By Jade Entien

After blowing the dust off the Xbox I was positive I wouldn’t be touching for the entirety of my semester, I downloaded Bloomtown: A Different Story, developed by Lazy Bear Games and Different Sense Games. I prepared myself for what I assumed would be a typical pixel turn-based RPG. However, it took under 30 minutes for me to be immersed in the story of this small town and its residents, and the demonic evil that lurks within their neighborhood. 

We play as Emily who, with her younger brother Chester, is sent off to live with their Grandpa Cooper after issues with their parents. The siblings are Chicago natives, forced to leave the city and start life anew in a quiet little town. Chester, being the younger sibling, is anxious about the change. That’s so similar to my situation. When I relocated from New York City to Cortland, I learned that the small-town scenery is nice enough, but it leaves you a bit homesick for the hustle and bustle of urban life. Emily, Chester’s big sister, tries to ease his mind. After learning about their history in this prologue, we’re introduced to the game’s point system: you choose Emily’s starting smarts, charm, guts and proficiency, and you’ll have the opportunity to develop these skills throughout the game through dialogue or action prompts.

You can make Emily a kind, caring soul or a little cretin who bullies loot from anyone asking for help. As established during my current evil run in Baldur’s Gate 3, I don’t work for free, so of course Emily won’t either. The beginning quests seem harmless enough, getting groceries, doing some gardening, picking dandelions. While running an errand for Grandpa Cooper, we’re asked by a few kids at the park to help them locate their missing friend, a brown-haired girl in a blue dress. I made sure they paid me 30 cents, which in this game goes a long way. After solving a riddle on a log and gaining access to a treehouse, we’re thrust into the blackness the game teases in its opening sequence. Bloomtown isn’t the safe haven it appears to be. The little girl we’re searching for is lost in this dark, empty realm. As we chase after her, we’re attacked and put into turn-based battle against demons that take on various forms like the sentient tree stumps, with their pointy teeth and spells, and Jersey devils which look very similar to the goat-like cryptid most are familiar with. This leads to quests with a bit of a grimmer feel as we’re pushed into maze-like dungeons with no exits and faceless enemies that pursue you until you leave the room. 

Now Bloomtown: A Different Story, has a few things in common with other RPGs, making for an enjoyable gaming experience. For instance, like Stardew Valley, Bloomtown operates with a time-based system. The stores have business hours, and if you agree to meet someone at a certain time, you better be there or you risk missing out on important information or quests. But I did have some issues with the game. Conversation history was one of the first things I checked for. It’s a must-have in a text based RPG. Since the dialogue doesn’t roll as it does in other games, information can vanish with the accidental click of a button; it’s lost until you check the history. It would also be nice to have the ability to talk to the multiple unique NPCs who roam the town, but unfortunately we don’t have that option. 

The graphics of Bloomtown: A Different Story are attention-grabbing. The bright town felt refreshing while the ill-lit dungeons increased feelings of anxiety about what’s lurking nearby. And I was pleasantly surprised that the combat music had vocals, as I’m used to just the same old instrumental tune. Before I noticed the singing, I was getting a feel for combat and ended up shooting the enemies, which caused the music to cut out almost immediately – very unfortunate! 

Bloomtown: A Different Story also has some wonderful storytelling, and the characters, battle mechanics, and colorful environments make for a truly entertaining game from the second you hit play. It’s so incredible, in fact, that I hesitate to point out its flaws. But they are important. For example, you can’t manually save, which can be a bother. When you’re out of the dungeons out experimenting with the different interactions and conversations, you have to load the game from its last auto save. Unfortunately, this might be as far back as 9 am, when Emily wakes for the day, even if you were last playing at 5 pm in game time.  Your safest bet is to enter the dungeons and then enter a room to force an autosave before you leave the game. I’m also not a big fan of how I can walk through the other citizens of Bloomtown: A Different Story, mainly the unimportant ones strolling the sidewalks. Though they don’t add much to the story, it would add to the real feel of a town if they had at least one thing to say. I wish the locals got upset when you stand in their path for too long. There are also areas in town that are gated or blocked by shrubbery; maybe I’m just impatient, but having a scrawny plant thwart me from making an exit drives me to pick out what little hair I have on my head. And while the writing in the game is fine, I wished each character had its own unique audio.

But maybe that’s what makes Bloomtown: A Different Story special. It’s a fun game with its own little quirks. It doesn’t have to be like other RPGs.

I’d say Bloomtown: A Different Story is worth its $25 asking price. It’s a light game with easy to understand mechanics and a memorable cast. I can see myself recommending it to a fellow intern at the Circle with a love of corgis as one of your allies happens to be, a talking corgi. Bloomtown: A Different Story has surprises, story, character and heart. I plan on returning to play for hours on end.

Jade Entien is an NYVGCC senior intern, a Junior at SUNY Cortland with a major in Communication studies and passion for Theatre as a minor.

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