Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Tape 1 review - A modern classic emerges

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is the modern evolution of the episodic adventure game format that I have been waiting for. If you fell in love with Life is Strange a decade ago, what you’ll find here won’t simply scratch the same itch. This spiritual successor is an upgrade in every sense; boasting an intriguing story, a visually sumptuous world, and most importantly, an integral sense of player agency that so often gets lost in what is typically a fairly passive genre of gaming. Don’t Nod has really struck gold with this formula.

That’s even more so the case if you have a nostalgic connection to the 90s. I’ll admit, I wasn’t a teenager in the 90s as Swann, Autumn, Nora, and Kat were, the four figures at the centre of our story. Instead, I was born towards the end of the decade, but so many of the cultural references brought to life in Lost Records’ first episodic ‘tape’, Bloom, persisted into the early 00s. Experience this nostalgic warmth with everything else that Lost Records has to offer and you’ll quickly realise why I’m head over heels for this game.

Lost Records centres around the aforementioned Swann, Autumn, Nora, and Kat, with players assuming the role of the former. It’s a tale that spans two time periods. In 1995, it was a summer of self-discovery and hedonism that drew the foursome together - one that ended in a vow to never speak to one another again. However, 27 years later, the group’s long-buried secret resurfaces, forcing them to reunite.

Watch the trailer for Lost Records: Bloom & Rage below.

I’ll admit, when it comes to Lost Records’ story, I have more questions than answers at the present moment. With the game’s second and final tape, Rage, not set to drop until April, the game is certainly holding its cards close to its chest but what I can tease is that what tape one, Bloom, has to offer is hypnotically engaging. Even without many answers, I still find myself dancing around the knowledge that I do have because so much of Lost Records’ charm lies in the act of journeying completely into the unknown. A lovechild of Stranger Things and I Know What You Did Last Summer, Lost Records so wonderfully weaves together the fantastical with the tangibly relatable.

As my colleague Anghared Redden so aptly summed up in her preview of the title last year, “teenagers have never felt more realistic” than they do here. Lost Records’ story may include some other-worldly elements, but it never strays from feeling grounded. The origin and meaning behind the fantastical elements is something that’s clearly going to be addressed in Rage more so than they are in Bloom, but it’s clear that they’re manifestations of the issues that our protagonists are dealing with - namely, insecurity, a blurred sense of identity and place, and a discovery of voice. Issues that, admittedly, don’t necessarily expire when you stop being a teenager.

It’s why I felt so invested in the game’s choices because we’ve all been young. If you hadn’t ascertained, Lost Records will present you with dialogue options, with your choices affecting the narrative. As Bloom only brings you to the story’s halfway point, I remain somewhat unsure of the full impact that my choices, so far, have had. The options I’ve selected certainly don’t feel drastic, determining the closeness of my relationship to each member of the group, for example, or dictating whether I respond to a situation calmly or fuelled by anger, but as I say, I sense that it’s this rollercoaster ride of teenage emotions that’ll fuel the growing prominence of the game’s other-worldly elements when Rage does land. And let’s face it, with a name like Rage, it’s going to be the darker of the two instalments.

It would be remiss to not highlight the strength of the game’s structure. A long-buried secret is what draws the group back together as adults in the present day, and it’s through the act of reminiscing that you’ll then cut into a segment from 1995. It allows the player to essentially write the game’s history. Present day Autumn may, for example, say something along the lines of, “Where was it that we used to hang out again?” As Swann, whatever I’d respond with would become canon, really making me feel as if I had an impact on the shaping of the story.

Credit / Don't Nod

This structuring also made in-game items all the more interesting to interact with. In Life is Strange, Max Caulfield would ‘inspect’ an item by simply pondering on it in her head which isn’t exactly something we wouldn’t do in real life, but I don’t tell myself a story every time I encounter an object. That unnatural style of storytelling is eradicated here. If Swann chooses to ‘reminisce’ in a 90s set segment, this game’s iteration of ‘inspecting’ an object, you’ll actually hear the voices of the adult characters sharing stories about that particular item or place.

That may not seem like a hugely significant feature but it’s something that really does improve the flow and believability of, as I previously said, what can be a challenging and passive genre. I never felt myself pulled out of Lost Records’ world. Similarly, I appreciated the fact that every item I picked up was crafted with the word immersion in mind. As I rotated a bottle of maple syrup, I could hear the contents sloshing around inside. When I picked up a Tamagotchi on Swann’s bedroom desk, I was thrilled to find out that I could actually play with it, and rapidly took to feeding and cleaning my new little virtual friend.

There are plenty of other ways in which Lost Records rids itself of player passivity. Perhaps the most prevalent of which is the game’s use of a camcorder, or video recorder, mechanic. Swann is an avid filmmaker so anytime you’re in a 90s set scene, you can get your camera out and video your friends and surroundings. In certain sections, this is story-driven, like when Swann is tasked with recording a music video for the group’s punk band, Bloom & Rage. Yes, that’s where the game’s name is drawn from. I have to say, it was a total thrill when the girls gathered around a CRT TV to watch the grainy music video that I myself had just filmed and directed.

Credit / Don't Nod

You can use the camcorder mechanic whenever you choose though, provided you’re in the 90s. In fact, you’ll need to if you want to ‘collect’ the game’s collectibles. I’ve said ‘collect’ in inverted commas because you won’t exactly be searching for physical objects. Instead, you’ll be tasked with filming them across various given categories. One is ‘birds’, with Swann tasked with filming 15 across the entire game. Swann’s cat, scenic views, and graffiti are just a few of the other things you’ll want to film if you’re going for full completion, as well as Swann’s friends. You can then view your video projects by opening up the game’s ‘memoir’ section, where you can also replace clips or swap them around. When you’re happy with your project, sit back and watch the delightfully grainy fruits of your labour.

Created in Unreal Engine 5, it’s no surprise that Lost Records is a treat to look at. Velvet Cove is as inviting as it is eerie, and that’s a difficult duality to balance. I should also add that Lost Records’ Bloom features some welcomed puzzle-solving from time to time, prompting you to truly engage in your environment in order to progress the story, again, instead of simply determining what happens next via choice alone.

Credit / Don't Nod

As much as I wish I could dive into Rage now, the story’s second and final part, Don’t Nod is very clever in holding the instalment back. Its lack of availability only proves that the studio has achieved what it set out to do as I’ve not been able to stop theorising about what may happen next. Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is a modern classic. Tape one, Bloom, proves that this is the evolution that the episodic adventure genre needed, replacing player passivity with a clear sense of agency and involvement. When all that is backed by an intriguing story, well-written characters, and an infusion of 90s nostalgia, well, you end up with something very special indeed.

Pros: Likeable characters, intriguing mystery, interactive gameplay

Cons: The slow build of the narrative won’t suit all

For fans of: Life is Strange, Telltale Games, Until Dawn, Detroit: Become Human

9/10: Exceptional

Lost Records’ first tape Bloom is out now on PlayStation 5 (version tested), Xbox Series X/S, and Windows PC. Tape two, Rage, will launch on 15 April. A review code was provided by the publisher. Read a guide to our review scores here.