten. This intense, slow-burning narrative supplies a wonderful framework for an empathetic exploration into girlhood, friendship, sexuality, individuality, expression, and the transition from youth to center age. All this mixed with dynamic characters, cinematic visuals, beautifully-rendered character fashions, and eager sense of ambiance makes Lost Records one in every of Don’t Nod’s greatest video games to this point.Kat holds a sparkler.Set throughout two distinct time periods–one being the summer time of ’95 and the opposite roughly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic–Lost Records follows shy, red-headed film buff Swann Holloway as she reexamines a collection of darkish occasions from her adolescence. This endeavor kicks off when one in every of her childhood buddies, Autumn, reaches out to Swann with scary information: Apparently, there may be somebody on the market who is aware of who they’re, what they did, and has chosen to ship them a mysterious package deal. Despite going practically three a long time with zero communication–the cause for this deliberate, however unknown to the player–Autumn finally asks Swann and the 2 different women affiliated with their good friend group, Nora and Kat, to fulfill up together with her of their hometown of Velvet Cove to handle the scenario.It did not take lengthy for this set as much as sink its enamel into me; I used to be immediately curious. I needed to raised perceive these women, why they’d misplaced contact, and what disturbing issues they’d both witnessed or, worse, completed. Though the sport’s slower tempo may frustrate some, the sluggish burn captivated me, as I felt its charming, mundane actions had been completely paired with breadcrumbs and solutions that in the end led to extra, more and more fascinating questions. I used to be additionally immersed within the surprising eeriness of the story–of the cabin I stumbled upon, seemingly adorned in cultist markings, and the horrific, paranormal phenomena that appeared to be solely growing in each frequency and depth.For the majority of Tape One, nevertheless, you play as a younger Swann savoring her final summer time in Michigan earlier than her household relocates to Canada. From the very begin, it is made clear that Swann is a little bit of a loner who chooses to search out solace in nature, films, her pet cat, and X-Files fanfiction fairly than different folks. However, all this modifications when she meets greatest friends-turned-bandmates Autumn and Nora, and a scrappy, homeschooled lady named Kat. Despite the data of her upcoming transfer looming over her, Swann eagerly seizes the chance to make buddies and opens as much as the women, finally “joining” Autumn and Nora’s band, Bloom and Rage, as their music video director whereas Kat jumps in as songwriter. The 4 then spend practically each final second of summer time collectively, embarking on misadventures that Swann gleefully captures on her trusty previous camcorder.Outside of Don’t Nod’s signature choice-driven gameplay, by which your choices in the end dictate the occasions that happen all through the sport and the way sure characters really feel about your protagonist, the overwhelming majority of participant interplay in Lost Records occurs by way of Swann’s camcorder. As somebody who tends to be a bit crucial of story-heavy video games that provide little interactivity aside from studying merchandise descriptions, I used to be delighted by how a lot enjoyable and inventive liberty the system provides. Sure, you’ll nonetheless be doing loads of strolling and interacting with gadgets that flesh out the world, discover girlhood, and function enjoyable little time capsules, however the camcorder and its non-compulsory targets add targets, construction, and a private contact that may in any other case be lacking. Though I wanted we had been granted a bit extra to discover overall–Lost Record’s world feels very remoted and linear in comparison with earlier Don’t Nod games–I liked trying to find topics to seize, whether or not they had been vulgar bits of graffiti or wide-eyed owls. Additionally, seeing my footage–meticulously trimmed up and thoroughly curated due to my tendency to overshoot footage and the sport’s built-in editor–featured in cutscenes made me really feel extra personally related to each Swann and the sport as an entire.Swann information at midnight whereas Kat, Nora, and Autumn stand behind her.That mentioned, it wasn’t laborious to really feel related to Lost Records in numerous different methods as effectively. Though Swann and her buddies are round a decade or so older than me, I noticed components of myself and my very own childhood all through every of them and the video games’ intricately designed