I know what you did last summer.
While Don’t Nod is known for creating Life is Strange, they have also branched out to dabble across various genres. From Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden to Jusant, and Vampyr, they are a studio that has taken risks to not just be known as the Life is Strange studio. That said, as they are no longer the stewards of that franchise, they have returned to their roots in Lost Records: Bloom and Rage. As it is split into two episodes, it follows the exact structure of its now decade-old predecessor, for better and worse.
Separated into two chapters; Bloom and Rage, you'll play as Swann, a young introverted girl who has never really had a group of friends surrounding her. You'll quickly meet Autumn and Nora, with the younger Kat joining during the first conflict of the game that sets things in motion to bring the girls together as a close-knit unit. As they have this summer to hang out before Swann moves away to Canada, they'll make the most out of their time, even despite the supernatural elements that will slowly enter into the fray.
Lost Records is set across two timelines; 1995 and 2022. With various trinkets and toys like pin art and magic eye puzzles, there has been a decent amount of work here to bring that era to life, complete with several items I personally owned back then myself. In contrast, 2022 certainly feels it with COVID being one of the first things you’ll encounter as the bar you’ll enter has a table set up with masks and hand sanitizer. That said, the bar is the only location for the duration of the game set in 2022.
Like Life is Strange, the narrative takes a while to really develop into what is going to keep you motivated to see it through. There is some sort of mysterious event teased early on, but it never really gave me enough to sink my teeth into. I found myself more interested in the moments where the girls were having fun and enjoying what time of the summer they had left than what is ultimately shown and teased about this mystery, even if I’m still unsure just exactly what it all means as of yet. While Episode two is certainly going to reveal it, I wanted just a smidge more to know exactly what was happening. While the revelation in the game’s final moments caught me off guard, I still found myself wanting more to justify the cliffhanger that sets up the next and final chapter.
As the game begins in 2022, we meet up with an adult Swann who is meeting Autumn at a local bar in the same town featured in 1995. We learn that ever since that summer, the girls went their separate ways, never to be in contact again. While we dig deeper into that mystery of its own, it’s not until Autumn mentions that she received a package that was addressed to the band the four girls were a part of; Bloom and Rage. As Swann and Autumn dive into their past to make it all make sense, we live out those memories via the gameplay present in 1995.
To add even more context to these memories, you can interact with certain areas of the bar to recall past events. These memories are voiced by the girls, and you'll actually live out a few of these to add even more context. While you'll still interact with bottles, pamphlets, books, posters, stuffed animals, and various objects, these lack anything significant to the narrative in the ways that these memory-infused objects do, making some of the exploration feel wasteful and pointless. This was an issue with Life is Strange as while some objects help with the world-building, finding belt buckles or beer cans feels essentially pointless to the story.
As the story progresses, we learn a lot about each girl. This is mostly handled through Swann’s obsession with her video camera. While it has gameplay elements such as being used for a flashlight, its core element is as a tool for Swann to capture her surroundings, and film short films of herself, her friends, her cat, and her surroundings. These clips can be stitched together with a voice-over that requires a set number of clips to complete what is called a memoir. You can substitute clips, rearrange the order, and then watch the final product all from a single menu.
From capturing Nora and Autumn rocking out in Nora's garage to birds, deer, and Swann's favorite video store, you'll take a lot of video clips. While the interactions of the camera with the girls are essential to move the story forward, I found no drive or point to finding the birds or critters to complete their memoirs, unless the game forced me, such as watching a pair of squirrels going at it. While the camera can lead to aiding in the mystery within, the bulk of its use felt like it contributed to pointless filler as it treated these memoirs like collectibles than something of substance.
While the camera can be used to some effect with each of the girls, it is the dialogue choices you'll make that bump Nora, Autumn, and Kat from friends to best buds, to something more. From choosing Nora's side in what color to make a sign to other moments where you'll pick someone to interact with, this allows you to get closer to each of them. As Nora was my favorite character in the game, by far, I was team Nora all the way.
Each girl is wonderfully acted and fleshed out. Nora is insecure despite her punk-rock attitude. She may come across as someone who is confident and social, but she can often be the first to be scared in select moments, such as sitting down on the overlook with nothing below their feet. Autumn is the more neutral of the group, despite her more outgoing personality. She loves to skateboard, play video games, but she's also the most decisive of the group, often unsure about what the group is looking to do. Kat, who is a year younger than the group, is the most rebellious and focused. She comes across as the young kid who wants to usher in chaos to any situation. That said she is also vulnerable and wanting friendship, especially as she cannot stand her sister and her loser boyfriend.
Swann herself is the most explored as your choices will dictate where her path leads. She loves bugs, taking videos with her camera, and playing with her cat. She loves little toys and little knick-knacks, as illustrated by where she’s ended up as an adult. She is vastly insecure and often goes with the flow, slowly feeling like she can take the lead in working with the group. Through the memoirs and the dialogue choices presented to you, you'll come to get to know her quite well, even if she is rarely a compelling protagonist.
The story certainly picks up once the group finds an abandoned cabin in the words, one found in a way that certainly lends to the mystery. As the group cleans it up to act as a clubhouse of sorts, with each girl having their own corner, they'll also look to spend time by the lake roasting marshmallows. This was likely my favorite parts of the game as it allowed for some good character moments and something for the group to do that wasn't always built around the camcorder.
While choices and dialogue are a big part of the journey here, it suffers from the same pacing issues and technical blemishes Life is Strange is known for. Dialogue can have a slower-than-normal and awkward delivery, and some performances don't match the replies. While I think the cast does a good job, they certainly don't sound 16. If I had to criticize one character, the bartender comes across as massively creepy, due to a character model and facial expressions that absolutely turned me off. Thankfully, he is the only character in the game to just not work here, especially as his view always seems to be over your head. That said, there aren’t really too many other characters than the girls, Kat’s sister, her boyfriend, and a few patrons at the bar. All in all, it’s a very small cast of characters all things considered.
Visually, it's a big win for this type of game. Character models look great with a nice attention to detail. Nora’s face is covered in acne, so being able to see her skin clean up over the years was a nice moment. Environments are fine and serve their purpose, even if there aren't too many of them. With 1995 being the focus, the abundance of VHS tapes and random toys littered around a few areas does help solidify the era.
Now, from a technical point, I certainly had some issues. Whenever the game would return to 2022, Autumn’s jacket would be devoid of its textures, often taking anywhere from 4-7 seconds to appear. This happened every single time. I also have several moments where the game would not progress the scene. Characters would be standing there until I press the skip dialogue button. This happened almost a dozen times. While these issues are likely to be addressed at launch, my experience was riddled with them.
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.
Developer - Don’t Nod. Publisher - Don’t Nod. Released - February 18th, 2025. Available On - Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC. Rated - (M) Blood and Gore, Nudity, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs and Alcohol, Violence. Platform Reviewed - PS5. Review Access - A review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
Jeff is the original founder of Analog Stick Gaming. His favorite games include The Witcher III, the Mass Effect Trilogy, Hi-Fi Rush, Stellar Blade, Hellbade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and the Legend of Heroes series, especially Trails of Cold Steel III & IV.