Don't Nod (studio)
18 (certificate)
21 April 2025 (released)
2 d
It’s time, Lost Records' conclusion is finally here with Tape 2: Rage. We can see the truth of this surreal teenage odyssey, invoking heartbreak, love, and a mystery full of sorrow. This review will be fairly to the point, as the bulk of the gameplay, presentation, and all that is spoken about in my previous review. But I will recap and focus on the big gameplay changes, and mostly how the story evolved. Does it deliver? Is Rage a meaningful conclusion to a rather beautiful setup?
Read on.
So familiar, yet so strange … and a little different
Like before, LR: Rage takes us back to the Summer of 1995, with our protagonist Swan dealing with the aftermath of the end of Tape 1: Bloom. She is facing great despair, with her friendships in question, a dying Summer, and a move from her home, which will surely change her life.
And of course, all that very spooky s*** with the hole in the ground!
We return to the present day and 1995 in Velvet Cove, as Swan, Autumn, and Nora discuss a strange parcel marked for their attention. We switch between both periods, where your actions in the past reflect in the present, and Swan is trying her best to keep the reunion going until the bitter end. Like before, small decisions can make a huge difference in another part of time, your choices matter, and saying one thing wrong at the right time can alter the events vastly.
I don’t want to spoil too much, so I will tread carefully when discussing my thoughts and overall, how this second part came to be in the end.
Before those thoughts are heard, I do have to shout out that the performances are still incredible all around, with each voice actor giving it their all behind Swan, Nora, Kat and Autum. I loved hearing all these characters speak their minds, souls, and ultimately their deepest desires and fears to one another. The writing behind their dialogue and the narrative as a whole was strong, with the same cheese you would expect any teenager to say, but also a lot of heartfelt anger and joy as each situation unravelled like a flower blooming, or a raging fire consuming all in its path.
I was thoroughly invested throughout Tape 2, hooked to every word and engagement Swan had with her childhood companions. There are a good deal of small interactions that account for a meaningful impact on history to make. From standing your ground to a bully, to sharing Swan’s first dance and kiss. There was never a moment I felt out of place, nor wasting my time as I played, and even on three playthroughs, I was still engaged due to the variety of changes and choices each venture brought me.
It also helps that Tape 2 feels leaner, not taking too long to build up the conclusion, and adding in events which do fire up the narrative and pacing quite fearsomely. Tape 1 did take its time, and while it was wholesome and enriching to learn about these girls, their struggles, and kindle a wonderful friendship, it also felt long in the tooth for repeated playthroughs. And honestly, Tape 2 is its own thing. While Tape 1 is essential, of course, Tape 2 feels more approachable and gets to the point.
That’s not to say that everything clicked for me in Tape 2 compared to Tape 1, and the slow burn mystery in the former half of Lost Records, left me with such an unsettling feeling, and a burning desire to know what the Hell was going on … and yeah, again I have thoughts. More on that in the end.
But before that, I love the presentation, all the small titbits of lore and collectors to find, and interestingly, the developers decided to add in a couple of set-pieces and puzzles to flesh things out. While not amazing, they are a nice break from the typical gameplay format, including a puzzle which resembles RE 4’s inventory system, and Unpacking (which should be a game! Make it Don’t Nod!), a sneaking segment which was fine, and a chase sequence which visually is awesome (as it’s from the perspective of the camcorder), but ends way too soon.
These were nice inclusions overall and blend well with the elegant pacing, high stakes, and memorable drama this second chapter brought.
Enter the Abyss
As mentioned, there are plenty of choices to make, adding layers to the drama and tension of Swan’s rediscovery of the past. There are several key events which are staples of the narrative, which won’t change but alter perspective depending on your actions.
I was hooked from Tape 1 to find out what the Hell would happen, and why it would happen… and the end was fine. Entirely predictable, but still entertaining nonetheless.
There are dramatic moments and a nice build-up to a destructive finale. While I found the villain to be quite cliché, and lacking a resolution for certain bits of information we found out in Tape 1, they were still worthy of my fear, hate and ultimately, the joy I felt when the ending came about.
Like I said, the end of the mystery was quite foreseeable a mile off, and I did hope that it wouldn’t be the case. Or more so, there would be very different endings depending on major choices in the game. I can see now that dual timelines cause a problem here, as nothing outside of certain key events can be too dramatic, as it wouldn’t make sense. And I respect that, but I wish there were some majorly different outcomes overall, and while some big drama can happen in the end, it’s mainly about which characters stay in the dinner and who goes before the big reveal.
It's a little disappointing, but in the end, I still did thoroughly enjoy playing through, finding out the heart of the mystery, and seeing closure for Swan and her friends… or do we!?
Well, let's just say, if Don’t Nod makes a sequence to this Life if Strange story, then I’d be over the moon to play it.
Overall?
I can safely say that Tape 2 Rage delivered on the thrilling conclusion I was hoping for, and while I wanted more drastically different endings, I was thoroughly happy with how things panned out for Swan and her friends.
Lost Records: Bloom and Rage is a wonderful and impactful piece of gaming, with such joy, sorrow, anger and heartbreak woven into its narrative that it has truly stuck with me. Like Episode 1 and 5 of Tell Tale’s The Walking Dead games, it proved that video games can strike a nerve, leave us questioning so much in life, and break our hearts, yet give us such hope for the future.
I loved playing the Summer adventure of Swan, Autumn, Nora and Kat, how it changed them as people, but more importantly, the rediscovery of youth and friendship that was long lost. Lost Records: Bloom and Rage feels like a high-end TV drama that sits with your soul for time to come, with meaningful and interesting decision making, beautiful presentation, and drama that will grip you from start to finish.
Swan, in a conversation with Nora, explains how she misses the days when she could be lazy in her room as a teenager. I miss those days, I think we all do. Days where in the Summer I would see my friends with ease, play video games, or lie on my bed as the sun sets, and I listen to Sound Garden.
This is why Lost Records stuck with me, and it will for quite some time.
++ Compelling conclusion to a brilliantly set-up mystery
+ Beautiful presentation and voice work
+ Nice to include some neat gameplay mechanics
- Some more puzzles were needed to flesh things out
- It would have been nice to see vastly different endings overall to the story
The publisher kindly provided a review copy of Lost Records: Bloom and Rage
Tape 2: Rage of Lost Records is out now.
