#lrbr theory

[thealexchen]

What do you think will happen in Tape 2? I think, based on the trailer and the reminiscing flashbacks, we're gonna do something to Corey's bike, by keying it, or choosing to do something worse, and then he'll burn the hideout as payback and cause a forest fire. I feel like we might get a choice that determines what happens to Corey. Like, do we save him, or let him die in the fire? Also, I'm curious what could be in the box. If it turns out to be a head, I am gonna scream.

I don't think it's a head!! 😂 It's the size of a shoebox and you can hear something small rattling around inside if you turn the box around. If anything, it might be Swann's VHS tapes of that summer or her old camcorder. I don't do a lot of theory crafting, so just bear with me here.

From the reveal trailer, we definitely know Fawn's Rest/Curse will sadly burn down at some point. The group in 2022 speaks about it in the past tense in a way that implies it's not there anymore, and Swann also implies she "lost" a lot of her sentimental items before she moved like they were destroyed instead of simply misplaced, and a lot of those items were in the cabin.

Given DN's track record (like Nathan and Victoria), Corey and Dylan are likely red herrings. This game might not have a main antagonist at all, with its pacing and smaller cast of characters. More likely, the fire could've been an accident, since there's a prominent fireplace in the cabin, and it spread into the forest.

Alternatively, Kat could start a fire at the ranch out of anger at her family-- maybe her beloved fawn Gertie was killed, or the Abyss is affecting her mental state. All the girls' eyes glow purple the day after they see and throw something into the Abyss, and it seems to be strengthened by anger and hate, given how the purple glow shows up on Corey's face and he seems to become physically hurt and feel threatened by them enough to leave the scene.

In the very beginning of the game, the girls are running for their lives from a person in a wolf mask. I think that's most likely Corey. If he's a red herring, either it's a prank gone wrong, or the Abyss is affecting him.

Some other theories I've seen mostly on Reddit:

You as Swann have to make some big choices during the fire, and her appearance in 2022 could be choice-determinant (a possible reason why all her 2022 scenes are in first-person. Like, maybe she has burn scars depending on your choices).

Kat is trapped in the Abyss and possibly still 16 years old. Either she jumped in herself, or the girls made some insane trade to keep her alive and healthy.

Kat is in the Abyss and that's why the group can't remember the summer of 1995 clearly

Swann got affected by the Abyss somehow and it altered her appearance or memories

Time travel/shadows theory: The freeze-frame shadows of various characters (discovered to be Swann, Corey, and Kat) are their characters across time. The person who says "Bloody Mary" back to Swann sounds a lot like... adult Swann. Could that be her stuck in a time loop or briefly sent back to 1995? Another example is in the last scene of Tape 1, when Swann, Nora, and Autumn in 2022 briefly see their teenage selves in the parking lot of The Blue Spruce the night of the concert. Swann looks down at the box, back up, and they're gone again. Stylistic choice, or did they actually see their past selves?

The fifth girl theory: Some Redditors have speculated that the Abyss affected the girls' memories to the extent that they forgot an entire additional person. The box says "I WAS THERE" and "REMEMBER 1995" and the game has a few odd moments where the camera is no longer behind Swann's shoulder but from the POV of someone else. Fake cameraman, or secret fifth girl? I don't think it's as likely for DN to introduce a whole new character at the end of the game when they put so much effort into characterizing the quartet, but it's fun to think about.

Kat sent the package across time

Or, Kat sent the package in the present day and is secretly alive

Dylan sent the package

Pam and Gus sent the package

Pam and Gus are the secret villains or they're involved with the supernatural happenings in Velvet Cove

The possible "fifth friend" sent the package

Nora isn't actually married anymore and she's putting on a front for how happy she seems (okay I know this one is much more lighthearted but I wanna see endgame canon sapphic middle-aged relationships! Please!!)

The game will not have a happy ending (it's Dontnod, but the game also opens with Swann either agreeing or not with her mom's take about happy endings at her book club)

Call me crazy but... I think the girls might be queer. But I'm not sure yet. /j

Thank you for asking!

[mantis-yippee]

Sorry I've been kinda dead, been busy, as an apology, take the warm up I did of Autumn from Lost Records: Bloom and Rage, don't know it? You should.

I promise I'll actually post more soon and yes, S3 this April for Chaos Theory woo!

the Baldening returns tomorrow too okay bye

[a-smol-gay-tree]

SPOILERS FOR TAPE 1

Yuuuup I played Lost Records: Bloom and Rage & wanna share a few thoughts n theories about Tape 1 and how I think Tape 2 might go

I hope I don't just sound like a crazy Game theory Video bfksbdk

SO my dumb ass did not really notice any of the shadow figures, so I'm glad I sniffed through the tags on here lol My oblivious ass will always miss something

But after seeing some theories about those, I'm thinking like Kat probably starts a fire at the ranch and either Corey knows and chases after her or is sent to go look for her like seen before. As a kid, Kat would probably escape to the cabin as it's secret and safe and finds her way back to the abyss.

