You wake up, confused. you don't know where you are. Or what's going on. You're having trouble remembering. Something nearby is on fire. You're seeing things. People are screaming for help. But enough about the morning after the last time you went drinking. All that happens in this, too.
Not only are you one of the survivors of the crash of oceanic 815. But, because, like its "parent", this is a soap opera, you have amnesia. a lot of bad has been said about that idea. Personally, I find it clever, and honestly, entirely necessary. This, of course, has flashbacks. As expected, they inform who you are, relate to what's going on in present-day, and, they let you do a little detective work. And here, you're actually recalling this as you see it. On TV, that isn't the case. They're for the viewer. This was the only way to properly incorporate that. in each of them, you first have to snap a pic. it has to be exactly right. Framing, focus, zoom. You're given hints. It sounds a lot more difficult than it is. Once you have the shot, you can move freely. Well. Perhaps that word implies too much. This is linear as they come. You gradually realise what you were doing before you got on the plane. And you have to hurry. because someone you don't know is trying to kill you. Huh. Maybe you were paparazzi. The camera is definitely familiar. the still one, I mean. The TPP one can be a real pain. Especially when you tilt up or down. To whoever decided it should immediately go back when you let go? I see your trolling, and I can't help but be impressed. As everyone else... who gets a line... in this franchise, you're given a fresh start on the island. You gradually realise who you were. name and personality. And the question is, will you embrace that, and keep going in that direction? Or reject it? By which I mean, what will the writing decide. You get few choices in this.
As with other licensed games, the effort put into recreating what we saw in its source is one of the main draws. I'd say this gets it right two thirds of the time. I can't say a single negative thing about the locations, the general audio, the music(of course by Michael Giacchino) they're spot on. So let's move on to what I can call out. While the overall graphics are fine, when it comes to the characters, it's very hit and miss. Same for the voices. I do understand that the original cast may have been busy. You don't get to go to many places you don't already know. On the other hand, you get to go to almost every really cool place that you've seen. Of course, you don't necessarily get to do anything interesting there. and certainly too much of this is just you reenacting what you've seen others do. There's not enough tension in this. Rarely are you facing a time limit, when really, they could(and in this, should) be everywhere. Some things that are meant to be challenging are mere nuisances. Keeping a lightsource going as you are going through caves is just about lighting it again after it goes out. And putting it out before going under waterfalls. Navigating the jungle is just about going from one point to another. You can get lost because everything looks the same, and you have no compass. Well, you can drop a trail of "breadcrumbs". Unfortunately, sometimes, many times, too often, you have to find your way while being shot at(by The Others... and one tooltip actually said to fire back at them! Which I presume was removed at some point. And they kind of forgot that it would be annoying without that), or chased by The Black Smoke. Fortunately, if you hide in the easily recognisable Banyan trees, it will forget about you. You will automatically go into those if you go near them. This can't be toggled. That gets irritating.
A lot of this is essentially a walking simulator. There are almost no " chase" segments. They are among the more memorable portions. I do wish that it told you the first time, while paused, how to jump, how to dive. Given that it's the only times you can do either. It is fun. And yes, one of the reasons you're hurrying is, in fact, the Man In Black. There are branches, logs, rocks and the like to hop over. Duck under fallen trees. You can always tell when you should be avoiding touching something. Timing it all right does take a little getting used to. Turning is awkward. Sometimes you have to balance on a beam over a lethal drop. You can seldom use the gun. So don't bother gathering a lot of ammo for it. I kid you not, there is one part where you pick up two whole clips, use a single bullet, and then they take it all away from you! That segues nicely into the trading system. It's underused, and decent. You aren't given actual prices, so you have to figure out yourself how much you want to let go for what you're trying to get. You aren't told what you will(only what you might) need. The episodic nature paces this well. You get "previously on Lost" at the start of all but the first, then a cutscene placing you chronologically and geographically in the show, and giving an idea of what you will deal with this time. If you photograph iconic landmarks and the like, you can unlock extras in the menu. You will often be told when these are. Oh, Spoony? Fire up the fuse box counter.
There is a lot of disturbing content, some violence(albeit little gore and blood), and a little moderate to strong language in this. I recommend this to any fan of the series. 8/10
