Quick Verdict
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage – Tape 1 is a tough game to review on its own because it’s only half the story. Tape 2’s release and the game’s conclusion won’t arrive until April 15, 2025, and will largely dictate how beneficial the extensive character and world building were in Tape 1. However, the episodic release formula isn’t new to Don’t Nod titles, the original creators of Life Is Strange; so there’s precedent in comparing just how effective Tape 1 really is when it comes to its storytelling. After all, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage’s gameplay isn’t going to be the reason for picking up your controller.
I actually believe how much one enjoys Lost Records: Bloom & Rage largely depends on their age. Much of the game takes place in 1995, and it leans heavily on nostalgia. If you’re older, like me, you’ll find a lot of charm in these references, and as a result, the overall story resonates much more. At the end of the day, though, the game is all about its characters, and some of its themes may spark debate.
Summer Rewind
I have to preface this review by saying that I’m a huge fan of the original Life Is Strange from Don’t Nod. Growing up as a passionate RPG fan, I’m a sucker for narrative-driven games that prioritize storytelling over gameplay mechanics. While many find these titles unappealing since they’re basically walking simulators blended with visual novels, I find them satisfying to play. They’re often a much-needed respite from action games and even RPGs where pushing buttons at the right time is most important. Sometimes, it’s just nice to immerse yourself in an interactive movie, which is essentially what these games are.
It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years since the original release of Life Is Strange. Developer Don’t Nod followed it up with Life Is Strange 2 in 2018 before handing off the franchise to Deck Nine Games, which went on to release Life Is Strange: True Colors and, more recently, Life Is Strange: Double Exposure. If you’re unfamiliar with the Life Is Strange franchise, it uses a familiar episodic release cadence from classic Telltale Games, meaning players have to wait between episodes for the full story. While the most recent Life Is Strange releases from Deck Nine Games abandoned the episodic release schedule, Don’t Nod opted to split Lost Records: Bloom & Rage into two episodes: Tape 1 and Tape 2.
As I mentioned in my Quick Verdict, this makes it a bit difficult to review Lost Records: Bloom & Rage – Tape 1 on its own, but there is a precedent. Previous Don’t Nod titles with episodic releases almost always ended on a well-done cliffhanger, which meant you were eager to know what happens next. The first chapter of Lost Records: Bloom & Rage aims for that mark, but I found that it ultimately falls short. The mystery in Tape 1 builds intrigue but feels underwhelming, lacking a strong payoff. While the setup is there, it doesn’t deliver the kind of compelling cliffhanger seen in past Don’t Nod games. Still, there’s enough to make me want to see how Tape 2 resolves things.
Swann’s Song
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage tells the story of four teenagers living in Velvet Cove, a fictional town in Michigan. Players experience the game from the perspective of Swann Holloway, a self-admitted introvert with a passion for filming and movies. She eventually befriends Nora Malakian, Autumn Lockhart, and Kat Mikaelsen in a coming-of-age tale, with Tape 1 taking around six hours to complete, depending on how much time you spend exploring and finding collectables. To setup the underlying mystery, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage – Tape 1 bounces back and forth between 2022 and 1995. This method of storytelling isn’t exactly new, but the game executes it well, making me curious about what actually happened to these four characters.
The core gameplay mechanic in Lost Records: Bloom & Rage – Tape 1 revolves around Swann and her camcorder. This is actually done very creatively, and those who grew up in the ’90s will appreciate all the work that went into making it authentic. Throughout the game, Swann has the ability to film nearly anything and everything—this is also the main way to gather collectables—with the option of going back to edit the clips. The transition from camcorder footage to the in-game world is done very well, and it continually impressed me each time I switched back and forth.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Don’t Nod title if there weren’t multiple dialogue choices to choose from. Unfortunately, while I know they do impact some aspects of the game’s story, none of them felt very significant or memorable. Not surprisingly, the choices also impact the friendship level with the other three characters, with certain scenes influenced by who your closest friend is. While these four main characters are teenagers, Don’t Nod doesn’t shy away from more mature topics, but does it in a way that feels real for people of that age. Admittedly, some of this can seem cringy, but as someone who grew up in the 1990s, it’s actually pretty accurate.
