BurningCar Lost Records: Bloom & Rage - Tape 1 Review

I finished Lost Records yesterday and as a big fan of both the studio and the genre, I went in with high expectations after seeing all those near perfect reviews. Unfortunately, I came away feeling a bit disappointed. Compared to the Life is Strange series, this game lacks the emotional depth and storytelling strength that made its predecessors so memorable. Each LiS game builds around a genuine emotional loss, something that feels raw and human. Lost Records tries to follow that same formula but never quite reaches the same level of authenticity. Both the ending of Tape 1 and the overall conclusion felt underwhelming. When Kat started singing at the end of the first tape, it honestly made me cringe because the song lyrics were painfully awkward. The reveal about her having leukemia felt predictable and fit right in with the many clichés the game seemed eager to include. The main cast also comes across as overly forced. Swann, the protagonist, is an overweight, red-haired outsider who is socially awkward and obsessed with insects, plants, and filmography. Kat has leukemia and comes from an abusive redneck family, Nora is Armenian with acne scars, and Autumn is Black. There is nothing wrong with any of that since diversity is great, but the way the game presents it feels unnatural and almost performative, like a checklist being ticked off scene by scene. The camera mechanic also did not work for me. It fits the concept and Swann’s personality, but it quickly became repetitive and restrictive. I constantly felt like I had to record every area just to progress or complete a collection rather than because I wanted to. The ending of Tape 2, especially the scene where you push Corey into the abyss, was extremely underwhelming since the writing and animation felt rushed. I also ran into what seemed like a bug on Xbox during the final scene where the adult characters perform the song again. The music did not play at all and I only heard ambient background noise, which completely ruined what should have been an emotional moment. The mystery package and the abyss storyline were both disappointing. The package scene dragged on without much emotional impact and I did not feel connected to any of the items inside. The reveal of adult Swann was supposed to be a surprise, but she looks almost the same as her teenage self, just with longer hair and a tattoo. The abyss, which should have been a major mystery, ends up feeling vague and meaningless. That said, the game still has its strengths. The 90s small-town atmosphere is beautiful, nostalgic, and full of detail. You can tell the developers cared deeply about the setting, even if it feels like they lost sight of the main story. The choices you make also matter and visibly affect your relationships with the other three characters, which I really liked. Overall, Lost Records is not a bad game. It is visually charming and has moments of emotional potential, but it fails to deliver the same emotional punch or narrative depth as Life is Strange. It is worth playing if you are a fan of the studio or the genre, just do not expect the same magic.