Lost Records: Bloom and Rage. A Fantastic Game about Friendship, and the Bonds that Being an Outcast Creates

WARNING: THIS WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS. IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED THE FIRST TAPE YET, THEN PLEASE BEWARE AND AVOID THIS POST.

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Image from DONTNOD

Lost Records: Bloom and Rage was one of the most anticipated releases for its respective genre of choice based games. Initially set to release in 2024, the game was ready for experiencing on February 18th, 2025. I recently played and finished the first tape, and I have to say it made me miss choice based games a lot. Most people who have played or will play Lost Records, will have played or heard of Life is Strange, which was also developed by DONTNOD. While it was nostalgic in a way, the game still felt fresh. It was an entirely new experience with some of the aspects that made me love Life is Strange.

Mostly based in the summer of 1995, we watch as four girls become best friends through the mutual understanding that their situations and relationship with the town they reside in, Velvet Cove, sucks. The girls bond over the summer, becoming inseperable with each hangout session. But they aren't prepared for what it is they find while they're out wandering their towns woods. Something that would change their lives forever... or at least until 27 years into the future. But I'm ready to jump into my thoughts on the experience, so lets go!

The Plot

We start our adventure in the year 2022. Two years after the pandemic, and all of the shutdowns. Our protagonist has a K-95 mask in their car, as well as their mother complaining that she hasn't seen them since the pandemic. So off the bat, the developers were going for some kind of realism. I know some people prefer media like movies and games not to mention COVID or act like it never existed, but to each their own. We soon find out that we are looking at the world through the eyes of one Swann Holloway, who just flew into Velvet Cove from Canada to meet up with a high school friend who had reached out after 27 years of not speaking.

After spending some time at the local bar, we dive into some backstory as we have triggered flashbacks throughout the first episodes. We ping pong between present day and 1995 quite a bit, but the majority is spent in the 90's. Off the bat, one thing I enjoyed (and sorta hated) was how the game switches between first and third person. When you're playing as 16 year old Swann, its in third person and in first person when playing in the present day. As interesting as that was, my curiousity was just screaming "I wanna know what Swann looks like now!" So if that was the point, then good job DONTNOD.

Getting back on track, we see where the connection and trauma between the four girls begins. After our introduction to young Swann in her bedroom, we see that she's odd by societal standards as she loves nature and creepy crawlies. Her only real friend at that point is her cat, whose name you get to choose by the way! After getting ready, Swann wanders through the town, video taping all she deems interesting and beautiful, including her soon to be friends (and enemies). Swann ends up at a video store to return a rental, where we meet our first two friends, Nora and Autumn. Autumns a working girl at an ice cream truck right across from the video store, while Nora's just hanging around as she waits for her friend to come off her shift. From there, the player gets to decide how she responds to each character she interacts with, and the type of character you want Swann to be. After your interaction withe pair, Swann needs to head home which is where we encounter our bullies.

Dylan and Corey are showed to be our primary antagonists. They're rude and quick to belittle Swann because again, by societal norms at that time, there was nothing attractive about Swann. In their eyes, she's "fat" and an overall weirdo. There's a confrontation and you get to decide just how to tackle this verbal fight before our final friend jumps in; Kat. It is quickly known that Dylan and Kat are sisters who are very much at odds. Corey's presence doesn't lighten the mood either. Nora and Autumn find themselves involved soon after, which leads to Corey tossing poor Autumn's keys into a nearby abandonned park.

After the tussle with Corey an Dylan, the girls decided to keep in touch. To be friends. Even though you can consistently hear older Autumn and Swann's thoughts, you get to form your own through your actions, and choose who you would like bond with most. Remember how I keep mentioning societal norms? Yeah, that's because you can choose to have some kind of relationship with one of the girls. As we all know, gay relationships were not always openly accepted, especially in conservative towns. But this is a choice based game, so do what makes you happy.

