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The primary tape of DON’T NOD’s newest narrative journey, Misplaced Data: Bloom & Rage, ended on a very heart-rending cliffhanger. Kat, the beloved firecracker of the titular woman group, has been hiding an sickness and isn’t more likely to make it via the yr. After two months of ready, Tape 2 picks up nearly instantly after this climactic info is revealed, with the as soon as inseparable woman group now splintering as the burden of the true world begins to seep into their surreal summer time.
Evaluate info
Platform reviewed: PC
Obtainable on: PS5, Xbox Sequence X|S, PC by way of Steam
Launch date: April 16, 2025
Ever since I rolled credit on the first half of Lost Records, I’ve been anxious to unpack the remaining hours of this time-bending coming-of-age story, which highlights heady themes like riot, girlhood, and grief. Not simply because I wasn’t prepared for the story to finish, however as a result of DON’T NOD’s bold narrative had a whole lot of large inquiries to reply, and I wasn’t totally certain how or if they’d carry it house.
I used to be additionally eager to get again behind the lens of protagonist Swann’s video digicam to file and relive extra reminiscences, which is by far the sport’s most compelling mechanic.
Sadly, single-player game and follow-up, Misplaced Data: Bloom and Rage Tape 2, doesn’t absolutely examine essentially the most thrilling motifs Misplaced Data laid up within the first half, and the addition of janky new modes of gameplay don’t play good with the beforehand curated vibe. Nonetheless, even with Tape 2’s tough edges, Misplaced Data: Bloom and Rage tells an vital story that celebrates the complexities of feminine friendship in a honest and significant manner.
The children aren’t alright
If Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Tape 1 considerations the sluggish burn of blossoming friendships, this second half is extra about raging violently in opposition to the machine. The hazy palette that dominated Tape 1 has been swapped for a darker, extra brooding set of hues that create a shrouding ambiance.
The native watering gap is now adorned in chauvinistic graffiti, and Swann’s clutter-filled room is half empty and prepared for her large transfer out of state. This tone shift feels splendidly emblematic of the second tape’s narrative pivot – I felt the Summer season slip away and a chilly Autumn breeze roll in as a replacement.
As the ladies battle to barter their positions prior to now, their grownup counterparts wobble within the current, too. Unearthing their reminiscences of Kat introduces a brand new stress in dialog that feels tough to navigate from each a gameplay perspective and an emotional one.
Swann, Autumn, and Nora seem able to thaw their frozen emotions, although how they select to manage appears oppositional from each other, and I discovered myself enthralled by the complexity of their characters, despite the fact that I used to be continuously strolling on eggshells when choosing a conversational response.
Finest bit
Throughout each tapes of Misplaced Data: Bloom & Rage, you’re employed on a tune together with your gal friends to sentence Dylan’s antagonizing boyfriend Corey and the opposite close-minded people of the city via the sonic lens of 90s punk. See You In Hell – a nostalgic earworm performed IRL by Montreal’s Nora Kelly Band – is revisited all through the sport and seems like an auditory timestamp that displays the feelings of the protagonists as they journey in direction of Tape 2’s climactic finale.
Nevertheless, it’s not simply the temper that’s modified because the gameplay in Tape 2 has advanced in tow – with mediocre outcomes. Sadly, Swann’s profound camcorder documentation initiatives take a again seat and are changed with fetch quests, minor puzzles and a shocking bout of compelled stealth, which all really feel surprisingly out of step with a recreation that was beforehand story-first and higher for it.
Looking out an space for a screwdriver or utilizing your wits to intuit the proprietor of a toothbrush felt like satisfactory additions. Then again, sneaking round a home at night time and coping with janky sightlines was a lot much less fascinating.
These mechanical adjustments align with Swann’s deflated temper, however I persistently missed the nostalgic, game-defining act of whipping out my digicam seeking collectable reminiscences I may remix and watch again later.