environments. As I traipsed via Swann’s room, I remembered my very own Spacemaker pencil containers and the way a lot I liked the hell out of The Dark Crystal. I noticed my first head-over-heels crush within the boisterous, guitar-slinging Nora, and my mom within the neatly scrawled word Swann’s personal mom left on her mattress, telling her that the weight loss plan snacks she had bought for her had “only 50 calories!”Despite typically discovering her awkwardness and insecurity a bit irritating, I’m pressured to confess that I noticed an excessive amount of myself in Swann–that her demeanor is in the end an ideal illustration of how many people really are as youngsters, even when we’d understand it as grating, overly self-critical, or melodramatic later in life. One factor I associated to significantly intensely was her love of recording issues as, surprisingly sufficient, I used to be at all times my good friend teams’ resident videographer as effectively. Perhaps this comes from being somebody who additionally grew up feeling chubby and insecure, however I discovered consolation in seeing her method life in such the same way–in her effort to seize the issues that remind her of the world’s goodness and wonder, and the moments that may in the end show to her that she was as soon as completely happy and liked and might be once more.As I grew nearer to Swann, and Swann grew nearer to her new buddies (and potential love pursuits), the dialogue I selected grew extra confident–a testomony to how relationships can empower you that was made tangible on this recreation. Yet I additionally felt the disgrace that accompanied butting up towards a good friend’s boundary, and remembered my very own missteps as a younger lady. In truth, it is a testomony to the sport’s writing that lots of its reliability got here from witnessing sure interactions and dynamics fairly than the injecting of trite (and infrequently cringe-inducing) “hey, remember this thing” moments. Yes, all of us love and keep in mind Tamogotchis, Pogs, and Blockbuster. It’s much more of an accomplishment for a recreation to make you keep in mind the primary time one other lady mentioned she needed to kiss you or that point you performed Truth or Dare together with your shut buddies and somebody ended up feeling overexposed and damage. As Swann explored her reminiscences, I used to be pressured to recall a few of my very own, making for a weak however rewarding expertise.Swann holds her Moth Girl plushie.Another key consider Lost Records invoking such a private response from me is its depth, artistry, and cinematic nature. In this recreation, adolescence is offered within the virtually dream-like approach we see it once we look again upon it, which makes full sense, contemplating the story is basically delivered by way of a reflective dialog between former buddies. I used to be always impressed on the visuals, colours, and surreal, bittersweet ambiance curated within the recreation, in addition to the soundtrack–stunningly composed by Chromatics singer Ruth Radlet–that accompanied all of it. At the identical time, nevertheless, there’s a realism that grounds the sport and immerses you. I liked seeing Nora–who is constantly depicted as flirty, beautiful, enjoyable, and ridiculously cool–with pink, scorching pimples scars tormenting her cheeks in the identical approach practically all of us endured sooner or later. It felt actual; It felt like yet one more factor about Lost Records that was unflinchingly sincere.Lost Records explores and depicts adolescence in a approach that not solely surpasses many video games, however a number of works of media basically. It’s no secret that we’re inundated with “coming-of-age” tales, and as a fan of the cliche, I’d argue it is for good cause. The period between childhood and maturity is one crammed with hormones, feelings, self-discovery, lust, defiance, and experiences that in the end form the particular person you’ll change into, shedding some semblance of your former self. Yet each the story that Lost Records explores and the one being formed within the “current” time, by which girls of their 40s come collectively and dispel the grating notion that girls of that age are decrepit, matronly, and boring, achieve this in a approach that feels fascinating, new, and essential. As it stands now, Lost Records: Bloom and Rage is poised to be one in every of Don’t Nod’s best titles. Ultimately, nevertheless, a lot of the sport’s success relies upon the discharge of its second half, which is scheduled to launch this April. It will take solutions, motion, and rewarded endurance to stay the touchdown, however as of proper now, I’ve religion that the group will achieve this.
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