In terms of narrative-driven adventure games, DON’T NOD Entertainment is quite a prolific name among fanatics of the genre. AfterLife is Strangebecame a huge hit that spawned a franchise, DON’T NOD has continued to press on with similar titles such asTell Me Whyand the upcomingLost Records: Bloom & Rage. With the latter scheduled to be out in early 2025, Game Rant was invited to play a bit of the game to understand its gameplay and the friend group thatLost Records: Bloom & Rageputs front and center.
Lost Records: Bloom & Rageaims to captivateLife is Strangefanswith a new look, feel, and memorable characters. In terms of what DON’T NOD Monreal is doing withBloom & Rage, it’ll likely make fans look back at the original story of Max and Chloe asLost Recordsmakes a strong case to show how far DON’T NOD has come since 2015. After all,Life is Strangecelebrates its tenth anniversary next year. Taking the experience DON’T NOD has garnered with its work onLife is Strangeand its other narrative adventures,Lost Records: Bloom & Rageis shaping up to be an experience that fans of the genre will appreciate going forward and looking back.
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage’s Gameplay
In our preview,the main character Swann’s relationship with her friendswas the main focus. It seems that DON’T NOD still wishes to keep the main mystery of the game, as well as how the story unfolds, under lock and key, so this experience separated key sections in the form of flashbacks as Swann and her friend Autumn go down memory lane in the present day. While the full game may let these events play out differently, other aspects, such as how the game looks and feels, certainly impressed in a way that DON’T NOD’s long-term fans will most likely appreciate.
The game is still in development, yet what’s offered was still gorgeous to look at and experience, from the detail in the character’s facial expressions and hair to the use of color and lighting in the game’s environments. It helps sell the immersion of the game, even as it jumps back and forth between the past and present. All the characters and the world itself have so many unique facets to them to discover that will likely only improve closer toLost Records' launch. With Swann’s camcorder, the detail put into the characters and world gets even better as her memoirs perfectly mimic home videos from the ’90s.
How Players Get to Interact with Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
Narrative adventures are always about the choices players make, andLost Records: Bloom & Rageseems to offer tons of choices with some that might shape the game and the main character in ways thatLife is Strangecouldn’t do. In the preview, there were plenty of nooks, crannies, and objects to explore, and the dialogue options offered to players have a bit more flare and personality to them that both simplify the choices while communicating what they offer better than previous games have. Some of Swann’s dialogue options were more time-sensitive than others, being impulse choices from her at the moment as well as the player, which added to the fun of picking and choosing what to say.
Of course, like with similar games, some dialogue options didn’t match up with the choices offered on the menu. Some ended up reflecting what Swann wants to say against what she actually says, which helps showcase her introverted, socially awkward personality. As a whole,Lost Recordsseems toembrace player freedom and gives so many options that will certainly make multiple playthroughs satisfying. One way that fans can interact with this world that shows this aspect ofLost Records: Bloom & Ragewholeheartedly is the way the game uses Swann’s camcorder. Just astheLife is Strangeseries uses supernatural powers to navigate the world, fans need to record Swann’s day-to-day life as the game progresses, but with the right angle and proper timing, it’s possible to personalize Swann’s memoirs as players see fit in limitless ways.
As things stood in the preview, using Swann’s camcorder felt like a great way to take in the game’s details while still interacting with the world.Bloom & Ragegave plenty of fun things to record, and if there were specific things the player wanted to have on tape thatLost Recordsdidn’t want players to focus on, there were still ways to keep them in. Yes, this is how it’s possible to make all of Swann’s memoirs about her cat Pumpkin whenever he’s around.
Lost Records: Love & Rage Immerses Players into the Role of Swann
Lost Records: Love & Ragetells a story that takes place in 1995 and 2022, but the preview mostly focused on the summer of ‘95 beyond a few sections. Those sections offered a great, nostalgic look into the decade, with the blocky TVs, cassette tapes, and stickers on everything Swann owns. Each area found in the preview had tons of sections worth exploring and multiple objects to start conversations over with the members of the Boom & Rage band. Choosing the right option even gave or lost heart icons to represent when a favored or disliked option was picked, which shaped relationships in a way that could be felt in real-time that isemblematic of a DON’T NOD experience.
Some choices even came with an icon of a small tree growing, which might mean that players even get to establish key parts of Swann’s personality throughout their playthrough. It makes us wonder how these changes will affect whateverbig choicesLost Records: Bloom & Ragehas in store for players in the full game. DON’T NOD is very fond of having everything come together in the end, and there are plenty of cardsLost Recordshas close to its chest still. There’s plenty of potential forBloom & Rageto end up being an incredibly dynamic experience by letting players shape Swann herself as they go.
The Bloom & Rage Band Might Just Endear and Surprise Players in Unexpected Ways
The narrative journey of Swann and her friends inLost Records: Bloom & Rageis setting itself up to showcase everything DON’T NOD has to offer after the last ten years of experience. While there’s certainly far more of the game to see when it releases, what we played as part of this preview did a great job of showing the awkward yet heartfelt moments of navigating new friendships while faithfully showing what it feels like to reconnect with old friends. The preview sought to showcase the bond between the four girls ofBloom & Rage, and it most certainly came off as a bond players will love to watch grow, flourish, and sadly fall apart to whatever mystery made them swear themselves to secrecy. If the characters continue to be as organic as they are in the full game, then DON’T NOD and narrative adventure game fans are in for a treat withLost Records: Bloom & Rage.
