Lost Records: Bloom & Rage

What a masterpiece... I still think about it constantly. It's truly haunting.

This game is quite tragic to me because I'm so excited about having teenage lesbians going on an adventure. It seems like it's going to be sci-fi, it's a great mystery so far. But it is so slow. They speak so slowly. You walk so slowly. It reminds me of everybody's gone to the rapture, which was so painful I had to quit after a few hours. I'm 2.3 hours into this game and I'm quitting, which sucks because it wasn't exactly cheap. And I really want to support the writers who are focusing on these characters. But in the end, it's unplayable. You should really only buy it if you love things that crawl. Like if I could just skip the dialogue and read it, this game would be a hundred times better. Having to listen to them talk is torture.

This isn’t a “bad” game but when it’s a binary choice of would I recommend this game or not, it would be a no. From every single DontNod or LiS game I’ve played (Life is Strange, LiS2, LiS True Colors, LiS Double Exposure, LiS Reunion, Captain Spirit, Tell Me Why, Twin Mirror) this is by far the weakest of the group and I’d recommend all of those first before ever recommending this. Story: 2.75/5 - The narrative is decent but feels very surface level with characters that sometimes come off caricature-esque. The main character Swann was the better character from the rest in the game but her choices didn’t really feel like they had that much weight to it until the end. Aside from that some of it was just convoluted, they could’ve gone the entire game without a supernatural element and it really wouldn’t have made a difference, instead it kept the player waiting for something more with no payoff. Gameplay: 2.5/5 - The gameplay gimic of the recording is by far the worst and most uninteresting of any DontNod or similar franchise title and only further drags the game and narrative making it one of the slowest experiences. Also due to how the hidden relationship meter works in this game for your choices, it sometimes felt like you have to go out of your way to make stupid choices just to appease the characters rather than what’s “right”. And even still one wrong unrelated choice and suddenly you don’t get a good ending. This game felt like a chore to get through, took me months to finish. Played this primarily on Legion Go 2 Z2E and there were moments it lagged/fps dipped but overall it was smooth Overall: 2.62/5

The game's narrative style evokes Mafia, with characters sitting around a table, recounting past stories through memories. The difference is that in Mafia, it's a conversation between the protagonist and a detective, whereas here, it's a heart-to-heart between the protagonist and her childhood friend.  The background music when the girls make their wish to The Abyss is a masterstroke—the descending scale builds layer upon layer, creating a breathtaking tension and sense of oppression that carries the spirit of Loki's soundtrack.  When the camera zooms in on the raven, I couldn't help but wonder: did Odin's raven from God of War make a cameo here? XD  There were occasional bugs during gameplay: a character model would suddenly pop up in the corner of the screen, only to vanish in the blink of an eye like a ghost—equal parts spooky and oddly hilarious.  As the story reaches its conclusion, when Swann follows the butterfly's guidance back to the cabin in the woods and the BGM plays the line "I fall into the deep with you," I suddenly felt my eyes sting—a signal that tears were about to well up. I instinctively hit the pause button to give myself a moment.  The ending plays back the fragments of that distant summer the player has recorded along the way. Watching those scenes, I couldn't help but marvel: what a beautiful summer it was, what a beautiful friendship of youth—and how wonderful it is to simply record things.  DON'T NOD really ought to release more new IPs like Lost Records: Bloom & Rage and Jusant, rather than ruining Life is Strange.

The best way I can describe this game is the summer after senior year of high school. Although the characters aren’t even seniors yet, it heavily radiates that feeling of trying hard to not let go of the nostalgia and innocence of childhood before adulthood fully sets in. The beauty of this game is beyond unreal. I had to just sit and admire in mesmerization numerous times. And the soundtrack is genuinely perfect; I’m not surprised whatsoever, as Don’t Nod’s games are always spot on at curating playlists. It’s definitely not perfect but it’s so very full of love. It pains me that it’s not that popular because a lot of people think it’s a Life Is Strange ripoff when they’re really not that similar. Overall a beautiful coming-of-age game.

