There are two trailers for 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Lost Records: Bloom & Rage right now, and neither of them seem to match up with the key hooks in the game's Steam description. The first shows a group of '90s teenage friends in a band, jamming together and having fun, while something mysterious watches them from the woods. We see a log cabin on fire, the friends desperately trying to get inside, and then an enticing ending ꧃that shows them staring into a magic pit glowing with an ethereal purple sparkle.

The second trailer, recently shown off at ID@Xbox, shows... well. Nothing. Calling itself 'the lo-fi trailer', it shows a bunch of small town b-roll, with an authentic '90s home video feel, and half a second of this purple glow that only makes sense if you saw the first trailer, plus a weird symbol that might be a cult but really I only think that because surely there must be something in this trailer. The protagonist also grabs the camera and says that if we're seeing this, she must be dead, but then she laughs like it's a big goof. Maybe it's foreshadowing. Maybe it's nothing. You don't want a trailer to leave your audience thinking it might be nothing.

Lost Records Feels Like A Retelling Of It

And the thing is, this isn't a game about nothing. There are some games where it's all about the journey you take and the feeling it leaves you with. It would be hard to sell, say, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Firewatch without using the phrase "look, just trust me on this". But according to the Steam page, Lost Records is not just about the '90s, but about a reunion 27 years later when the teenagers "confront the dark secrets that made you all promise to never speak again after that fateful summer".

This nostalgia, mystery, strange compulsion to return, and the way the characters age all remind me of Stephen King's It. This is one of the most iconic stories in pop culture, and is the highest grossing horror movie of all time, with Chapter Two in fifth place. Being like It should be a massive sell for Lost Records. The game seems like It without the clown or King's stranger twists, focused on the friendship and the feeling that you can't go home again. This is Lost Records. Not generic lo-fi footage.

I'm the target audience for Lost Records. It's the same studio and same vibe as 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Life is Strange, and that's one of my favourite series ever. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:True Colors was my Game of the Year back in 2021. I'm a '90s kid. I'm getting this game no matter what. But the second trailer only seemed to double down on the atmosphere the first one established, only with less intrigue. It's like they were shown in the opposite order - the recent lo-fi one should have been the tone setter, and the more plot-oriented one should have followed.

Mismarketing Lost Records Could Damage This Genre

The lack of detail, plus the release date still slated for the nebulous 'Late 2024' has me thinking there's a delay a-brewing. A delayed game is eventually good and all the rest of that fake Miyamoto quote, and I'd rather they got it right than got it here as fast as possible. But I'm invested in Lost Records - I love games like this and they often fall short of sales projections which makes it seem like they're unwanted, when they in fact conjure up some of the most passionate fanbases around and provide an excellent gateway for new players to see what gaming has to offer.

That's why it bothers me a little to see this. Don't Nod's narrative-focused games have been shaky for a while now - True Colors was by Deck Nine, who also made Before the Storm - and Lost Records should be a return to form. Maybe it is! But I worry people aren't going to find out if this is how it's sold. I'm still not really over 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Goodbye Volcano High vanishing from the conversation without a trace. It was rough around the edges, especially on last gen, but it stirred those Life is Strange emotions and found poetꦯry in nihilism. But it feels like barely anyone else is even aware it came out.

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage should be shouting from the rooftops that it's It. Though I'm sure there are numerous differences (no magic killer clown, no missing children, no... well, you know how it ends), the idea of '90s nostalgia wrapped around a mystery that draws the kids back to the town as adults is a premise way more likely to get fans on board than an odd purple glow. I still have high hopes for Lost Records, but right now, I'm hoping it figures out a way to market itself as much as I am hoping it's a great game.