Reflecting on a moment from several years back, I can’t help but recall when I casually slipped into the comments section of an article I penned about video game adaptations of Stephen King tales that my ultimate dream game would be a Don’t Nod adaptation of “It.” Fast forward to today, and with the buzz swirling around the announcement of “Lost Records: Bloom & Rage”—a game being developed and self-published by Don’t Nod, expected to drop in early 2025—I feel like I’ve hit the nail on the head. There’s no denying it takes a tremendous slice of inspiration from King’s 1986 iconic work, featuring that infamous otherworldly spider-clown from space and the quirky gang destined to battle it.
Now, I don’t want to come off as boasting. Trust me, I’m under no illusion that anyone at Don’t Nod has been sifting through gaming site comments for creative inspiration. Yet, it does tickle me to have some evidence of my knack for identifying marketable story-driven games—a genre close to my heart. Considering it’s been a few years since the 2017-2019 cinematic rendition of “It,” it feels about the right moment for spiritual successors of that narrative to begin emerging.
“Lost Records: Bloom & Rage” tells the story of a group of four friends across two timelines: their adolescent outcast years in the 1990s and their reunion in early middle-age after nearly three decades. The time jump, curiously enough, lands at 27 years—a nod to “It” or perhaps a curious coincidence. The friends’ paths diverged when their relatable Xennial coming-of-age saga was abruptly interrupted by a strange discovery in the nearby woods. Trailers and demos have purposefully kept its nature under wraps, but we do know it’s found at the bottom of a crater and emits a mysterious purple glow. You might start piecing things together from there.
There isn’t much more to divulge about “Lost Records” just yet, and that’s by design in this slow tease marketing campaign, which leans into mysterious hints without revealing too much. Even though I might have predicted some aspects of the plot, the only certainty is that the game is gearing up to surprise us when it rolls out in two parts next February and March.
“Lost Records” seems perfectly tailored to my specific interests, but it’s not the only title on my radar for early next year. While we haven’t seen an overload of massive triple-A juggernauts scheduled just yet, the first months of 2025 promise a delightful mix of slightly smaller titles that are still too prominent to fit snugly in the indie scene.
One standout is “Split Fiction,” the newest team-up between Hazelight and EA Originals, which will have two authors—one dabbling in science fiction, the other in fantasy—trapped inside an AI-generated rendition of their imaginative worlds crafted by a dodgy publisher. Fellow gamers sharing their controller with a player two will certainly share my enthusiasm for Hazelight’s new venture that revives couch co-op and offers a unique take on genre-blending.
Also catching my eye are a few more titles: “Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2” in February, a sequel promising another dive into the medieval grind; “Two Point Museum” in March, offering another round of comedic civic management; and “The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy,” a turn-based tactical collaboration from the masterminds behind “Danganronpa” and “Zero Escape,” expected in April. These examples illustrate both the scope of the games on offer and the diversity of options awaiting us.
Some years are dominated by major triple-A titles, while others lean more towards indie hits. But if 2025 turns out to be the year where everyone can savor an array of engaging double-A games tailored to their unique geekiness, I doubt we’ll have much to grumble about.
