Can this spiritual successor outdo the original?

The magical summer of 1995 is one of self-discovery and forging unbreakable bonds for high school friends SLost Records: Bloom & Rage – Tape 1wann, Nora, Autumn, and Kat. 27 years of no contact later, fate reunites them to confront the long-buried secret that made them promise to never speak again. Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is a brand-new story-driven journey through time from the creative minds behind Life is Strange.

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Tape 1 is the first of 2 episodes from DONTNOD, who have decided to go back to their roots with this game that looks and feels reminiscent of Life is Strange. It’s essentially a spiritual successor, but can the studio outperform its old series?

While the legacy of Life is Strange is a tough act to follow, Tape 1 does show signs of promise. I can’t give a full verdict of the entire thing until Tape 2 comes out. While I did feel that it does lean into nostalgia and the inconsistencies in the tone of the game, I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

During your playthrough, you’ll make key decisions as you would expect. Gameplay feels more restricted than I would have liked since you essentially use the camcorder footage to interact in the game. It does feel a bit more of an interactive film than the puzzle-solving, time-travelling antics of Life is Strange. It’s a neat idea, don’t get me wrong…but it also limits it to what it can do as a result.

The plot has everything you would expect such as teen drama, supernatural moments, heavy drama and so on. The characters are interesting and it will be curious to see how it all pans out in Tape 2.

The visuals are impressive with high detailed characters and a lovely 90s filter. Voice-acting is decent, while the soundtrack is pretty great too as most DONTNOD games. There has been some visual issues at launch that are still being worked on, I did encounter things like texture popping and animation glitches, but nothing game-breaking.

 The Verdict

While it’s impossible to determine if the end result of Lost Records: Bloom & Rage will pay off, Tape 1 does show potential. It may have its issues and its tough to live in the limelight of Life is Strange, but it’s definitely worth a look.

Score: 7.5