When Don't Nod's trailer for Lost Records: Bloom & Rage aired during 2023's The Game Awards, I dropped my entire bourbon biscuit in my tea. The glossy trailer follows four teen girls goofing around in the summer of '95, thrashing out on guitars, watching dreamy sunsets, and hanging out in poster-plastered bedrooms. The trailer ends with the perfect hook too. The gang finds a supernatural force that, 27 years later, seems to catch up with them – making for a perfect full stop in a long paragraph of reasons to get hyped about Don't Nod's newest venture.
But beyond being utterly smitten by the grass-stained sneakers, scraped knees, and scented gel pens, watching the trailer felt like Don't Nod finally beginning to embrace its roots. Bloom & Rage feels like a welcome return to a formula that made the studio so prolific, and one so many fell in love with. The Don't Nod holy trinity: A narrative-led adventure game centered around teenagers, an engaging mystery with potentially supernatural elements, and good human drama. It's essentially a new Life is Strange game, which is exactly what I want.
Growing pains
Bloom & Rage is being developed by Don't Nod Montréal, with members of the original team that made the first Life is Strange game. Although the studio has departed from the Life is Strange franchise (with development being now undertaken by Square Enix-appointed studio, Deck Nine Games) from what's been said in interviews, it sounds like the creators are drawing heavily from the Life is Strange universe, which I for one am so happy about.
That's not to say I haven't disliked Don't Nod's output since their break from the series. The studio took an interesting direction with Harmony: Fall of the Reverie and Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, and I personally loved climbing adventure Jusant, but it's not what I've come to love Don't Nod for. If we're talking about the classic Don't Nod formula, the studio's 2020 duo, Tell Me Why and Twin Mirror, were the last games to fit that mold. With the former critically celebrated and the latter better left forgotten, they both still didn't quite capture what made Life is Strange special – at least for me, anyway.
But what about Deck Nine's Life is Strange games? And to this, I have two wolves inside me. I love Life is Strange: True Colors as it properly yanked on my heartstrings, tackled an important topic with emotional sensitivity, and had moments of pure joy. On the flip side of that, I feel like Deck Nine missed the mark with Life is Strange: Double Exposure and I don't think I'm alone in thinking that. I'm not even an uber fan, one who thinks the return of protagonist Max was mishandled or misses fan-favorite Chloe's electrifying energy. What I love about Life is Strange is how the characters need to navigate the throws of teenagehood through the use of their supernatural abilities – and Double Exposure did not do that (this isn't even taking into account my opinions on the – quite frankly – insulting price of the DLC for some ugly clothing and cat companion 'content').
Love, friendship, and identity
So, as someone who didn't feel satisfied with Double Exposure, I have a massive Life is Strange hole in my heart and it's one that I'm positive Lost Records will fill for several different reasons. Firstly, it's centered around teenagers. The narrative split between the two time periods means we'll see the girls as adults, but I am so happy the main crux of the story is when the gang are teens. Teen drama as a genre often gets belittled, but I sit firmly in the camp that the genre is a storytelling powerhouse – yes, even Riverdale.
You feel your emotions so much more strongly as a teenager, it can be an intense time! Everything feels like it's the end of the world, and so stories that explore love, friendship, and identity are sincerely fierce. These issues are still present in our adult lives, but we're more removed and distracted. There's a comfortable familiarity and nostalgia involved in watching something that reminds you of your younger self. It lets us reflect on pivotal moments in our own lives, past and present.
I also love that Bloom & Rage isn't just about teens, but teen girls. Of course, I love the flower chokers, skateboards, and stickers plastered on everything, but beyond that, I'm excited to see girls just hanging out and being goofy, and Swann, Nora, Autumn, and Kat look lovable from the outset. Together with the mystery, Bloom & Rage is giving Stand By Me, but for the girlies. I am very much looking forward to this group dynamic, and from what Don't Nod has said, there will be a major focus on the bonds between the girls, which hopefully means meaningful choices, something else I've massively missed. I want my choices to have a felt ripple effect that will impact both the drama of the central story, that will make me break out in cold sweats and heart-racing highs.
And finally, I am excited for some supernatural shenanigans. The gaping pit in the ground is ominous enough, but the idea that it's harboring a terrible secret makes it much more sinister. It's also incredibly unsettling that it's like the girls are coaxed into finding it, like it was calling out to them. Seeing the gang's faces bathed in that purple light as they gaze into the pit's maw is chilling. As much as I'm a fan of the 'teens with superpowers' trope, I'd rather something more abstract, I'm thinking less Stranger Things and more Yellowjackets.
I also suspect something spooky is up with Swann's tape recorder, potentially some creepy VHS glitches and tears when reviewing the footage. More importantly though, the camcorder serves a bigger purpose. Don't Nod has talked about how each Life is Strange protagonist has a particular way of looking at the world – Max in the first Life is Strange with her Polaroid camera, and Sean's sketchbook in Life is Strange 2. Swann's camcorder is the way she views the world, and just like Max and Sean, it's a way for us to understand her better.
That all being said, as hyped as I am for Bloom & Rage, it's difficult to get too excited about a game at a time when the games industry is being battered by mass layoffs. This continues into 2025, as Don't Nod has also announced planned layoffs, which has resulted in their employees striking. I hope that studio management engages with the demands of their workers as Lost Records: Bloom & Rage looks to be the start of something new and exciting for the studio, and Don't Nod is going to need the work, support, and heart of their employees to make it happen.
To what other exciting release we have to look forward to in our roundup of new games for 2025 and beyond.
