I somehow missed the initial love train for Life Is Strange. It wouldn’t be until years later that I would come across the multi-award-winning game from developer Don’t Nod. From Life Is Strange, I played a few other Don’t Nod games like Vampyr and Twin Mirror and generally had a good time with them. But they didn’t live up to how much I enjoyed Life Is Strange. A few weeks ago, I saw a trailer for the latest Don’t Nod game Lost Records: Bloom & Rage and was enamored by it. It was a spooky, nostalgic-looking, branching narrative game set in a sleepy Stephen King-like small town. I was immediately sold. It’s safe to say I think I found my new favorite game from Don’t Nod.

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Part 1 follows friends Swann Holloway (Olivia Lepore), Nora (Amelia Sargisson), and Autumn (Andrea Carter), who reunite in the sleeping town of Velvet Cove, Michigan 27 years after a harrowing event changed the course of their lives. Bloom & Rage tells its story partly through the present day and partly through their friendship in the summer of 1995. In 1995, the four friends, including Kat (Natalie Liconti), become friends when Kat’s sister’s boyfriend harasses them outside a video rental shop. These four young girls quickly form an unbreakable bond. While filming a music video in the woods, the girls get lost and find a mysterious abandoned house deep within the forest. But they don’t realize the house may have been abandoned for good reasons.

Part 1 Bloom does just that. The player, through Swann Holloway, forms and grows a friendship with the other three girls. Like, say, Until Dawn and games of that ilk, the gameplay offers dialogue choices to form or break friendships. I completed one and a half play-throughs, and from what I can tell, there are quite a bit of dialogue choices based on what you decide to say (or not say!). Regarding the dialogue, specifically for the characters in 1995, it’s impressive how it doesn’t feel forced or like that Steve Buscemi, “Hey fellow kids,” meme. Writers Desiree Cifre and Nina Freeman impressed me with their referential but focused script.

Side note: this probably isn’t the first game to reference the COVID pandemic but I appreciate how they handled the topic of COVID throughout the present tense of the game. It’s not over-the-top or preachy but it exists within Bloom & Rage’s world as it exists in ours. Nothing more, nothing less.

When it comes to dialogue-heavy games like this, a lot of the overall enjoyment comes down to the script and the voice acting. I can sit through bugs and subpar gameplay, but if the voice acting doesn’t flow then the game is dead in the water. (I’m looking at you, The Casting of Frank Stone.) I mean no shade when I say this, but for a main cast that is made up of voice actors who have appeared in nearly [at least] 10 Dhar Mann videos apiece, I was highly impressed by their voice-acting abilities. You play as Swann through the entire game, and whether it’s her dialogue or internal monologue, Olivia Lepore delivers. While all four of the main cast do an incredible job, Liconti steals the show with her grounded and unexpectedly heartfelt performance.

The game’s grungy present setting feels gritty and raw but it’s the 1995 portion of the gameplay that makes me feel nostalgic for a simpler time. It made me remember my early childhood. Throughout the entirety of the woods setting, I couldn’t help but think of the countless hours I spent wandering the woods in the Poconos, collecting firewood, looking at woodland animals, hearing sounds I couldn’t put my finger on, finding mysteries, creating mysteries, and just having a youth devoid of brain rotting media. Bloom & Rage made me nostalgic for my childhood while also yearning for one I never had.

As stated, you play the game as Swann, and with her character, your main item is a camcorder. The trophy hunters of the world will scan each inch of the environment for collectible things to film, while casual players will revel in the create-your-own-film aspect of Swann’s camcorder. Gorgeous ray tracing filmed through the camcorder creates an ever-appealing visual that doesn’t get old for a single minute.

But what about the horror?! I mean, this is Horror Press after all. Tape 1 Bloom is definitely more story and relationship-forward than straight-up horror, but that doesn’t mean it’s devoid of horror. Whether you’re exploring an abandoned park, lost in the woods at night, or looking deep into something in the woods, Bloom sets the stage for what [I think] will be a staggeringly beautiful and horrific ending to their story. The horror atmosphere is wonderfully crafted when it needs to be–but Bloom does something more important: it makes you care. Bloom establishes these characters’ relationships and makes you care for these friends. Their blooming (pun intended) friendship is crafted right before your eyes, forcing you to go along with the journey just as they are.

