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Lost Records: Bloom And Rage is a coming-of-age drama that looks and plays much like Life is Strange. That's because the same studio made both games, of course, but one detail the team didn't necessarily have to carry over--but they did anyway--is seen on the vehicles around the game's small town. Look at any car or truck you find in the world, and you'll see that it has a vanity plate based on something that influenced the game. I noticed this early on in the game and quickly became obsessed with spotting and figuring out each of these, as some of them are more obvious than others.Given Lost Records is a teen drama set in the '90s about an all-girl punk band in a town with a creepy history, the inspirations come from a broad spectrum. Some are shows that were on in the '90s, while others are much newer but make sense, given their supernatural leanings. Some are books, others are video games, and so on.Some bands mentioned aren't exactly labeled as punk bands, but they suit the game's vibe and/or have strong frontwomen in their DNA. Each Easter egg of a vanity license plate makes sense once you beat the game--or Tape 1, as it's considered, since the second half of the game launches on April 15.Below, I've rounded up all the vanity plates and explained how they tie into the game's setting, story, themes, or some other aspect of Lost Records. This will be as spoiler-free as I can make it, which is to say pretty much entirely spoiler-free, but given these Easter eggs reveal the game's influences, you can maybe infer some of the story beats just by seeing these plates, so if you want to go into the game without any hints at all, it may be best to play the game, then come back and see if you caught all of these yourself. The CraftOne of the fun things about unraveling the mystery surrounding Lost Records is you can't really tell which way it's going. Is it ghosts? Aliens? Witches? None of the above? At different times, it leans in different directions, and we won't have all the answers until Tape 2 finishes the story, but the '90s cult-classic The Craft, about a group of girls trying on some witchcraft for a change, can definitely be seen in Lost Records. The X-FilesLong before you see this X-Files license plate, you may see Swann's legally distinct posters in her room--you can even find Agent Scully fanfic under her bed. Given its appearance in the story, The X-Files, much like The Craft and Oxenfree (mentioned below), kept me guessing as to what the nature of the game's supernatural element is--or whether there truly is one. It's also worth noting that, in a game focused on the empowerment of nerdy young women in the '90s, Agent Scully would've likely been seen as a god to Swann and friends at the time. My So-Called LifeThis '90s teen series didn't have any creepy elements to it, but it was a staple in the media diets of many kids who came of age in that era, so it really needs no further explanation. Shoutout to Claire Danes. Stand By MePerhaps the most obvious of all influences, Stand By Me is a coming-of-age Stephen King book (and later, a movie) about four boys who discover a dead body and the fallout of that event. Lost Records has a lot in common with this one, and, like My So-Called Life, is pretty obvious even just from watching the trailer for the game, so I probably don't need to say any more than that. Paris, TexasParis, Texas is a book (and later, a movie) about a man who wanders out of the desert after years spent missing and must reconnect with his family and friends. Admittedly, I haven't read or seen it, so some of the ties may be lost on me, but I could see that plot being influential on Lost Records due to the fact that the girls purposely drifted apart following a mysterious event of 1995 and only reconnected about 30 years later. They have to rediscover each other in a way not unlike what this book/movie seems to have depicted. Downward Spiral (Nine Inch Nails album)Originally, I thought this one was for a '90s metalcore band called Downspell, but Don't Nod Montreal's studio executive producer Luc Baghadoust actually clued me in that there's a slight spelling error, which has made this one more confusing. According to Baghadoust, it's meant to read DWN SPRL. Thus, this seems to be a nod to Downward Spiral, the 1994 Nine Inch Nails album. A dark concept album that deals with themes of despair, Downward Spiral is considered a milestone in industrial rock. Lost Records definitely touches on similar feelings of helplessness at times in Tape 1, though I'll let you see that for yourself. The CranberriesThe girls of Lost Records want to be rockstars, and in 1995, that likely meant looking up to Dolores O'Riordan, the lead singer of The Cranberries. While not a punk act, O'Riordan's The Cranberries were massive at the time, and performed music with a point behind it, like their mega-hit Zombie, which was written as a protest against the violent conflict in Northern Ireland. The song exploded in 1994 and 1995, so it's likely the girls of Lost Records were listening to this a lot--though we don't hear it in the game, that's probably because music rights are messy and expensive. At least, that's how we rationalize it in our heeaaaaad, in our heee-EEE-aaaa-eeeed. The Smashing PumpkinsLike The Cranberries, The Smashing Pumpkins is more of an alt-rock band with some grunge leanings than a punk band, but they are again an unavoidable piece of the soundscape of the 1990s. Even without a woman leading the band, it makes perfect sense to reference an act that helped shape the decade's music scene, particularly in the rock genre. No doubt the girls of Lost Records were blasting the cassette of Siamese Dream in the summer of 1995, with Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness debuting the fall after the events of the game (and likely being in their rotation at that point, too). Freaks and GeeksBeloved as a timeless series about high schoolers--both upperclassmen and freshmen--Freaks and Geeks hits on a lot of the same anxieties of fitting in, finding yourself, and growing up that Lost Records deals with. If you haven't seen it, fix that, then enjoy the pseudo-sequel that is Undeclared, which follows new characters in college from some of the same braintrust and with some of the same actors. I'm Thinking of Ending Things; The Leftovers This is a fun duo. I'm Thinking of Ending Things is a recent Netflix movie (and earlier, a book) from the legendary Charlie Kaufman, centered on a high school and