Lost Records: Bloom & Rage (2025)

No spoilers, but I wrapped up Tape 1 and absolutely loved it! The specifics are different, and more heightened, but the big character moment at the climax reflects the heart of one of my own most impactful memories, and had me bawling in the dark through the credits.

According to the post-credits stats though, a decision I thought was like the most obvious choice in the world was only picked by 4% of players. Truly baffling, but it's cool that the story can bend a bit even if it's mostly linear.

Okay okay, I'll get to the big spooky mystery in a sec game, I just gotta take a video of this cool snail first! Love that there's a whole little movie editing UI tucked away in the menus, it's a neat progression from taking static photos in Life is Strange.

Even at the start here, Swann's already a super endearing lead, thoughtful and funny and creative. As a fellow high school loner, I really appreciate that the game focuses on her joy as well as her isolation. She's lonely and unsure, yes, but she's also got a richly lived inner life, that's no less real for going unseen.

And then, I don't know how best to describe it, but these sorts of queer girl coming of age stories always wreck me emotionally and it's immediately apparent this one is gonna do the same. I didn't know that I was a girl or that I was gay til way after college, so all these meticulous 90s details meant to evoke nostalgia mostly just fill me with a sense of mourning for everything I missed. The four leads all have their own problems they're dealing with, and it seems like the plot's scheming to get them in even more trouble, but despite that I'm seething with jealousy for what they've already got.

How do you heal from a wound that went hidden for decades, where do you even start? Maybe stories are as good a place as any.