Paranormal Playback
Similar to Netflix’s Stranger Things, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage leans heavily on ’90s nostalgia. This could completely miss the mark for many players though, since there’s an entire generation of gamers who can’t even relate to Swann and her friends. The reality is, some people just don’t understand a world without smartphones and spending summers hanging out and playing truth or dare. In fact, the game starts off with Swann having to return a movie rental, a reference that some people won’t even get in today’s age of streaming. With how big a role these elements play in the game, I feel like Lost Records: Bloom & Rage will land better with an older demographic that connects with all these elements. As one of those people, I understood what it was like to be a teenager in the ’90s and spend summers in a world where my parents couldn’t instantly reach me or even track my location.
The reason I’m stressing this point is that the central theme of the game, at least in my opinion, is about connection. Throughout Tape 1, it’s a story of how Swann connects with her three new friends, despite the fact that her and her family are packing up and moving to Canada. Now, that’s not as big a deal for teenagers, since there are so many ways to instantly communicate with one another. But for anyone who experienced this in the ’90s, they’ll connect with the theme of making those summer memories. How strong that ’90s connection is for the player really plays a major role in how much enjoyment they’ll experience with Lost Records: Bloom & Rage.
So what if you didn’t grow up in the ’90s? Should you avoid the game? Not necessarily, but just know that the game’s realism and authenticity lie heavily in understanding what it’s like to be a teenager during that period of time. Also, if you’ve played previous Don’t Nod titles, you’ll know that the developers support the LGBTQ+ community, and Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is no different. While this shouldn’t be controversial, it inevitably creates discourse in today’s gaming landscape. That being said, I found that the writing handles these themes naturally in most cases, though some interactions may feel a bit on the nose depending on player choices.
Velvet Cove Is Strange
While the majority of the game focuses on the four main characters, Velvet Cove also features other personalities. It wouldn’t be a proper teenage story without a bully or two, but don’t expect many diversions beyond the collectables. Again, gameplay is primarily limited to exploration and dialogue choices, and while there are a few puzzles to solve, they feel somewhat out of place. The good news is, there’s a good amount of locations to explore, and the variety keeps the experience from feeling stale. If you enjoy the camcorder mechanic and collecting collectables, you can easily lose track of an extra hour or two over the six-hour runtime.
It’s clear the focus of Tape 1 is on character and world building, and for that, it succeeds. By the end of the playthrough, I was invested in each of the four main characters and some of the other residents of Velvet Cove. In the final hour, the game does introduce some new characters that may play an interesting role in Tape 2, but that remains to be seen. One thing’s for sure, Don’t Nod didn’t skip a beat in spending time building the stories for each of these characters, and hopefully it pays off in the conclusion.
In terms of performance, I experienced the game on my PlayStation 5 Pro by taking advantage of it being part of the PlayStation Plus February 2025 lineup. It seems the game is capped at 30 fps, and there are moments when it drops below that. It’s not a perfect experience, but the game doesn’t have any action so it’s not a huge detriment. There’s some “Don’t Nod jank” in it, including stiff facial animations and odd lip syncing with dialogue. Being an Unreal Engine 5 project, some of the environments are stunning; however, expect to see some pop-in with textures, especially with clothing in certain scenes. Overall, the game runs well enough on PlayStation 5, but it’s not flawless, and the 30 fps is disappointing for this style of game.
The Butterfly Riff
Unlike the Life Is Strange series, where the main characters have some sort of power that makes them interesting, Swann and company are just normal teenagers dealing with typical teenage issues. This means that something else in the story needs to be engaging, and that’s the so-called mystery that is prevalent throughout Tape 1. The game did a fantastic job getting me curious as to what that mystery was, but I’m not convinced the payoff was there. Of course, much of this will be determined by what happens in Tape 2, but Tape 1 didn’t leave on the type of cliffhanger I’ve come to expect from Don’t Nod. For me, it feels like a bit of an unsatisfying conclusion, but I know that may not be the case for everyone.
I don’t feel that the episodic release is doing Lost Records: Bloom & Rage any favors, since two months is a long time to wait for the conclusion of the story. If you’re a PlayStation Plus subscriber, have a good memory, and are a fan of Life Is Strange, then Tape 1 is worth experiencing now, knowing that Tape 2 doesn’t come until April. Based on my past experiences with Don’t Nod games, I’m feeling confident that the developers and writers will deliver, but then again, stranger things have happened.
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage – Tape 1 official release date was February 18, 2025 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. This review is based on a copy of the game provided as part of the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog on PlayStation 5. While FullCleared does have affiliate partnerships, they do not influence our editorial content. We may, however, earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links.
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage – Tape 1 Review Gallery (possible spoilers!)
