Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Tape 1 Reviews
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage stands out in its genre for its shockingly real portrayal of its characters and the world they live in, delivering an experience that can be too close to home; the defining realism that makes the game something of a masterpiece.
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Tape 1 plants the seeds to yet another excellent teen drama and mystery by Don’t Nod: authentic, fun, intimate and intriguing, the title naturally navigates complex themes and teenage conversations, showing the studio's tremendous evolution. If things remain this way on Tape 2, we will definitely have a new classic of the adventure genre in our hands.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Tape 1 of Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is immersive, delicately crafted to feel as close to real life as a video game can get, and bursting with supernatural mystery.
Lost Records: Bloom sets the scene for a very intriguing finale with good character and story build-up but it does take time to get there and the episode ends just as the story is taking a turn. In that build up is some brilliant characterisation across two periods in history, world-class acting that makes these characters feel truly three-dimensional, compelling writing that keeps you hooked and a truly stunning depiction of Michigan that glows and glistens with beautiful, natural scenery. Swan’s recording adds an interesting approach for players to tell their own interpretations of the memories and this is a pleasant trip that often feels soothing and wholesome, but you feel Rage has quite a bit of work to do to stick the landing.
Lost Records: Bloom and Rage has a lot of great moments with just a few outliers that keep it from being an amazing experience. The story is great, which is elevated thanks to a wonderful cast and an interesting way of telling it. The basic gameplay for these kinds of games is here again, but with an intriguing Memoir feature to record different objects to create your own mini-videos. I wish the magical elements and finale were a bit more impactful, but I feel the narrative had enough to keep me interested in how they would continue the tale. It is also playable on the Steam Deck, albeit with some compromises. I wish I could get it to a fully stable 30 FPS without major visual downgrades, but with a game like this, the short drops down below weren't the end of the world. This is still going to be an enjoyable portable experience, and I had a blast playing it on the go.
Lost Records Bloom and Rage (Tape 1) not only recaptures the magic of DON’T NOD'S lightning in a bottle, but it enhances it in every way.
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage teleported me back to a time when freedom meant everything and there was nothing to be concerned about other than what my friends and I would do the next day.
Unlovable characters, no decision making, tedious mechanics, novice writing, terrible sound design and the most boring story in years add up to what is looking to be DONTNOD's worst game ever.
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage: Bloom (Tape 1) is hitting all the right notes to be another emotional gut-punch from Don’t Nod. With its bittersweet storytelling, perfectly curated aesthetic, and unshakable sense of unsettling mystery; I’m on the edge of my seat for Rage (Tape 2).
Lost Records’ opening chapter doesn’t quite provide enough of the mystery to have me excited for its next and final chapter. That said, the bonds created by these girls is a captivating experience that drew me in. While dialogue choices are the bread and butter of this experience, I do wish the reliance on the camcorder did something to flavor that story in ways that we just don’t see here. While Bloom is a fairly enjoyable chapter, here’s hoping that Rage can seal the deal.
Lost Records: Bloom and Rage Tape 1 is a stunning return to form, offering a great story and a bunch of wholesome, special characters. The choices feel more personal to you, and the camcorder mechanic adds more depth to Swann, allowing you to feel more in control of your own destiny than before.
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage – Tape 1 is a beautifully crafted journey of friendship that’ll keep players hooked in with each emotional narrative beat. It captures the universal experience of growing up while celebrating the nostalgia of the 90s, with the traditional DON’T NOD style of storytelling ensuring that each character feels special, each decision you make feels significant, and each twist you unravel feels shocking. Add to that the wonderful soundtrack and visual presentation and it’ll be clear that this is another special experience that easily lives up the high standard of storytelling that the team set with the original Life is Strange. I simply cannot wait to see how the story ends… roll on April 15th.
Lost Records: Bloom and Rage lacks in the gameplay department but shines in the storytelling department as expected. There are times when our playthrough saw frame drops and more choppiness than we’d like to admit through gameplay. The conclusion of Tape 1 – Bloom has us wanting to dive into Tape 2 – Rage sooner.
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is Don't Nod's new all-female graphic adventure, a ‘spiritual sequel’ to Life is Strange in atmosphere. In this first part, entitled ‘Tape 1: Bloom’, we discover how the friendship between four outsiders, the young Swann, Kat, Nora and Autumn, came about. What really happened in the summer of 1995? The title takes its time, giving us some juicy new clues only at the end of this first episode. Impossible to judge now, halfway through the adventure, we'll have to wait until 15 April to draw conclusions, but this first part has left us a little lukewarm: the more dynamic and realistic multiple-choice dialogues are a nice step forward, but will they be enough to make the title truly unforgettable? On the gameplay side there isn't much else, and even from a technical point of view the game has several smears. We'll have to see.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage (Tape 1) is a wonderful and exciting coming-of-age story that immediately draws you in. The game is a loving homage to the 90s, with an atmospheric atmosphere, authentic charm and a great soundtrack that adds to the immersion of the story.
Review in German | Read full review
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage - Tape 1 completely drew me into the mysteries of Velvet Cove and hasn’t let go even after finishing, with Swann, Kat, Nora, and Autumn’s friendships stealing the show despite some technical hiccups; while the story could have picked up the pace sooner and given more time between time jumps, its gripping start leaves me eagerly awaiting the next chapter in April, as the fate of the friend group remains a mystery.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Lost Records: Rage and Bloom delivers almost everything that Don’t Nod does best. However, its two-part format limits a nostalgic and resonant experience with a slow pace and few answers to its mysteries.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
I’m surely invested in the story, but it takes too long to get there. The fact that the second tape isn’t coming until mid-April doesn’t make it any easier. It just makes it hard to recommend the game right now, especially at $40. That’s a lot to pay for what’s essentially half a palette cleanser.
Don’t Nod has taken what they learned with Life is Strange and made something different, yet impressively better. It’ll make you think, both about your in-game actions and out of game life, and will stick with you long after you switch off. Most importantly, it goes to show games are an art form that can have a message, be fun and also still be unique and different to what we’ve seen before.
The first part of this game divided into two leaves us with a pleasant (and not so pleasant) taste in our mouths and wanting to know more. Despite some flaws in animations and textures, the story captures you shortly after starting and you immerse yourself fully in the story of these four friends who spent a very intense summer of 1995.
Review in Spanish | Read full review