Lost Records: Bloom & Rage

During a perfect summer in the 90's, four girls feel drawn together to form a deep lifelong friendship. However, something horrible happened. Something they need to forget. They run, from what they did, from each other, from even their own memories. A package shows up, forcing them to reckon with their past.

It's an incredible plot, and the execution pays off. Thrown back into the summer of '95, full of the unrestricted, free feeling of a group of teen girls' last summer before college and "the real world." It's nostalgic and bittersweet. I found myself remembering aspects of my own past I had long forgotten. Sights and sounds pull you into an immersive world. And the music! Oh, the music! It's a fun blend of dreamy pop sequences and riot grrrl punk.

Each character is fleshed out here, even those that could have been 1-dimensional. Turn every stone, try out every dialog option, because there's a deep mystery here, and it deepens the more you look into it.

This is a rich game focused on characters. On growth. On dangerous mysteries and forgotten pasts. It's somehow both cozy and thrilling. I can't step away from it. In just over a month, the second half will land, and you won't want to miss that.

I downloaded Bloom and Rage on the PS5 and so far, have played part 1.

The game does a fantastic job of making you feel like you're a kid again in the 90s. Which is very special to me as I was raised in the 90s myself.

I enjoyed the story so far, despite the cheesy dialogue and the facial mechanics. My God, the facial mechanics.. I believe the studio must have ran out of money before they could really get the graphics correct.

Despite the mechanical flaws, it didn't take me out of the immersive aspect. I think a score of 7/10 is pretty fair. It's not as good as the Life is Strange saga......

The vibe of the game is summery, evoking a sense of warmth and nostalgia that makes me want to dive into it every summer. The combination of bright visuals and cheerful sounds creates an atmosphere that feels inviting and carefree. However, there's an intriguing twist; the game also incorporates a strange and eerie vibe that adds depth to the experience. This juxtaposition of light and dark elements keeps players on their toes, making each moment feel both familiar and unsettling.

One of the standout features for me is the camera recording mechanic. It adds a unique layer of fun to the gameplay, allowing players to capture their adventures in a creative way. Whether you're documenting quirky moments or exploring the game's beautifully crafted environments, using the camera feels rewarding and engaging. Overall, the game masterfully blends nostalgia with an eerie undertone, making it a must-play, especially during those sunny summer days when you want to escape into a captivating world.

The music is good, the visuals are nice (as for the characters they stick to the identity of the company, so if you don't like it they will seem bland) and the voice acting is alright. Those are the things I could praise from this game.

I didn't like the story, it feels like it narrowed its target audience to a small niche, unlike the original Life is Strange, however it feels like a trend since another game Don'tNod developed, Tell Me Why, is quite similar to it, both being quite different to Life is Strange. So when I gave it a chance I thought, unlike Tell Me Why, I could have more of Life is Strange, which isn't true and I get more of Tell Me Why, so if you like that game you will enjoy this story a lot.

I also disliked the characters, early in the game you will be introduced to the main character, Swann ("like the bird with a double 'n' in the end") and her three friends: Autumn, Nora and Kat. What I dislike about Swann and the other three characters is different because Swann is screwed by the writing and the game mechanics, the other three had major or minor flaws. First Nora, she has the exact same style as the best character Don'tNod ever wrote: Chloe Price from Life is Strange, however when you get to know Nora you can quickly tell she has a completely different personality, a weaker one, she is a dreamer like Chloe, but she is a coward. Right next to Nora is Autumn, she is uptight, and some of the choices you make in the game can easily annoy her and I'm talking mundane things like not knowing which toothbrush is hers. Finally there is Kat and at first I thought she would be similar to Kate Marsh, also from Life is Strange, however her personality is closer to what Chloe Price is - automatically making Kat the best character -, so from that we can tell Don'tNod split Chloe in Nora and Kat, sure each have their own "thing", but you can boil them down to that. Before approaching my problem with Swann - that is also related to this point - I will say that some choices are quite annoying to make, because the game pushes you to make a choice that will please your "friend", what sort of friendship is this where you aren't allowed to have your own wants and needs? You have to do what the other person want otherwise they will get mad at you? Pathetic. As for Swann, the game portrays her as someone with low self-esteem and awkward, let me address the awkwardness first which is connected with the dialogue issue.

Most of the dialogue options in this game have a timer for you to pick, so you are presented with, at least, two options you can choose from or just abstain from picking, making a silent response. Those options appear as the other characters are talking, so if you wait a bit a new option might show up that is even more relevant (since you took your time to listen to their lines) than the general option that will appear at first. And what this has to do with Swann being awkward? Because sometimes the characters will point out how awkward you are for waiting a stupid game mechanic to show up, for a game so concerned with being inclusive on a broad variety of topics, why are they okay with shaming the player for waiting for a option that might appear or not? It is such a stupid mechanic.

So the game forces you to be awkward if you want the "best" answer, what about the low self-esteem? It is the same issue, those games rely on dialogue option the player can choose, so you can roleplay - or at least you should have that option - as someone more bold or more of a pushover, however, regardless of how you react, Swann will always have some low self-esteem comments like "oh... you want to be friends with someone like me?", "I'm invisible, boys never notice people like me", am I saying people like that don't exist? Of course not, specially as teenagers, but sometimes those comments come right after you pick an option that reflects someone that is confident, so it feels like whatever option you pick, it doesn't matter, the game forces you to play as the developers intended.

I like this sort of games (Life is Strange, Tell Me Why, Lost Records, etc), but Don'tNod clearly has an agenda in their most recent games that make their newer games even more niche for their already limited audience. Unfortunately, if you point this out, people don't take it as fair criticism, which is a shame because I want more games that deal with those interesting issues, but I want games more like Life is Strange and less like Tell Me Why and this one, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage.

Lost Records is the newest title from the beloved (especially by me) Dontnod studio, developed by the original team behind the first two Life is Strange games. The story follows Swan, Nora, Autumn, and Kat, a group of girls who quickly form a bond - but one with a deadline, as Swan is moving away at the end of summer, while they have to deal with some problems this new friendship will bring.

To be honest, I even feel a bit guilty for not liking this game as much as I expected. I've seen people call it "the Life is Strange 3 we never got," but I couldn't fully connect with it.

The biggest issue for me is the structure. The game focuses a lot more on relationship driven choices than true consequence based decisions. And because it jumps between past and present, a lot of the outcomes are already revealed, which makes many choices feel less meaningful. The tension comes more from seeing how things affect the characters than what happens to them.

That means the characters need to be deeply compelling , and they sort of are. Dontnod does a great job building a believable, emotional friendship between them. But there's a clear focus on Kat's which overshadows the other 2 girl. It feels like the game is pushing you in one direction instead of feeling organic.

Another issue is the pacing. Long stretches go by where very little happens, and even as someone who enjoys narrative games, it felt a bit too slow. The dialogue is solid, the chemistry is there, but the lack of momentum hurts. That said, Tape 2 improves a lot, and the final emotional scenes remind us of the brilliance this team is capable of.

I don't want to sound harsh. Lost Records isn't a bad game. Far from it. But I did feel disconnected for a surprising amount of time. Still, when the story finally picks up, it shows that Dontnod hasn't lost their touch with emotional storytelling. Not their best work, but definitely a solid, heartfelt experience.