Lost and Found: A This Bed We Made Story by Lowbirth Games
In 2023, Montreal-based developer Lowbirth Games released This Bed We Made, a game I liked a great deal. In both games, you play Sophie Roy, who in the first game is a maid at an upscale hotel in Montreal in the 1950s.
In this outing, she is a stewardess about the MS Orpheus, a cruise ship, in the early 1960s. The Orpheus offers transatlantic cruises between North America and various destinations in Europe.
The Steam page calls Lost and Found DLC for the original game, but in fact, it is not; you do not need to own the original game to play. It’s a stand-alone application, although if you have played the original game, you’ll have better insight into the protagonist and her past.
Good Clean Fun
Gameplay in both is similar; you enter someone’s room, clean it up, collecting used towels, cups, glasses and trays, emptying ashtrays, putting fresh towels in the bathroom, cleaning tubs and toilets, and making the beds. But also, in both games, you snoop, clicking on objects, opening drawers, reading books and letters…and in the process, solving mysteries about the guests.
Lost and Found lasts only a few hours; This Bed We Made was a much longer game, but the new game’s price is far lower to suit its playtime. If you liked the earlier game, it’s worth your time; and if you are new to the series, it may persuade you to check out the earlier game.
Some new elements of gameplay are introduced; as a steward, guests will sometimes ask you for tea or coffee, and occasionally, you’re asked to deliver telegrams to the guests, tasks not required in the earlier game.
From a development perspective, I imagine much of the game was easy to deliver; we already have the code to implement all of the “cleaning guest rooms” aspect of the game, with only these new elements needing engineering. And I imagine much of Sophie’s animations were reused, with only new characters requiring animation. (I’m a game developer, and I notice these things.)
One minigame continued from the original is reassembling torn-apart letters you find in rooms you clean.
Stolen and Found
In Lost and Found, it seems likely that one of the guests on your cruise ship has been engaged in petty theft, and while serving their rooms, the cruise director asks you to help him find out who. One of the things stolen is a rosary owned by the Black musician who entertains the guests; it’s not actually worth much, but his Mom gave it to him, and it has personal value.
You have only a handful of rooms to explore, but each delivers a bit of an emotional impact as you understand more about the people who occupy them. At the game’s climax, you do discover the thief and perhaps sympathize with their motivations. While returning the stolen items to their owners, you have the option of shielding the thief from repercussions.
The original game had a number of console implementations; the current game is at the moment only available on PC, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it appear on other platforms in the future. And the PC version can be played with a controller (although I played via mouse and keyboard and don’t make any judgments about its playability with a controller).
At the game’s start, you can, if you have played the earlier game, choose options that affect this play, in particular whom you chose as your romance character in the first game. This does have an impact on the story, but doesn’t affect the puzzles you solve (and if you’re fresh to the game, is not all that relevant).
The Verdict:
Although gameplay varies only a little bit from the first game – you solve puzzles while snooping in rooms – it does have an emotional impact; the characters you encounter and your conversations with them affect you.
Lost and Found is fully voiced, both in English and French, and the soundscape replicates character actions and footsteps. The music is pleasant and not repetitive (but not remarkable).
At the end of the game, if you wait through the credits, there’s a short scene where you talk with Beth (who, depending on choices in your first game, is either your sweetie or just a friend), who needs your help. This is clearly setting the scene for a sequel, probably a full-length one rather than this short supplement. And I look forward to it.
Lost and Found: A This Bed We Made Story is available via Steam.
Watch the official trailer for Lost and Found: A This Bed We Made Story:
