B Movies Blog

Hello, Movie Mavens! Welcome back to the B Movies Blog. Today, we’re popping Lost Records: Bloom & Rage – Tape 1 into the ol’ VCR.

CW/TW: DV, mentions/depictions of cancer, and all like topics 

We’re so back. 

I was recently watching one of Night Mind’s on-demand streams, and the subject was Movie Palace Online, aka the Lost Records ARG that Don’t Nod released to tide us over until the second part of the game releases next week. 

I hadn’t heard of Lost Records before watching his video, but I was enamored by the ARG and needed to know more. 

So, in true Baillee fashion, I searched YouTube for a playthrough and spent the next day and a half working through it. 

Now, I’m not gonna recommend the one I watched because the person doing the playthrough made a few comments I disagree with, but there are a ton of playthroughs out there to choose from. 

Lost Records tells the story of Swann, Autumn, Kat, and Nora as their friendship blossoms during the summer of 1995 in Velvet Cove, Michigan. However, this is more than your typical bildungsroman, as the girls also seem to unlock a supernatural force of Lovecraftian proportions. 

The game switches between the summer of 1995 and the fall of 2022 as Swann, Kat, and Nora reunite as adults (and as what we gather is the first time since that fateful summer) to make good on a promise they made after Autumn receives a mysterious package. 

It also has connective tissue to Until Dawn and The Quarry, as you make decisions throughout the game that impact outcomes and relationships. 

And, y’all, I’m obsessed with this game. 

It’s queer, tells a coming-of-age story, and has the underlying spookiness we know I love. 

I would also love to see this adapted into a series because I think that, if given to the right cast and crew, it could be the next big show. 

Truly. 

I think the writing is great, the characters are three-dimensional, and there are enough layers to keep those who are horror-averse invested. 

I also love how there’s an entire ARG on the side that’s chock-full of little Easter eggs from the first half of the game. 

Without spoiling anything, I will warn you that the first half ends on a cliffhanger/heartbreaking reveal, so I would be prepared to get emotional. 

You might also know Don’t Nod as the creators of the Life Is Strange games, and this game definitely has the same vibe. 

(The soundtrack is also INCREDIBLE. I didn’t know where to put this compliment, so I’m sticking it here.) 

If you’re late to the Lost Records game like me, now’s the time to catch up, as Tape 2 is out on April 15th. 

So do yourself a favor and make the trip to Velvet Cove.