Featured on the most recent season of IGN’s reality show The Next Game Boss, Bloom: Memories is as much a work of art as it is the first game from Studio Fawn. Yesterday saw the launch of a Kickstarter campaign to fund the project, accompanied by a flood of new information and images. Billed as “an isometric action adventure/RPG”, Bloom: Memories tasks players with exploring a mysterious and beautiful fantasy world while tackling such themes as maternal love and the balance between nature and technology.
The player enters the game world amidst a conflict between ancient guardians of the land and the Eternal, dark, corrupt monstrosities bent on destruction. Trapped in this battle is a woman of the Eternal who fears for the life of her unborn child. The noble guardians take pity on this woman, and, using scraps salvaged from fallen creatures, construct a protective body for the youngling. This child and the love of his mother are the focuses of Bloom. As the player explores the mystical world and interacts with fantastical creatures, they will come to rely on this love.
Studio Fawn describes Bloom‘s gameplay as similar to the classic Zelda games. Players will move about the world and discover secrets while using hand-to-hand weapons, bows, and magical abilities to combat foes. The bond between mother and son will affect how players approach conflict, as the two share a single health bar as well as “linked hearts” that allow either character to lend or borrow strength from the other. These hearts reflect the emotional state of the characters and can become weakened or fractured after a tragic event. Though details are still scarce, Bloom will feature an ethereal alternate world called “the bridge” that players will gain entry to, allowing them to see into the true hearts of beings and solve puzzles.
Studio Fawn is a small but incredibly talented development team. All artwork, rendering, and character design is being handled by project lead Dani Landers, resulting in a very cohesive visual style. Composer José Mora-Jiménez is lending his talents to Bloom‘s atmospheric soundtrack. Mere hours after its launch, Bloom‘s Kickstarter campaign has secured more than $8,000 USD of its $50,000 goal, and this number continues to grow. The game is currently headed to Mac and Windows, but if Studio Fawn can acquire a grand total of $70,000, it plans to port Bloom to Linux and Android systems.
Check out Bloom: Memories on Kickstarter for more information, music from the soundtrack, and to donate.