The girls will probably find her there cause "of course she's go to the cabin" and have a dramatic and emotional scene at the abyss

Enter Corey.

Pissed and confused (but mostly pissed) is upset about the incident, whether he saw her do it or finds out here that she did would both work. Another screaming match between the girls and him, possibly getting physical. With Kat's condition getting worse and knowing her time is limited, she'd probably be pissed that she's the one that has to die while "this fucking asshole gets to live"

And pulls him into the abyss with her - a sacrifice, vengeance, justice, and Kat getting to finally make a choice that's solely hers in her life. She wrote a song about "seeing Corey in Hell" and this feels like an awfully close second

As a newspaper on The Box says, there's a search for missing local (likely Corey since it'd probably say "child" if it was Kat) and well. . . He'd certainly be missing if he's in some sort of otherworldly abyss portal thing

And maybe one of em says Missing Child too, but I also believe Kat sent The Box. I'm not. . . Fully sure how ngl but that has been my first and main theory for a good while when I played the game. Maybe the abyss is some type of time portal or alt universe portal and she can send The Box (which I think is full of Swann's tapes maybe) to the girls in the future/main timeline

That's my blurb! Tumblr is that place for shouting into the void and I gotta do that

[thealexchen]

Which LIS game (and Bloom and Rage/tell me why) because DontNod had your personal fav art style of them all? I think LIS2 is my fav because it’s still kind of cartoony? (Idk the right term but not as like realism) but it’s better detailed than LIS.

I love how LiS's art style worked with the limitations of the PS3's tech and DN's budget. The hand-painted textures and framerate still holds up today, and I adore the drawn in-game "photos" and the 2D animated wind, fire, and water effects that carried over into LiS2, they're so cute and charming.

But I really have to hand it to DN for how incredible Bloom & Rage looks. There are still little glitches like hands clipping through each other, skipped over animations, and object physics not quite working, but it seriously blows my mind how much better B&R looks in every way compared to LiS and TMW. The characters have detailed skin textures, cloth textures, and more details in their hair without looking uncanny. Some objects can look lower-fidelity compared to the characters, but the wide shots of scenery are just so gorgeous. Compared to games like The Last of Us or Death Stranding, I love that Dontnod strives to be unreal in their graphics, not hyperreal. Most AAA games kind of all look the same after awhile with the same gloomy lighting and attempts to be as realistic as possible, but you can recognize a Dontnod project because every game has an actual art direction that focuses on artistic concepts: colors, value, contrast, composition, cinematography, and more.

Bloom & Rage has such unique color palettes: in the past, the purple/green contrast in the playground sets this eerie, intriguing, liminal mood as the girls are getting to know each other late at night. Are purple skies and green lights realistic? Hell no, but it's a really fucking cool vibe. Then in Nora's garage when they're watching Swann's music video, the blues and reds evoke the neon lighting of a retro movie theater, something exciting and different from the everyday. All of the past segments have beautifully saturated summer colors to dial up the nostalgia factor, while the present segments are all washed out and in cool tones for winter. Dontnod's only commitment to realism was giving the characters realistic facial imperfections (acne, freckles, etc), diverse body types, and such expressive eyes. All of the closeups in this game are so beautiful to look at and also give the game a greater sense of intimacy.

Now I really wish we could've seen what a LiS game could look like in 2025 with DN's current art direction and tech. Deck Nine's games look fine enough, and they've always had the more expressive facial animations and lip sync between the two. But I have to agree with some fans who think the flat lighting and overly smooth textures make the characters look too much like Sims (in True Colors but even more in Double Exposure), whereas DN's softer, more reactive lighting engine is more visually interesting and pleasing to the eye.

Thanks for asking!

[thealexchen]

do you think Kat will be alive in 2022 considering…

Here's the thing, I feel like it would be too obvious and anticlimactic if she was "just" dead and too contrived/convenient if she had miraculously survived to her forties.

That's why I'm agreeing with a lot of current theories that Kat is alive/dead... with a catch. The Abyss has to have something to do with it, especially because it appears after Kat performs the blood ritual, all the girls specifically made wishes about their futures when they first see it, and it's proven to have some supernatural effect on them and the world/people around them.

Tape 1 ended before adult Swann, Nora, and Autumn could reflect on their memories of the concert and Kat's breakdown and collapse. It could be possible they forgot that Kat was sick at all, or the severity of her illness was fuzzy in their memories, and Tape 2 begins with the adult women reliving that realization. Then, the rest of Kat's illness (and life) could be determinant based on your choices.

[thealexchen]

wait, there's shadows of swann too? I've only seen stuff about the kat and corey ones

Yup! It's speculated that adult Swann's shadow appears during the Bloody Mary scene, and it's her voice saying it back to teen Swann.