There are nonetheless a handful of camcorder moments to come across, they only don’t really feel important this time round, which is an actual disgrace. I didn’t really feel that exploring each nook and cranny would essentially educate me something new in Tape 2. It was as if I’d performed my due diligence already with the primary half, and these last hours had been extra about rewarding my earlier attentiveness than giving me some contemporary narrative meat to chew on.
The adults aren’t speaking
Even with the inclusion of recent mechanics, Misplaced Data: Bloom & Rage Tape 2 has a considerably shorter runtime than Tape 1, which may make the pacing really feel a bit uneven at occasions. In Tape 1, I had hours between pivotal factors to roam and examine the quirks and familial historical past of the supporting forged.
There isn’t the identical quantity of downtime in Tape 2, as you bounce between plot factors at an pressing tempo. It is sensible within the broader context of the story, but it surely implies that essentially the most intriguing developments established within the first half are left unanswered when the credit roll.
Specifically, I used to be left with extra questions than solutions when it got here to Kat’s sister, Dylan, and her abusive boyfriend Corey. Regardless of efforts to present each of them personalities and depth in Tape 1, Tape 2 sees the duo diminished to surprisingly one-dimensional archetypes. I wasn’t on the lookout for any sort of redemption arc, however I might have beloved to analyze the nuances of their messy relationship in additional element.
But regardless of all my gripes, I used to be nonetheless in floods of tears when the curtains closed on this sensational story. In the end, the first forged of Misplaced Data are simply so tenderly written and straightforward to attach with – even when the framerate chugs or an annoying gameplay mechanic rears its head to stifle your enjoyable. I may see items of myself in all 4 ladies – as teenagers and adults – from their sisterhood to their disgrace, and even their awkward kisses.
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Accessibility
Misplaced Data: Bloom & Rage Tape 2 arrives as an replace from Tape 1, and so the accessibility settings are basically the identical. From the settings menu, you’ll be able to select the interface textual content measurement (small, medium, and huge) and toggle on and off subtitles. From this display screen, you can too choose the dimensions of the subtitles (small, medium, giant). Because of the heavy themes in Misplaced Data: Bloom & Rage, you’ll even have the selection to activate set off warnings.
These warnings embrace matters akin to medication, tobacco, and alcohol. On this display screen, you can too tweak audio dynamic vary, selecting between a slim (little distinction between loud and quiet moments, appropriate for low-quality sound programs or noisy playspaces), Medium (reasonable distinction between loud and quiet moments, superb for many audio system), and Large (sizable distinction between loud and quiet moments, superb for high-quality sound programs or quiet playspaces).
From the pause menu, beneath controls, you’ll be able to toggle on and off vibrations and the way the camcorder behaves within the recreation. There are additionally choices to cut back movement illness, akin to toggling off head bob, camcorder movement controls, and shifting the camcorder really feel between common, gentle, very gentle, and none. You’ll be able to moreover invert cameras and actions and remap your complete keyboard from this menu.
The place visible results are involved, you’ll be able to toggle on and off movement blur, digicam smoothing, and digicam shake. From the interface menu, you can too toggle on and off a speaker cue that gives a visible cue for who’s speaking, in addition to toggle the persistent reticle in first and third particular person.
How I reviewed Misplaced Data: Bloom and Rage
I accomplished Misplaced Data: Bloom & Rage Tape 2’s story in round six hours on PC. In that point, I searched totally via every surroundings and made conversational selections till the finale. I used an AOC 27-inch QHD VA 144Hz gaming monitor, a Logitech MX Grasp 3S mouse, and a Logitech G915 TKL gaming keyboard.
For sound, I used my exterior Artistic Pebble V2 computer speakers and Audio Technica ATH-MX50X headphones plugged right into a Scarlett 2i2 interface. My gaming PC is powered by an RTX 3080 graphics card, and my CPU is an AMD Ryzen 9 3950X.
First reviewed April 2025