Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Tape 1 Review

A Teenage Dream or a Nightmare in Velvet Cove?

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage sees DON’T NOD return to arguably what they do best – a narrative adventure full of teenage angst and supernatural shenanigans backdropped by a stunning landscape and enhanced via an atmospheric soundtrack. 

In our opinion it’s these very tropes that made immersing ourselves in previous games like Life is Strange and Tell Me Why such an enjoyable experience, so when it was obvious from the outset of Lost Records: Bloom & Rage that this game was going to offer more of the same, we were hooked.

Like some of DON’T NOD’s previous titles, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is an episodic game. We played the first part: Tape 1 – Bloom, which is out now. On purchase of the game, the second part, Tape 2 – Rage, will become available as a free downloadable update upon its release on April 15th.

Teenage Dreams and Dark Secrets

The game takes place over two timelines – 1995 and 2022, and continuously flicks between the two, offering you chunks of narrative that build up to solve a mysterious puzzle about what a group of 16-year-old friends got up to in the summer of 1995. You play as Swann, a shy, nature-loving, documentary-filming girl who makes her first real friends that summer in Nora, Autumn and Kat, and experience the group of girls’ close bonds forming. 

In 2022, the group are reuniting as adults and trying to remember what exactly happened. You quickly discover that not all those memories are sunshine and lollipops – there is a much darker undercurrent to their experiences that gets uncovered piece by piece as you progress through the game.

Stranger Things Vibes

Set in the seemingly sleepy town of Velvet Cove, Michigan – the landscape is a stark contrast between beautiful lakeside woodland and ugly, run-down urban areas, but both are wonderfully rendered and enjoyable to explore. The numerous scenes set at sunset are a joy to behold, and the night scenes are suitably unsettling.

The combination of a retro setting, the long-lost freedom of teenagers being able to explore their neighbourhood long after sunset without adult supervision and eerie happenings gives Lost Records: Bloom a Stranger Things vibe, and even the pulsing synth soundtrack, familiar to fans of the show, can be heard throughout the game.

Dual Timelines and Teenage Angst

The inclusion of two different timelines is an interesting way to drive the suspense in the narrative. It is revealed at the outset of the game that something terrifying happened in the past, neatly revealed by a frantically filmed piece of camcorder footage set in a dark wood – a nod to ground-breaking 90s movie The Blair Witch Project. This reveal means throughout the rest of Tape 1 – Bloom you are waiting for the big reveal about what exactly led to this footage, and are offered hints in both timelines as the women at the reunion try and piece together their memories of what happened that summer. 

Seeing how experiences as a teenager helped influence the women the girls became also adds an interesting point of interest. You get to know the characters in 1995, see what makes them tick and learn about their hopes and dreams, and then get to see how these shaped the women they became. How DON’T NOD have managed to cram so much narrative into a game whilst still keeping it engaging, interactive and full of meaningful gameplay is impressive. 

Lights, Camera, Action

One device the game uses throughout is the ability for Swann to record events using her camcorder, creating tapes in the process. Some events are mandatory to record to progress the narrative, but you can use your camcorder to find hidden details in the locations you visit and take your time exploring each location. For example, at the start of the game, Swann starts a tape by recording a bird outside her bedroom window. There are 15 different species to discover to complete the tape, which you can find by using your camcorder in various locations, panning around, and adjusting the zoom. 

Along the way, you’ll also uncover unique objects, like graffiti or strange toys, that can be filmed to curate new tapes. You can watch Swann’s edit of each completed tape complete with suitably bad-quality, wobbly footage and overlaid with her narrative. There is also the option of doing a bit of editing yourself by swapping out scenes and moving them around to change the tape if you wish, although this wasn’t really something that interested us. 

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage’s Authentic Characters and Soundtrack

We have more than a passing knowledge of what it is like to be a teenage girl in 1995, so can confidently say that the way the group of girls interact is extremely accurate, from the teasing about crushes and the worries about fitting in, to the desperation of escape from a seemingly mundane life and the aspirations of a better one. In fact, Lost Records: Bloom is so well written, animated and acted, that we were totally drawn in from the very first scene and not once were we tempted to skip conversations. The music is also accurate to the era and plays more than a background role in the storyline too, with the girls acting out their teenage rebellion by forming a punk band. Plus, the game’s soundtrack features music from three contemporary female-led groups.

Choices and Consequences

As to be expected, interactions with other characters are a central part of the game. DON’T NOD has been experimenting with a more natural style of conversation, with options to interrupt others, wait your turn or say nothing at all. You can also often find new options for interactions by looking around you and finding objects that you can comment on. These interactions, and other decisions you make, decide your relationships in both timelines with the rest of the group – will you end up acquaintances, BFFs or something more? 

The decisions you make will also inform how Swann grows as a character. She starts the game as a fairly wide-eyed innocent, content to play with her cat at home or go for walks in the forest by herself. Through your choices she can choose to become more rebellious – standing up for herself against bullies, or be a peacemaker; stick to the rules or break them, and toy with her friend’s emotions by flirting with one, or all of them. 

A Captivating Start with a Cliffhanger Ending

DON’T NOD continues to surprise with Lost Records and Tape 1 – Bloom, pushing the narrative adventure genre in new directions. This first tape wraps up some story threads while leaving many tantalisingly unresolved, ending on a cliffhanger that sets the stage for the next installment, Tape 2 – Rage. 

We can’t wait to see where it goes next.

Important Links

DON’T NOD’s Lost Records: Bloom & Rage – Part One “Bloom” Launches Today – https://www.thexboxhub.com/dont-nods-lost-records-bloom-rage-part-one-bloom-launches-today/

Buy Lost Records: Bloom & Rage on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/lost-records-bloom-rage/9n3f1lw9hc6c