Whether you’re a fan of other Don’t Nod games, Until Dawn-like games (note there aren’t any QTEs here), or story-driven games with heavy atmosphere, then I think Lost Records: Bloom & Rage will work for you. My overall gameplay time (for Tape 1) was about eight and a half hours, and I’m sure I missed a few things here and there.

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is rated M and will release for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S in two parts, with the first releasing on February 18, 2025, and the second on April 15.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve spent quality time daydreaming about what kind of horror movie you’d make if given the opportunity. You’ve got the location locked down, the killer on the call sheet, and have choreographed the perfect chase scene around your house. And while it might not be possible to conjure up a Hollywood production out of thin air, you can experience the next best thing in interactive horror by pressing play on the PS5 remake of Supermassive Games’ smash hit Until Dawn. I hope you do well under pressure because it’s time to put your director cap on and call “action” on one fateful night atop Blackwood Mountain, where a cast of potential victims is waiting for your dexterous fingers and on-the-fly choices to determine whether they’ll live to see the sunrise.

A Supermassive Success

Founded in 2008 by Pete Samuels, Supermassive Games started small, making second-party games for Sony, such as DLC for their LittleBigPlanet franchise. A few years later, they began developing Until Dawn for the PS3, which would have been played from a first-person POV utilizing the now-defunct Playstation Move controller. Thankfully, it was switched into development on the more powerful PS4 using a third-person perspective. With a plot influenced by popular horror films and other interactive videogame dramas such as the PS3 mystery Heavy Rain – itself inspired by films like Se7en – Supermassive cast a strong group of actors for motion capture and voice-acting that included Hayden Panettiere, Peter Stormare, and a then primarily unknown Rami Malek. It was a heavy swing, and the gamble paid off, as the Sony exclusive was a surprise success for the studio upon its release in August 2015.

With a hot young cast and a plot that samples cinema’s best, it’s no surprise that gamers took kindly to it, which transcended anything seen before in the medium. In very I Know What You Did Last Summer fashion, an annual night of partying at a chic mountain lodge between a close-knit group of friends quickly turns fatal. One year later, a surprising request asks the group to take the cable car back up the snowy mountain and reunite to remember their fallen besties and keep tradition alive. Before long, all manner of chills and thrills creep out of the shadows as you call the shots and navigate these friends through one long night full of genre mashups and gory demise. To say anything else would spoil the fun, but between the fully realized characters and numerous plot twists, your direct control over their fates will leave you investing more than the average trip to the theater.

The Butterfly Effect

No, there isn’t about to be an Ashton Kutcher crossover. Rather, the butterfly effect is the name of the unique gameplay mechanic that further allows Until Dawn to stand out from the pack of bloodthirsty wolves. The chaos theory concept posits that even small actions, like a butterfly flapping its wings in one part of the world, can cause a profound and unpredictable chain of events elsewhere. The developers ingeniously code this idea into the digital realm, allowing seemingly insignificant or apparent player decisions to shape the plot and directly influence if and when your faves will meet an untimely end.

You take direct control of each character throughout different points of the game’s ten chapters, moving them through the lodge and what lies beyond as you search for clues about the terrors unfolding on the mountain. As you explore, you’ll confront an abundance of choices that splinter the narrative, ranging from dialogue options and character interactions, split-second decisions on which path or action to take, your reaction speed on the controller during quick time events (QTE), the use of specific items, and even opting not to act in certain circumstances. You will definitely be sweating the small stuff when the cutesy butterfly notification informs you that you’ve caused a ripple effect in the plot. Did I just indirectly kill some eye candy or the resident mean girl because I missed that button prompt or decided to leave the baseball bat in the cellar? Stay tuned! Luckily, for the curious and completionists alike, a menu screen allows you to browse the game’s 22 major butterfly event categories at any time, and you can view a list of every individual decision that affected each category within it. These ever-weaving threads of fate are enough to warrant multiple playthroughs to see how it might turn out differently.

