Don’t Nod has a knack for bottling nostalgia, shaking it up, and pouring out something raw, real, and powerful. Lost Records: Bloom & Rage: Bloom (Tape 1) is a narrative adventure game that unspools a mixtape of teenage angst, friendship, and the echoes of a summer that refuses to stay buried.

With Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, Don’t Nod continues its tradition of crafting compelling episodic choice-based narratives that explore complex themes. Probably best known for Life Is Strange (2015), this new title feels like a page out of Max Caulfield’s universe (and maybe it is?).

Interestingly, this game has been split into two parts called ‘Tapes’. With Bloom (Tape 1) out today, then Rage (Tape 2) in April.

Setting the Scene

Bloom (Tape 1) is a perfect blend of cosy and nostalgic, inviting you to sink into its world and let time slow down. The stakes aren’t about saving the world, solving intricate puzzles, or slaying monsters (at least, not that we know of just yet). It’s about piecing together memories and reliving the little moments that make life feel big. You’re not rushing to the next objective; you’re sifting through the past, sitting with old wounds, and maybe healing them too.

The game masterfully layers its mystery across two timelines. The golden summer of 1995, where Swann, Autumn, Nora, and Kat are inseparable, and the stark reality of 2022, where they barely know a thing about each other. Swann and Autumn, now well into adulthood, have returned to their sleepy little home town Velvet Cove to try to remember what tore their friendship apart all those years ago.

“The Swann Files”

The game’s mechanics lean heavily into Swann’s filmmaking obsession. Much of the game is seen through her camera as she tries to capture every corner of Velvet Cove before her family moves to Canada back in 95′. But the camera is more than just a tool; it’s a shield — a way for Swann to navigate the world without fully confronting it.

The cinematic direction in this game is stunning. Every frame feels perfectly composed. For a game that leans so heavily into the topic of film and storytelling, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage delivers thus far in Bloom (Tape 1).

The game taps into a collectible-heavy gameplay style by filming specific scenes and items with Swann’s camcorder. There are optional side projects; documenting local bird species, graffiti art, and toys with unsettling auras. There are quite a few achievements to unlock for the avid completionist.

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Mixing Memoirs

However, sifting through recorded clips to make space for new ones can feel like an uphill battle for those of us with hoarder-like gaming tendencies. I found it best to manage my footage in the quiet moments back in Swann’s bedroom, deciding what to keep and what to let go. But maybe that’s the magic of the process. Forcing us to stop, reflect, and treasure the memories we choose to hold onto.

Apart from this inventory-like management, whether or not we edit the footage doesn’t seem to impact gameplay; we don’t showcase our films anywhere, these films simply exist for us to interact with if we choose. For players uninterested in this mechanic, it’s easy to ignore. But I can’t help but feel it’s a potentially missed opportunity. Perhaps tape two (Rage) will give our footage a greater purpose.

The Art of Growing Up and Growing Apart

At its core, Bloom (Tape 1) is about relationships. Dialogue isn’t always mandatory. Conversations can be interrupted, ignored, or left hanging in uncertainty. The game really put me in Swann’s awkward, self-conscious shoes. I felt her struggle to decide when to speak up, when to hold back, and how to present ourselves to the group. You can build relationships or keep your distance. Your choices can shape the narrative. At the end of part one, you can compare your decisions with other players just as we could in Life is Strange.

Adorned with acne scars, home-cut bangs, freckles, and asymmetrical features, characters feel less like polished video game characters and more like people we once knew. I felt transported back to my younger self navigating the complexities of girlhood and friendship circles.

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So. Much. Nostalgia.

I was born in ‘97, at the tail end of the ‘90s, but I still grew up in the warm afterglow of that era. The early 2000s were my wonder years, filled with the same chunky CRTs, wired controllers, and cheap plastic gadgets that Bloom (Tape 1) so effortlessly resurrects. Playing this game made me grieve something I never really thought too hard about actually losing… Before screens took over our worlds and life was a little more tangible.

The music in Bloom (Tape 1) is pure ambient dream pop, wrapping every moment in a hazy, nostalgic glow. While Bloom & Rage’s explosive anthem took a moment to grow on me, I caught myself singing it long after I rolled the credits.

Not a Horror Story, But Still Haunted

The beauty of Bloom (Tape 1) is how it balances the cosy with the eerie. It’s not a horror game, but something is haunting these characters. And there’s something a little out of this world about it all. Whether the force that binds this mystery together is supernatural or something more psychological and perhaps more metaphorical remains to be seen.

Rewind, or Skip?

With full exploration, Bloom (Tape 1) runs around 8–9 hours of gameplay. I encountered no major technical issues aside from some textures taking a moment to load early on. My experience was otherwise finely tuned.

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).

Quest Daily Scores Lost Records: Bloom & Rage (Tape 1):

8.5/10

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage: Bloom (Tape 1) is available on PC via Steam it will also be available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

Early access to Lost Records: Bloom & Rage was granted to Quest Daily by the publisher.