This game is a deeply emotional narrative game that completely sucked me in. The story, characters, different personalities, and presentation all worked together to create something that felt very personal and impactful. I didn't do a lot of research on this one when I picked it up, it got recommended to me by a friend because of the music. It's not normally my go-to kind of game being that it's so dialogue heavy but I am SO GLAD I picked it up because I loved it. [u]What I Loved[/u] [list] [*] The story is beautifully written and had me emotionally invested in the characters and their relationships from the very beginning. Learning more about them felt meaningful and rewarding. I enjoyed the recap at the end of what my friend/relationship status with each of the girls was. [*] The soundtrack is fantastic. It perfectly complements the tone of the game and made so many scenes hit even harder. I'm a emo / pop punk / punk girlie at heart and the girls' playing punk music was such a vibe and fun callback to my teenaged years. Even the non-punk songs were beautiful and I immediately added the soundtrack to my Spotify playlist. [*] The cinematography and art direction are gorgeous. Every scene looks stunning and feels very intentional, almost like watching a film. Even when you're viewing things through a camera lens, everything is so beautifully rendered. I also loved the witchy vibes and sense of mystery throughout it all. [*] The diversity felt natural and perfect. Not only do you have the LGBTQ+ rep with the main character being able to build a teenaged romance with her friends, but each of the girls have different backgrounds or struggles and it didn't feel like the devs were just trying to check some demographic boxes to make that happen. [*] The ending scenes surprised me in the best ways. They made me angry, they made me cry, and they made me hopeful. A game that can pull on my heartstrings like that always amazes me. [*] I was so invested that I played through the game twice to unlock all the achievements. It was worth the extra time to see everything and try different choices. I also appreciated being able to replay just the scenes I missed collectibles in after finishing my playthroughs. I opted not to on the first playthrough, and then since I missed only a couple, finished those up after my second run. And even though I've completed all the achievements, I'll probably replay it again to see the other endings. [/list] [u] Minor Things [/u] [list] [*] On very rare occasions there were some graphical glitches. A couple of times I restarted the game because I thought something had broken (though some players have suggested a few might be intentional). [*] Sometimes, the game felt a bit too slow for me. I took breaks when that happened and it was fine, but on my second playthrough I did wish I had a "skip" button for scenes I had already seen (especially some of the more triggering ones). [*] There's an option to turn off the flashing lights (which gets pointed out at the start of Tape 2), but I couldn't figure out if there was a way to fix or turn off the flickering effect when video-taping the scenes where supernatural things were happening. These scenes were really rough on my eyes / head but I was appreciative that I could turn off the strobe effects. [/list] [u]Content Note[/u] Please check the Mature Content Description before playing, as the game deals with sensitive topics that may be triggering for some players. [u]Final Thoughts[/u] The nostalgia I got playing this game was unreal. I had a group of female friends like this in high school -- we were also kind of the outcasts -- and the game is set around the same time I was a teenager. A lot of the little details really brought me back to some fond (and also maybe not so fond) memories. The characters were so relatable for me and I only wish a game like this had existed when I was that age. If you don't mind slow, dialogue-heavy games, like 90s punk, and are ok with a story that might make you cry then I highly recommend this one! [table] [tr] [th]For more reviews and recommendations check out the [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45071674-Under-Starry-Skies/] Under Starry Skies [/url] curator page![/th][/tr][/table]

剧情的薄弱让人难以共情这群女孩儿的愤怒，台词的乏味让人难以体会这群女孩儿的绽放

Yes! Yes! Yes! A billion times yes! If DONTNOD keeps releasing these unique games - I'll always keep supporting them. Let's be real - Life is Strange has a complete story. It got wrapped up beautifully by chapter 5. That's it. Done. They milked Max and Chloe's udders dry. Why? The people they have working on these games are amazing in their craft. I always want to explore and check every little detail and environmental storytelling. They also manage to write female friendships really well. Especially here. Soundtrack is on point. There really isn't much to complain about. Maybe the tempo was a little too slow at times and you hardly have much to do other than press a button here and there. But if you want a relaxing vibe with a warm cup of tea on a rainy day then this is it. I want more of this. Big thumbs up.

Que jogo lindo, com personagens cativantes e uma história memorável. E o que falar da trilha sonora... é tão boa que não sai da minha cabeça, especialmente essa belezura aqui: See you in hell You'll fit in well I'll be your queen and you'll be under my spell.