Work It Out in the Remix

If you couldn’t tell, Until Dawn is a trip, but it’s one that began almost 10 years ago. Technology has gotten a facelift since 2015, and considering the game’s gaggery relies heavily on engrossing the player in its motion-captured world, it was time for some much-needed Facetune. In line with recent videogame remakes from the previous console generation, this one isn’t a retelling so much as a remodeling of a foundation that needn’t be tampered with. Unlike movie remakes that have the Internet in an uproar after changing entire characters or plotlines, every blood-battered story beat has remained in the 2024 version. Instead, the game earns its remake status because it was recreated from the ground up using Unreal 5 Engine, complete with cutting-edge photorealistic textures and VFX, reworked character models and animations, cinematic color correction, and ray tracing. Mr. Malek’s mouth no longer resembles the aliens of Mars Attacks! and the convincing gore will make those accidental deaths hit your heart even harder. I wish they had included a sprint button for when you want to get from point A to B a little faster during the walkable low-stakes moments, but that’s a minor gripe I can overlook.

In addition to sparkly new graphics, the remake includes:

● An extended cold open and slightly larger explorable environments

● A reworked opening credits sequence featuring the song “Out of the Shadows” by Mae Stephens

● An original musical score composed by Mark Korven of The Lighthouse and The Witch fame

● The original game’s DLC seamlessly shuffled into the story

● Rearranged collectibles called totems which allow the player seer-like glimpses into future events

● Performance Mode at 60 frames per second

● Total control over the game’s camera instead of the original’s outdated static camera angles

● A brand new post-credits scene that was filmed especially for the remake

Are You In?

As a horror fan, I don’t see how you’re not convinced to give a night with Until Dawn a go. It’s got everything we love about cuddling up with a late-night slasher wrapped up into one pretty gruesome package you have direct control over. The jumpscares come in droves, and if, like me, you’re always hungry for that next iconic chase scene, you’ll have to survive multiple epic sequences that’ll make your butthole clench tighter than Jason Voorhees’ fists on Mother’s Day. Watching the purposefully archetypal characters break down or buck up as they suffer at both the hands of the mountain and your skill level is also a thrill. One person in particular transitioned from someone I’d perhaps intentionally kill off to searching up gifs and memes of them online – I guess I have no choice but to stan.

Now, this isn’t a gaming site, so there’s a chance you don’t have a PS5, and understandably, the cost of entry may be too high for some. If that’s the case, I’d suggest finding your nearest and dearest with a console and convincing them to have a “movie night” for the ages. Playing as a group only adds to the excitement, and if you’ve gone through the original in the past, this might be a way to breathe some new life into your experience. Who doesn’t love being a Reaction Whore™? I’d only recommend holding off on the game if you recently played the OG, perhaps waiting until the story is less fresh in your mind and the game’s at a discount.

Franchise Potential

In case you’re unaware, an Until Dawn movie has not only been announced but has completed filming, with a release date of April 25th, 2025. Plot details are still under wraps, but Peter Stormare is reprising his role as the mysterious Dr. Hill, along with a new cast of kiddos, including Odessa A’zion (Hellraiser 2022) and Michael Cimino (Love, Victor). Director David F. Sandberg (Annabelle: Creation) has said they are not simply remaking the game’s story for the silver screen, which is a relief – who wants to watch a feature-length cutscene you’ve already experienced first-hand? Rumors have been swirling online, however, and one standout implies they may be going for a death-defying time loop scenario in the same vein as Happy Death Day. If you think about it, this could be legitimate because how else would they recreate the game’s butterfly effect mechanic as a linear narrative? And if you want to go further down the rabbit hole, don’t forget about the new post-credits scene I mentioned earlier. Perhaps the movie is a sequel to the game, set ten years later with some surprise returnees? Only time will tell, but this sounds juicy and unprecedented, and if you’ve been paying attention, that’s what Until Dawn is all about.