The Characters

What I love most is how different each girls personality and family history is, and how much we see that as you hang out with them. For example, Swann is more well off than the rest of the group it seems. Although we don't see her house outside of her room, she has a camcorder. Which definitely wasn't cheap at the time. But she cam with her own set of problems, of course. On top of being an outsider and not having any friends, her own mother was constantly pressuring her to lose weight and even got the poor thing a scale for her birthday. The fatphobia was disgustingly at large in the 90's. She's surprisingly cheerful and an up-beat person despite all this, which is refreshing in a game that tackles some tough topics.

Then we have Autumn. Full of optimism, but is an army brat who doesn't have the best relationship with her mom. Autumn is positive and supportive, and is the mom friend everyone deserves in a friend group. She makes sure everyone is comfortable, while she also tries her best to keep her bestie, Nora, in check. She is one of the only, if not the only person of color in the towns high school so she tries to be a model citizen, as she confessed to Swann in 2022. We also get an idea that she has complex relationship with a character named Dean, who we don't see but is mentioned a few times.

Image from DONTNOD

Nora's homelife is not as complex, however we hear how much she struggles with her father and her mother, Linda. She's the most outwardly rebellious of the bunch, with her punk haircut and the smokey eye makeup she sports all throughout the episode. Surprisingly, she is the scaredy cat of the group. Nora is loud, outgoing, and is the friend that always wants to be on camera. Seriously, every time you pullout the camcorder, she asks to be filmed. But she's the most fun, and the one that encourages others to come out of their shell the most.

And finally, we have Kat. When we first meet her at the back of the video store as she fends off Dylan and Corey for us, she's depicted as rough around the edges. She's tough even though she's the smallest of the bunch. Her mouth runs rampant, and she says whatever comes to mind. Kat's a kind of a recluse, and that probably has to do with the fact that she's homeschooled. Her family owns the towns deer hunting ranch, which gets a lot of traction from tourists when it's hunting season. She has an open disdain for the business, along with her sisters boyfriend Corey. Kat does open up more throughout the game, and creepily has a bit of a witchy side when she decides that the song she wrote for Nora and Autumn's band should be a curse, and seals it with a blood pact (should you as Swann choose to).

Game Mechanics and Opinions

On top of the unique characters, I really love the games collectibles. Instead of taking select pictures like Life is Strange or tagging like Life is Strange: Before the Storm, you film bits and pieces of certain items to make different memoirs of your time in Velvet Cove. You also have the choice of editing the memoirs how you see fit, and the finished product has Swann's commentary at the end of it. This makes the collectibles more interactive for the players.

Since this a spiritual successor to Life is Strange, of course your actions have consequences. In my opinion, the consequences aren't as impactful... yet. We don't know what the second tape may hold, but as for right now your consequences only seem to slightly impact your relationship with the other characters. Sure, Corey and Dylan may remember if you mockingly record them, but it doesn't seem to have a major affect on you in this tape. It's hard not to compare it to Life is Strange, but in Life is Strange when you screw up, it screws you over bigtime. So hopefully we see that in the second tape.

It was insanely fun for me to see how teens hung out and kept themselves entertained at that time, and the kinship that came out of everyone's distinct issues. I also found it interesting to see how the girls made a home for themselves when they needed a safe haven away from their families. They became their own little family. The supernatural force that came along pretty much at the end of the game kept me particularly intrigued, when a hole popped opened up in the earth where Kat had chanted out her curse/song, the girls instinctively believed it wanted a sacrifice and/or offering in exchange for whatever they desired. Aside from being best friends and like family, the girls also felt like a coven. Another confrontation with Corey where their eyes collectively turned purple really sold me on that. I honestly hope they continue those supernatural themes, because it would make the town feel haunted or genuinely cursed.

Wrap Up

Honestly, I loved the kinship this game gave us. The opportunity to have genuine platonic relationships was heartwarming. How they overcome certain fears and judgements together makes me want to form a girl group of my own. The aesthetic of a small town in the 90's was endearing and made me want to time travel a little bit, just so I could experience it. A game like this makes you long for simplicity, love, and little bit of fun outdoors. I'm very much looking forward to how the second tape tackles the witchy vibes. Hopefully they keep it going!