Three kids and a buffed-up, humanoid variant of a dog – battling against demons in an other-worldly dungeon, using other demons (let’s call them…not-Personas) in combination with melee weapons, guns and elemental attacks. Or as it’s colloquially referred to: a typical Tuesday in the world of JRPGs and JRPG-adjacent games. Thus, it takes something more radical and unexpected on top for one of my stature – having ventured into a fair few games of this ilk – to pause in disbelief at what one is witnessing. Specifically, when it comes to a game’s music and the moment it’s initiated. The most recent example that I can point to – albeit not of the same genre – that underscores what I’m talking about would probably be something like “Void Symphony” fromVoid Stranger.
The kind of music that at a glance feels out of place and out of step – antithetical to the circumstances one is currently placed in. But as it turns out, is nothing short of fittingly breathing new life into a world and gameplay loop you’ve already warmed to. Even if said new life is one of some off-kilter, unnerving sort. But inBloomtown: A Different Story’s case, the opposite is true; I am in fact not unnerved or unsettled by some boisterous, upbeat, ear-worm of a battle theme (one of many battle themes in fact) that is now blasting in my ear. I’m bowled over by it and come the second time I hear it pop up during a combat encounter, there’s a growing feeling that there’s something special being cultivated here. A game that is itself bolstered and inspired by its influences, not shackled by them.
You’ll Never See It Coming
It’s the kind of prized, wishful moment you hope to find in any game, whose first-time appearance you can’t help but pause, offer a startled chuckle at and slowly-but-surely come to realize is a stroke of genius. “Alright, sure…” you eventually concede, this is indeed the intended tone and heft of confidence it’s flaunting so happily, as familiar and clearly hearkening to notable RPGs of the recent past it might be. But it’s that mix of popular favorites – a blend ofEarthbound,Personaand even some Bethesda-esque touches in parts – that has madeBloomtown’s introduction such a surprisingly-impressive joy to check out.
That a demo slice as the one developers Lazy Bear Games and Different Sense Games in conjunction have put out is as strong as it is. Even one’s minor complaints pertaining to a sightly-sluggish intro and attacks missing one too many times during combat aren’t enough to besmirchBloomtown’s status in one’s mind as a game that has quicky, but effectively, snuck up on me and my priorities on upcoming titles releasing soon.Bloomtownis charming, delightfully-orchestrated and potentially one of many dark-horse titles in a year full of “smaller-scale” releases crammed full of imagination. Abrupt a cutoff its demo might provide, this is a game I’m so desperately eager to jump back into and it’s because the presentation, as much its narrative set-up, is so strong why those feelings persist.
It’s the kind of prized, wishful moment you hope to find in any game, whose first-time appearance you can’t help but pause, offer a startled chuckle at and slowly-but-surely come to realize is a stroke of genius.
Similar to a game likeChained Echoesbefore it, a lack of voice-work or 3D graphics hasn’t preventedBloomtownfrom conjuring a cast of characters I want to learn more about in a world I’m more than happy to immerse myself in. Certainly some of that fondness for how Bloomtown sets itself up, stems from personal biases. The small-town setting, the focus on a party of members with a mix of traits that make them seem somewhat insufferable, but likable enough where it matters – and generally the kind of slightly tongue-in-cheek, self-aware brand of humor that isn’t shy of poking fun at genre tropes, but doesn’t do it to such insufferable, obnoxious lengths.
Checking the Score: Chained Echoes Pays Homage to Classic JRPGs
Familiarly Stranger Things
Because at the heart of it all, sits a tale of a small rural American town during the 1960s under the looming threat of a demonic take-over. It’s up to you, as main protagonist Emily, together with her younger brother, in forming a party to investigate what’s really going on.Bloomtownnaturally wants to set the scene before jumping head-first into anything major. And how the game makes those first critical story beats feel through a string of brief quests, lengthier than they likely are. Again, the intention is reasonable enough, even if it does risk losing sight of the likely premise many will have gravitated towards this game for in the first place.
But when the combat-centic, dungeon-crawling part of the game materializes, it is whereBloomtown’s flair and love for the genre and the games that inspired it finally kicks into gear. Whether it’s the soundtrack as mentioned that’s so clearly channeling the best of Atlus' beloved run of demon-collecting entries, the bizarre creature design that tips its hat toEarthboundon top, or the decisions during combat on whether to prioritize pure damage output over elemental ailments. It may be early days, but whileBloomtown’s influences may well be more obvious to spot, that doesn’t result in some identity-deprived creation.
Luck 0, Speech 100
Even at its weakest moments – battles tainted by an overzealous reliance on a weapon’s baked-in stats on the probability of actually hitting, which results in more “Miss” states than seems plausible – the game still manages to ride out its rough edges. Thanks to commendable sprite work but again, a caliber of writing that utilizes a lighthearted touch to humor, without costing the intrigue of either its world or the characters you’re controlling. It’s the writing aspect of this game that also gives its more literal role-playing mechanics, a reason to invest in. Copying the style of conversational decision-making you’d find in any Bethesda or Bethesda-like experience.
Players given the option to push a character or NPC into responding a certain way, if one’s stats in a given personality trait are high enough. And even if they aren’t – governed by a percentile probability in success – you can still roll (quite literally, illustrated by you rolling a pair of dice on-screen) to get something more out of the conversation. How success and failure in this regard plays into the overarching plot is unclear – as is whether any sort of branching, decision-led alternatives exist – but it’s a welcome addition to the role-playing aspects that feels anything but shoehorned in for appeasement’s sake.
At the risk of getting ahead myself,Bloomtown: A Different Storyhas done an incredible job at bowling me over with its tight-knit interweaving of dedicated sprite work, catchy soundtrack and best of all, the kind of writing that makes the world and its participants alike, aspects I’m keen to learn more about. Even with those aforementioned complaints around combat, the benefit of the doubt can be afforded for a game whose gameplay and leveling up systems serve as but one piece in a grander, humbly-sized RPG that feels nostalgic but cleverly so. We won’t have long to wait to seeBloomtownin all its pastoral/demonic entirety when it releases in a few weeks time. For now, I’m content in having the lyrics"In the middle of…nev-er end-ing night…“live rent-free in my head. A privilegeBloomtownhas more than fittingly earned.
