The episodic format has more than managed to Life is Strange. In 2015, the ends of exciting episodes gave only one desire: to devour the next piece in the story of Don’t Nod. The studio Montreal branch is inspired by this structure with Lost Records : Bloom & Rage. Tape 1 named Bloom (The first part of the game), not free from faults, ended on an intriguing cliffhanger.
Tape 2 entitled Rage Promises a much more sustained pace and events capable of shaking the group of friends formed by Swann, Autumn, Nora and Kat. Unfortunately, this second part of the narrative adventure of Don’t Nod Related us in the middle of summer 1995.
Please note, this test includes some spoilers on Bloomthe first part of Lost Records.
A group that no longer lives very well
Rage quickly resumes after the end of Bloom. Swann and his friends are turned upside down by Kat’s state of health while in the present, adults remember the events of this dramatic was 95. The scenario progresses much faster in this Tape 2, both in the present and in the past. The game finally poses A darker atmosphere. Unfortunately, the story is far from shining by its consistency and its structure.
Indeed, Lost Records still cannot pose real issues in Rage. At first, difficult to understand where the game wishes to take us since it is content to chain the scenes in which we see the group’s remorse and that Kat is missing from Swann, Autumn and Nora.
Then, the few more tense passages in the middle and end of adventure fall a bit like a hair on the soup, without any common thread. Above all, they are based on very few things except the group’s desire to return the same to a corey certainly toxic, but on which the game does not Clearly not linger enough to get us more emotionally involved.
In addition, the tension scenes are counted on the fingers of one hand in this second part since it arrives very quickly at its outcome. This would have nothing to do with a pitfall if the suspense was palpable and the situations really exciting, which is not the case here.
In addition, the staging of the “action” phases swears a lot Compared to the dialogue sequences as the whole lacks dynamism. The characters seem to be imbued with a certain heaviness in their movements and certain phases are really lengthwise.
A wandering narrative frame
Inconsistencies also come from Decisions made by the group in 1995… And on which you cannot influence. However, the game indeed insists on the girls’ desire to put water in their wine at the start of Rage In order to preserve Kat.
Surprisingly, after long palaver (which occupies a good hour) concerning their regrets to have put their friend in danger, the teenagers engage in the wake of reprehensible acts in the danger of their physical integrity. At no time can you decide not to participate in what any good citizen considers a mischief.
Be placed in situations morally and ethically very questionable without being able to act is particularly frustrating. Especially since the title then asks us to make minor choices during these same sequences, like a real foot-of-nose.
Too bad, because the endearing characters that you nod had managed to portray in Bloomespecially Swann, thus become much more difficult to identify. Where did the remorse and the desire to repent from the teenager from one scene to another? Yes, the human personality is complex and that of a girl her age even more. Does that justify so many contradictions? This is why judging a narrative title is so perilous: everyone will be their opinion according to their sensitivity.
Friends … or much more than that?
Add to this that crucial questions remain unanswered (the famous “TGCM” is indeed there) and the ingredients of a Last acting much more frustrating than exciting are united. So yes, keeping a part of mystery can work in a work, but here, nothing is explained or even suggested in order to give some tracks to the player and make it think. Thus, Don’t Nod’s decision to deliver an open end thanks to a last cliffhanger does not really move.
At least, the evolution of relationships between adolescent girls is pleasant to follow. The discussions between Swann, Autumn and Nora in the bar make it possible to shape the relations they have. Are they still so linked? Do they still manage to understand each other despite this dramatic summer 1995? Your choices during the dialogues determine all of this.
In the present, The convolutions are therefore less numerous than in Bloom Since the discussions revolve above all around their friendship, Kat and this famous package. The length of these sequences can still end up annoying since it is essentially the events of the summer of 1995 that interest us.
In the past, your decisions also greatly influence the relationships maintained by adolescent girls. Kat, Autumn and Nora can remain simple friends for Swann, become real friends and it is obviously possible to establish a romantic relationship with one of them by making the right decisions. You must show real subtlety to succeed in detecting the right choices to make in order to touch the happy elected in the heart.
It can sometimes be surprising to note that one of your interventions does not particularly appeal to your interlocutor. Fortunately, the game manages to make us understand why the choice was not just the right one thanks to a Just and coherent writing … that we would have liked to find all along.
Lost Records tried the more fun phases without much success
The more playful phases do not remove the scriptwriting wanderings Rage. The few puzzles or infiltration phases included by Don’T Nod prove to be great classicism. Swann can always use its camcorder to immortalize certain moments, but the desire to take out the device is rarely felt.
The game obliges us all the same during a few sequences (less than in Bloomhowever), Which tends to break the pace. At least, the recordings captured during the adventure are skillfully used in Ragewithout that creating real excitement either.
This atmosphere always intoxicating and a quality soundtrack (Special mention to the final song of Ruth Radelet) still appease our sentence. Certainly not enough to prevent thrillers fans at Life is Strange or dramas at Life is Strange 2 to cross the title of Do’t Nod Montreal with a little bitterness.
🟣 To not miss any news on the Geek newspaper, subscribe to Google News and on our WhatsApp. And if you love us, .
