CHAPTER IN DEVELOPMENT

Meeting Aoi: a date that ends too soon

In a record shop in Shimokitazawa, Aoi asks about your music taste, then chooses a record based on what you tell her. The chapter lasts around twelve minutes: enough to understand its idea, not enough to fully develop the meeting.

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OUR SCORE

7.5/10

IN ONE LINE

Aoi already works well, but the chapter ends too soon.

Length
About 12 minutes
Played in
French
Build
In development

Transparency note. The LoreBound team wrote this piece and gave this score. It is a development note, not an independent review.

WHAT YOU DO

At Dusty Grooves with Aoi

Meeting Aoi takes place entirely in Dusty Grooves. Aoi first asks what you are looking for: a specific record, something new, or simply a surprise. She then asks about the music you listen to.

Your answers help her choose a record. If you mention slow tracks, silence between sounds, or rougher voices, Aoi uses those details when she makes her recommendation. It is not a complicated system, but it is the heart of the chapter: Aoi does not give everyone the same answer.

Aoi in Dusty Grooves, with the opening choices for the player
At the beginning, you choose what you are looking for. There is no right answer: it simply helps Aoi start the conversation.

WHAT WORKS

Aoi does not speak into a void

The good part is that the conversation remembers what you have just said. Aoi does not only answer your last sentence: she comes back to earlier details to explain her choice. That makes it feel as if she is listening, rather than following a scene written in advance.

The record shop helps a lot too. Aoi has a simple reason to talk to you: you are looking for music, and she knows the records. The setting keeps the meeting from feeling like it came out of nowhere.

The pace is calm. Aoi takes time before answering, and the chapter does not try to create a big moment straight away. For a first meeting, that works better than a dialogue trying to tell everything too fast.

Aoi reflecting on the player’s response in Dusty Grooves
Aoi takes a moment before answering. That calm pace is one of the chapter’s best ideas.

WHAT IS STILL MISSING

The chapter ends too soon

Twelve minutes are enough to introduce Aoi, the record shop, and the way the dialogue works. They are not enough to make the meeting go anywhere. Just as the conversation starts to become interesting, the chapter is already over.

You also never hear the record Aoi chooses: the game only describes it in text. That is understandable, but it means the recommendation never becomes the strong moment it should be.

THE VERDICT

Meeting Aoi shows what LoreBound wants to do: give you characters that remember what you say. Aoi already feels believable because she does not seem to speak into a void. But this first chapter feels more like an introduction than a complete story.

7.5/10 — a good start that needs a real follow-up.