dealing with themes of loneliness and the subjectivity of reality. Given the setting and themes, it's a weird one, as any Kaufman work is, and it definitely relates to Lost Records' themes, too, as protagonist Swann is trying to fit in with her new friends.Meanwhile, The Leftovers is a fascinating one. It's criminally underseen but, in my opinion, one of the best TV series ever made. Based on a Tom Perotta book of the same name but extending the story into new avenues in its later seasons, The Leftovers follows characters in a world in which 2% of the global population vanished in an instant one day years prior.Focusing on the characters left without answers as to why or how this occurred, the story is extremely heavy, grappling with grief and the inexplicable nature of why some things are the way they are. Lost Records gets into some of this stuff too, and I expect Tape 2 will feel more Leftovers-inspired than the first one for reasons I won't spoil. Over The Garden Wall; It Follows; House of LeavesThese three are seen in the bar together, hanging on a wall, and they bring with them an eclectic mix of influences. Over The Garden Wall is the first one on the left, which my wife helped me solve. It's the name of a few works of art over the last century, but I presume this one points to the cartoon about a strange forest and the characters exploring it, which relates to Lost Records' own weird woods.It Follows is another '90s-set horror movie (and another personal favorite of mine) and deals with themes of aging into adulthood and what it means to leave childhood behind. That can be seen in Lost Records' characters often, as they frequently want to be treated like adults and often lie about their whereabouts to their parents so they can express themselves freely during overnight hangouts in the woods.House of Leaves is a famous (and incredible) meta-horror novel set in a strange liminal space of a house. The book is so bizarre that an audiobook version of it is seemingly impossible, as there are sections that unravel in such strange ways that it must be seen with one's eyes. A recording couldn't capture it. Given some of Lost Records' own mysterious depths, the ties make sense, but again, I'd not want to delve too deep here to avoid saying too much. Night in the WoodsElsewhere in the bar, we see a few video game Easter eggs. First, we have Night in the Woods--a story also focused on a group of young friends in a small, forgettable town in which the story oscillates between coming-of-age dramedy and slightly creepy horror-ish story. The ties to Don't Nod Montreal's latest work are obvious in that light. Alan Wake; Control; OxenfreeHere's a very interesting pair of license plates. First of all, the one on the left seems to represent the Remedy Connected Universe--Alan Wake and Control--though it's the only license plate in the game that spells out something other than the official title of the influential work. AWEFBC means Altered World Event, Federal Bureau of Control. These point to plot elements of the two games. It's funny to see that Remedy inspired Lost Records, because in a recent interview with current Life is Strange torchbearers, Deck Nine, I learned how Remedy inspired last year's Life is Strange: Double Exposure too.Oxenfree is also an obvious one, as it focuses on a group of teens hanging in the woods while high strangeness occurs around them. There are scenes in Lost Records that feel very much like a 3D take on Oxenfree. Perfect BlueThis horror anime has withstood the test of time and is today considered a classic, and like Lost Records, focuses in part on a mysterious character sending cryptic messages. The movie gets very dark--darker than I expect Lost Records to get--but you can see the throughline in the stalkers that seem to exist in each story. As sort of a pre-Black Swan take on some of the same ideas, those familiar with Perfect Blue will see some of the connective tissue in the current-day sections of Don't Nod's time-hopping story. AnnihilationThis license plate stumped me the longest--"Annie Latin"? "Foreign One Left For Tonight"? Thanks to GameSpot's Lucy James for putting the pieces together and solving this one. Annihilation is a sci-fi book and movie about an expedition team embarking on mission into a region infested with some kind of anomalous, alien-like growth, as they discover something there that seems to toy with their personhood. It's a woman-led team and some of the thematic material crosses over, so the ties are there, though I'll refrain from getting too detailed to preserve some of the game's ambitions in this regard. EuphoriaThis HBO drama about teens gets into some pretty heavy stuff, like drug addiction, mental health issues, and kids dealing with very adult problems. Lost Records definitely has a bit of that same focus, with the quartet of girls at the center of the story dealing with the fallout of a remarkable event that shaped their lives when they were about 16 years old back in 1995. I Saw The TV GlowFunnily enough, this one confused me for a while until it finally occurred to me that the Easter egg was pointing to one of my favorite movies ever. I Saw The TV Glow is also a story heavy on the '90s nostalgia and essentially a drama with some horror-genre leanings, which is roughly how I'd describe Lost Records, too. More to come in Tape 2?That's every license plate Easter egg I found in Tape 1 of Lost Records: Bloom and Rage. If I missed any, I'd love to know, so shout them out in the comments. I also fully expect this trend to continue in Tape 2, and I wanted to place my bets on a few Easter eggs I expect to find in the second half.Yellowjackets is perhaps most glaringly absent thus far, as it similarly deals with girls getting weird in the woods, then reconnecting as adults. I assume it shows up in April. I could see I Know What You Did Last Summer being mentioned, too, given the creepy messages being sent to the girls a long time after a mysterious inciting incident.Lastly, though the girls were already onto more adult genre stuff like The X-Files, I could see things like Are You Afraid of the Dark, Eerie Indiana, and Goosebumps popping up as license plates. In fact, a faux R.L. Stine horror novel can be found in Swann's room, so the young-adult horror fare of the 1990s is definitely in play. Are there any mentions you hope or expect to find in the game?For more on Don't Nod's latest teen saga, be sure to check out our Lost Records: Bloom and Rage guides.
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