Hey, just wanna share my thoughts on Tape 1 of Lost Records. It really captures the 90s feeling that feels nostalgic to me and also the beginning brings back what it was like going through the COVID Pandemic as it goes back and forth between the past and present. The friendship between the four is really well done. If I could compare them... I'd say they're like if it was Max and Chloe with Cassidy and Steph.
There was also a little detail they added where you can just blow into the game cartridge when examining it, and they didn't have to add that in, but as a Millennial that spent years playing on the Nintendo 64, I really appreciated that.
When filming with the camcorder, I like that the controller also controls the camera, and I had some fun being creative while filming, including the classic shaking the camera up and down like trying to say yes. But, there are some cutscenes that suddenly switch to filming, and I'm not ready for that, which causes the camera to be tilted unless I hold the controller back in the position it was in and it makes it awkward. But, that's just me, and not being ready to use the camera. Honestly, this kind of feature is what Max should've had in Life is Strange.
I'm curious to know your thoughts of the game so far and some of the choices you made, and more importantly, which of the three did you bond with the most? For me, between the three, I have to say I liked Nora the most. In a way, she reminds me of Chloe, but more of a jokester and carefree. And also a bit of Luna Loud in her too with her being a rocker in the 90s. And, I did end up going with the more intimate route with her, even when they almost kissed, but got interrupted at the last minute. And she definitely looks so much different as an adult, in a good way. Even got the eyebrow piercing I suggested. Went from being a rockstar rebel, to a fashion designer. It's weird how she thinks her past haircut was bad. I liked it. She's even got white hair now and I swear her present hairstyle reminds me of someone else, but can't quite put my finger on it. I also think it's funny how she just has the worst luck with mosquitoes.
Thanks for your question!! I'm answering this two weeks late, so as you can probably see by now, I really enjoyed Tape 1! It feels like DN's true return to form to what they do best-- nostalgia, slower-paced character-driven stories, exploring trauma, environmental storytelling in one place-- after their more experimental narrative choices in LiS2. I also really think the inclusion of women writers this time improved the story even more and made the quartet feel much more realistically written. Actually, I quite like that the Bloom & Rage girls can't be compared one to one to existing LiS characters. Swann looks a lot like Max at first glance and Nora looks similar to Chloe, but Swann is also a horror fan who likes to troll her friends, and Nora isn't afraid to act dorky and excitable and is honest about her fear of the paranormal. If anything, I see shades of Chloe in Kat the most, harboring so much anger and despair about the cards she's dealt with nowhere to direct it, and it makes her sympathetic in the same way Chloe was. Kat became my favorite for her narrative depth: she seems like she has the most going on under the surface, she kicks off the plot by helping Swann with Cory and Dylan's harrassment, and she's most directly tied to the Abyss and the blood ritual.
The actual references to the pandemic really threw me. Just the little detail of Swann's mask on the dashboard felt more accurate than any attempt at a pandemic allegory in recent media. I didn't know that about the game cartridge, that's so clever! Honestly, even seeing all the in-game scribbles and drawings that are so clearly done by hand is such a refreshing step up from... whatever that anime-ass art style was in Max's journal in Double Exposure. It shows how much effort DN puts into assets that players might not spend longer than two seconds looking at. Along with all the bonus scenes, like Swann and Kat in the attic, that rewards players for exploring.
I've seen a lot of praise for the camcorder too, and it feels like a really fun step up in terms of interactive gameplay. I was surprised how much I didn't miss having powers when DN crafted such a compelling bond between these four girls and how they impact each other's lives. I know it won't stay this lighthearted in Tape 2, but I really enjoyed the warm nostalgic vibes of Tape 1, plus the spookiness.
