Don’t Nod’s latest is a haunting, heartfelt dive into friendship, memory, and ’90s teen drama.
🎬 Welcome to Velvet Cove: A Nostalgia-Soaked Mystery
From the makers of Life Is Strange, Don’t Nod Montréal returns with Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, a two-part narrative adventure released in early 2025, with Tape 1: Bloom launching on February 18, 2025 and Tape 2: Rage on April 15, 2025, free for owners of the first part. Set in the fictional Michigan town of Velvet Cove, the game unfolds across two timelines: the summer of 1995, following teenage filmmaker Swann Holloway and her friends Nora, Autumn, and Kat, and 2022, as adult Swann revisits her past after a cryptic package addressed to their old punk band “Bloom & Rage” surfaces.
🧠 Story, Characters & Dramatic Beats
You play only as Swann, both at age 16 in third-person and at 43 in first-person, a design choice that deepens emotional connection while reflecting her evolving perspective.
The narrative is emotionally grounded: small‑town dynamics, teenage rebellion, band formation, teenage secrets—and a mysterious supernatural entity called the “Abyss.” The story crescendos in both timelines as memory, guilt, and friendship converge.
Reviews praise the character work: Swann’s shyness, Autumn’s fraught social-worker life, Nora’s social-media-fueled LA success, and Kat’s tragic arc feel authentic and flawed—but all compelling. As The Guardian puts it, Lost Records is both teen thriller and coming-of-age tale, stitching “nostalgic yet introspective” tones into its storytelling.
📹 Gameplay & The Camcorder Mechanic
Interaction revolves around conversations and Swann’s camcorder. In 1995, you move in third‑person capturing landscapes, birds, graffiti—or candid moments with friends. Your “memoirs” are mini-film edits based on your footage; no two playthroughs look identical.
Tape 1 also tracks relationships via a metric system—dialogue choices can deepen bonds with one friend while straining another, echoing The Sims in narrative form. Time progresses dynamically: hanging in Swann’s room or browsing emails can cause real-time shifts, creating tense moments where being late can close off options. The present-day bar setting unfolds in first‑person and real time, forcing Swann to engage or miss fleeting opportunities—including small talk that shapes relationships.
🎨 Art, Atmosphere & Soundtrack
Velvet Cove is lovingly presented: neon‑tinged skate parks, abandoned cabins, VHS-era video stores, troll dolls, mix tapes, camcorder footage. Environment and era-specific textures evoke mid‑‘90s nostalgia vividly—though occasionally a bit rough in animations or minor visuals.
Audio is equally layered, with a score by Milk & Bone and Ruth Radelet blending punk‑inflected riffs, smudged lo‑fi tracks, and grainy nostalgic loops. The meta inclusion of Nora’s in‑game band single, “See You in Hell,” cements the rebellious tone.
✅ Strengths
- Deep Character Writing & Chemistry: Critics highlight vivid, complex personalities among the four leads—their chemistry carries the game.
- Fresh Narrative Structure: Dual timelines with consistent player agency, but never jarring perspective shifts, keep tension focused on memory & causality.
- Camcorder Mechanic = Memoir Personalization: Filming infects both gameplay and metaphor—since you literally document your memories, and they may not align with what in‑universe characters remember.
- Replay Value: Relationship metrics, collectible memoirs, and interactive editing encourage multiple playthroughs—Koalition’s reviewer clocked over 28 hours and still hadn’t completed all collectibles.
⚠️ Weaknesses
- Slow Pacing – Test of Patience: Tape 1 lays the groundwork. Several outlets warn that some may find its pacing glacial before the supernatural arc kicks in—major plot developments feel delayed until the end, with a rush finish compared to the slow build-up.
- Dialogue Occasionally Stilted: Despite dynamic conversation mechanics, some dialogue can feel forced or heavy-handed—especially in teenage scenes where tone occasionally slips.
- Technical Hiccups: Minor hiccups—uneven animations, texture glitches—don’t majorly hurt immersion but are noticeable.
💡 Verdict & Why It Still Matters
Tape 1 of Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is a rich, evocative tribute to teenage identity, friendship, and the mutable nature of memory. Introduced at an accessible price of $39.99 (launch discount to ~$35) for both tapes, it delivers strong emotional hooks and style—even if some players may crave more plot early on.
If you’re a fan of Life Is Strange, coming-of-age drama, or immersive narrative games that make you both observer and creator, Tape 1 is a gorgeous slow burn that rewards patience.
Each relationship you nurture, each clip you film, shapes how you remember Swann—and how she remembers herself.
As reviewers Polygon and Vice note, Tape 1 is a spiritual successor to Life Is Strange, but more measured, nuanced, and intent on exploring nostalgia’s double‑edged sword: its power to comfort and distort.
🧩 Tape 1 at a Glance
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Release | Feb 18 2025 (Tape 1), April 15 2025 (Tape 2) |
| Platforms | PS5, Xbox Series X |
| Playable Character | Swann Holloway (both teen and adult) |
| Core Mechanic | Camcorder memoir-building & dynamic dialogue |
| Strength | Deep character chemistry, emotional resonance |
| Weakness | Slow pacing, occasional dialogue & tech flaws |
| Replayability | High—memoirs, metrics, relationship branching |
| Price | ~$39.99 launch, includes both tapes |
🎀 Verdict: 4.5 out of 5
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage – Tape 1 starts as a quiet film reel—and ends on a haunting crescendo.
It’s not an explosive plot machine, but a tender diagnostic of how friendships fracture and memories twist. That slow build? It’s intentional. It gives you the weight to feel every paused breath and every choice’s echo across time.
If you’re ready to sit at the bar with Swann, rewind the tapes, and peer into Velvet Cove’s forest until it blurs—you’ll find more than a game: you’ll find a memory reconstruction kit.
And that, dear reader, is what true narrative artistry looks like.
