Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Tape 2

I ultimately have to give it up for Tape 2 and Lost Records as a whole, for delivering an evocative experience that manages to capture what it feels like to be a teenager, even if you weren’t born in the ‘90s. Lost Records: Bloom & Rage’s second and final episode is a mostly satisfying conclusion. I just wish it could have had space to do more than just wrap things up.

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage – Tape 2 refines the gameplay while delivering a story conclusion that may divide players. The story gives satisfying resolutions to many of the complex, multilayered narrative threads, but some of the more ambitious supernatural elements fail to deliver a full payoff. The addition of new gameplay mechanics, particularly the puzzles that shift between past and present, adds welcome depth to the experience. Ultimately, the story comes together in a way that feels emotionally fitting, but it leaves several key questions unanswered. As it stands, the game feels incomplete, and it needs another Tape or a full sequel to truly bring the narrative to a close.

Some players may love the queer, nostalgic coming-of-age tale that Lost Records is trying to tell. However, even as someone in the target demographic, I found that the structure, choices and consequences fell flat. I loved the characters and their interactions with each other, but the rest was shallow at best and confusing at worst. Lost Records is still an enjoyable experience, but those interested in the material should go into it with tempered expectations.

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage - Tape 2 not only fails to conclude its story in a meaningful way, it highlights all the ways the entire story’s structure doesn’t really work.

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage - Tape 2 answers some questions and fails to deliver on other plot points. Although it provides a lot of optional endings and you learn more about Kat's life, the abundant glitches make it an only somewhat satisfying ending to the summer of '95.

The emotional premise and nostalgic aesthetic aren’t enough to make up for the weak narrative resolution, poor optimization, and virtually nonexistent gameplay progression.

Quotation forthcoming.

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage comprises two parts and yet I’d argue that the collective release feels like one part of a larger whole. Rage does little to conclude the events of Bloom, instead providing unsatisfying answers while withholding larger mysteries for a sequel that could take years to manifest, and that’s if it’s given the green light. I retain the opinion that there’s something very special about what Don’t Nod has conceived here; I just find myself struggling to find any sense of closure within the events of Rage. I’ll be there day one for a sequel. I just wish my satisfaction regarding this game didn’t rely on another that’s yet to exist.