Lost Records: Bloom & Rage

The next narrative journey from the creators of Life is Strange is called Lost Records: Bloom & Rage. It's also the first game from Don't Nod Montréal, and it's one of the most important titles for the French company, as their last few games have fallen short of expectations in terms of sales.

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is a single-player narrative adventure game set in two timelines, 1995 and 2022. It's actually about four high school girls (Nora, Autumn, Kat and Swann) who form deep friendships during the summer of 1995 in the fictional Michigan town of Velvet Cove. But something happened that summer, something mysterious that changed them forever and made them all promise never to speak again after that summer. 27 years later, a mysterious package arrives, and the four must reunite and face their dark secrets. The game explores themes of identity, rebellion and friendship.

Even though the story revolves around the four girls, and later women, everything is told from a single perspective: that of Swann, the shyest of the four, who likes to record a lot with her camcorder - comparable to Maxine Caulfield's photo camera in Life is Strange. Only this time, she can record clips from her surroundings. The game starts with the reunion in 2022, then jumps back and forth to 1995. Players explore the environment and interact with highly detailed 3D objects that allow them to fully grasp the situation. In general, the design of the environments is very good and helps to characterise the people and the spirit of the time. Not to mention the developers' ability to create a very strong atmosphere, especially with the lighting. The design of the characters is striking, although the facial expressions could be a little better.

Another highlight is the conversations between the characters, which are as close to real life as possible. Players often have to choose between different answers or responses, which in turn have effects and consequences on the story and the relationship between the characters. Dialogue even changes depending on where you are looking, and you can choose not to answer or interrupt the other person. The answers you give in the past will also have different effects on the future, so players will not only uncover the secrets of the four girls' punk band and the backgrounds of the characters, but also what happened that summer. Choices made in the past and present will change the outcome of both timelines. The game offers approximately 10 to 12 hours of playtime, depending on playstyle and exploration. The game is published with English and French voiceover. Texts are also available in German.

As a narrative adventure game, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage explores emotional themes in common with other games from Don't Nod. It contains explicit language, casual homophobia, weight and body image issues (fat-shaming), bullying, underage drug and alcohol use, sexual content, illness and discussion of illness, blood, domestic violence and (mild) jump scares. Don't Nod deals with these issues in an exemplary and transparent manner with content warnings.

"Moving to a new country, building a new team and studio, creating an entirely new universe, and breathing life into brand new characters was no small feat—especially during strange times like the pandemic. Yet here we are, finally, ready to unveil our new game to the world, giving our characters the chance to meet you and, hopefully, bring you joy, nostalgia, and sorrow. Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is a game about finding your own space and voice within your circle of friends, about overcoming adversity, growing up, and embracing who you are. We hope this project will resonate with you, and that you'll enjoy meeting Swann, Nora, Autumn and Kat as you become part of Bloom & Rage and recreate your path through the summer of '95." - Michel Koch, Creative Director at Don't Nod

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is being developed by Don't Nod Montréal, the studio's first project. The Canadian studio was founded in 2020 by many of the developers who previously worked on Life is Strange and Life is Strange 2, as Square Enix owns the rights to Life is Strange. Don't Nod is an independent French publisher and developer with studios in Paris and Montréal, creating narrative games, RPGs and action titles for publishers including Square Enix (Life is Strange), Microsoft (Tell Me Why), Focus Entertainment (Vampyr, Banishers) and Capcom (Remember Me). Don't Nod also develops and publishes its own in-house IPs such as Harmony: The Fall of Reverie, Jusant and Lost Records: Bloom & Rage.

Nevertheless, the company had to announce a restructuring in October 2024 due to the commercial underperformance of recent launches in an "extremely competitive and concentrated market". There was a partial write-down of €24.0m for Jusant (October 2023) and Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden (February 2024). Management believes that it is unlikely that sufficient revenues will be generated to cover all the capitalised development costs for these two games. At the same time, the number of projects has been streamlined and the development of two games has been halted, with a further €7.6m being written off, in order to prioritise resources and maximise the chances of success for the most promising titles. These include Lost Records: Bloom & Rage and two projects scheduled for release before the end of 2027.

"Amid deteriorating results, and despite the actions already taken, the company is now compelled to consider a reorganization project to safeguard its competitiveness in an increasingly demanding and competitive ecosystem. This project could impact Don't Nod's workforce in France and may affect up to 69 jobs. An initial exchange took place today with the employee representative bodies, and an information-consultation process with these same bodies will subsequently be initiated regarding this project," said the company's report at the time. As well as trying to rationalise the number of production lines in the company, Don't Nod wanted to strengthen the role of the editorial committee to better meet market expectations, restore greater organisational agility, align technologies for greater efficiency and secure the company's financing.

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is a one-time purchase premium game released on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S in two parts called tapes: "Bloom" (Tape 1) and "Rage" (Tape 2). The price is €39.99 and includes both parts. Tape 1: Bloom has been released on 18 February 2025, while Tape 2: Rage will be released as a free downloadable update on 15 April 2025. The tapes will not be sold separately. Don't Nod has partnered with Sony for the distribution of Lost Records: Bloom & Rage on PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium, and in partnership with Maximum Entertainment, a physical PlayStation 5 edition will be available in summer 2025.

"While Tape 1, 'Bloom,' remains on schedule, we've made the decision to postpone the release of Tape 2, 'Rage,' by an additional four weeks to April 15, 2025. We want to give the team the necessary time to refine the experience, address more bugs, and enhance the storytelling for a truly immersive continuation of the journey. We feel that this extra time is necessary to ensure we deliver the experience players and fans deserve. We are confident that this delay will allow us to provide you with a richer experience and we can’t wait for you to live the full journey of Swann, Nora, Autumn, and Kat." - Don't Nod about the release of Tape 2

Conclusion

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is a gripping narrative adventure game set in two time periods, with a cinematic feel, well-written dialogue, and compelling themes.

Features

• Two-part story across two time periods that can be influenced by choices
• Believable and lively dialogue
• Strong and detailed environments with a cinematic look