Distant Bloom

About

Distant Bloom is a single player casual action adventure game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Ember Trail and was released on March 27, 2024. It received positive reviews from players.

In "Distant Bloom" , you and your crew arrive on an alien planet with the mission to create a new home. This once-vibrant world now appears desolate, and it's up to you to restore its former glory by nurturing varied alien flora. As you explore and uncover the planet's history, turn your harvest into useful items, build and improve your homebase, and help your scattered crew become a thriving community.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

+13

Skip User Reviews

82%

Audience ScoreBased on 215 reviews

story34 positive mentions

stability30 negative mentions

The art style is incredibly cute, and the characters are charming, making the game visually appealing.
The gameplay of planting and revitalizing the environment is satisfying and provides a sense of accomplishment.
The soundtrack is beautiful and enhances the relaxing atmosphere of the game.

The game is plagued with bugs, including freezing issues and crashes that can disrupt gameplay.
The map is largely ineffective, making navigation frustrating and leading to a lot of backtracking.
The core gameplay loop can become repetitive and lacks depth, leading to boredom over time.

story
112 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
67%
3%
The game's story is generally described as cute and engaging, with a focus on environmental themes and community restoration, though it lacks depth and complexity. Players appreciate the surprising plot twists and the cozy exploration aspect, but some have noted issues with quest progression and linearity. Overall, while the narrative is enjoyable and visually appealing, it may feel simplistic and occasionally buggy, impacting the overall experience.
- “The plot twist and story honestly surprised me.”
- “From the story to the puzzles, I fell in love.”
- “The story is really sweet, starting with unraveling a mystery and carrying a very important message about nature and sustainability.”
- “The storyline is entirely linear.”
- “The story is a caution about environmentalism, but lacks real depth.”
- “Additionally, I've missed whole sections of the story, including important reveals because the game skips the cutscene entirely by entering me into a conversation with one of the people in the cutscene.”
gameplay
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
75%
9%
The gameplay is characterized by a simple and repetitive loop focused on planting different types of plants in hexagonal grids to revitalize areas, which many players find shallow and lacking in depth. While the exploration aspect and aesthetic elements are appreciated, the mechanics do not evolve significantly, leading to a sense of monotony after a few hours. Overall, the game offers a relaxing experience but may not satisfy those seeking more complex or engaging gameplay.
- “This game is like a 3D Metroidvania without combat, where ecosystem restoration is the plot and plant adjacency puzzles are the gameplay.”
- “Game is excellent if you are looking for relaxed and simple gameplay with very minimal pressure.”
- “The mechanics are established early on, but you receive tool upgrades and additional plants as you progress, which open up the world and give you a reason to revisit previous areas.”
- “The concept and story is kind of interesting, but the gameplay loop is so boring.”
- “50% of the gameplay is putting 5 different plant types into a hexagon grid, and you have to do this hundreds of times, which is very uninteresting.”
- “At no point does the game introduce mechanics beyond 'clear debris and then plant different plants next to each other in hexgrids until the entire grid is flourishing.' Even the clearing debris mechanic is down to a single button press for every type of debris, with the only difference being what material it gives you to craft with.”
graphics
54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
53%
6%
The graphics of the game are generally described as cute and engaging, with a charming art style that enhances the overall atmosphere. However, some players noted issues with fuzzy visuals that lack crispness, which can strain the eyes and detract from the experience. While many appreciate the aesthetic and character designs, there are calls for improved graphical options and settings to enhance gameplay.
- “The graphics are fantastic and so beautiful.”
- “Love the story and the gorgeous artwork/map.”
- “It's a cute little game, very engaging, with fun graphics!”
- “Cons: it takes a while to get used to the fuzzy graphics and can strain your eyes a bit; you can't move the angle of how you play; figuring stuff out can be hard; characters don't have much dialogue; there are no hints; the map is a bit limited.”
- “The graphics are fuzzy and lack the crispness that I would expect from a game with this art style.”
- “I would love more options to fiddle with the graphics in settings (apparently setting a frame rate limit is 'advanced' according to the menu).”
music
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
32%
8%
The music in the game is widely praised for its stunning, calming, and atmospheric qualities, enhancing the overall experience of revitalizing a dying world. Reviewers appreciate the dynamic and adaptive soundtrack, which complements the beautiful visuals and creates a relaxing environment, despite some criticisms regarding the simplicity of gameplay. Overall, the music significantly contributes to the game's charm and immersive quality.
- “The music is peaceful, the sounds of even the bubbling trash-water is pleasant, and it's satisfying to revitalize the world garden patch by garden patch.”
- “I'm really enjoying the deliberate slow pace, incredible dynamic/adaptive music, dialog is sparse and respects my time, and one of the characters is named Chorein and that's just a fun name to say out loud.”
- “It's cute and cozy and low pressure and the music is wonderful and atmospheric.”
- “The area goes from grey and lifeless, the music barely audible to full of color and sound.”
- “All animations keep playing and the music keeps playing but the game no longer responds to the controller.”
- “But then games such as Grow: Song of the Evertree and the recent Lightyear Frontier just don’t quite click with me.”
stability
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is frequently described as charming but plagued by bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, such as character movement locking up, missing dialogue, and falling off the map. While these issues are generally not game-breaking, they can slow progress and frustrate players, particularly those reliant on dialogue and smooth mechanics. Overall, the stability is considered low-impact but noticeable, especially for those accustomed to early access titles.
- “The downside is that every 15-20 minutes I get stuck and have to restart (there is no unstuck button/help), glitches where monumental moments in dialogue are missed (I missed the entire conversation at one point for a turning point in the plot), and I've frequently fallen off the world into a grey-brown void until the game either glitches and I need to restart, or it drops me somewhere nearby on the map.”
- “Unfortunately, there are also tons of glitches. Nothing I encountered was game-breaking, but there are things you have to be overly careful about with the scripting of dialogue with NPCs and collision detection.”
- “Despite its charm, the game is frequently buggy and often tedious.”
grinding
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game is frequently described as tedious and mind-numbing, with players expressing frustration over repetitive tasks like planting and navigating a same-y world. While some appreciate the beautiful landscapes and calming music, many feel that the experience detracts from the intended cozy vibe, leading to a mix of short-lived enjoyment and prolonged annoyance. Overall, the grind can feel rewarding but often becomes a chore, especially with limited fast travel options and frequent backtracking.
- “This game starts off okay, cute art style, but it very quickly becomes annoying and tedious, totally tanking its 'cozy game' intention.”
- “The world is fairly same-y after a couple of hours and the winding paths combined with the restricted view makes exploration and traversal extremely tedious.”
- “I'd guess that I'm somewhere around halfway finished but I can't stand the thought of doing this tedious planting minigame for 6 more hours.”
atmosphere
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
86%
14%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its cozy and relaxing qualities, enhanced by beautiful graphics and soothing music. Players appreciate the immersive exploration experience, with many noting the charm of restored environments and light puzzle elements that contribute to a serene ambiance. Overall, the game is described as a delightful escape into nature, perfect for those who enjoy low-pressure, exploration-focused gameplay.
- “After realizing the core gameplay was in the exploration, I was happy to shift gears into immersing myself in what had already established itself as a relaxing and atmospheric environment.”
- “It's cute and cozy and low pressure, and the music is wonderful and atmospheric.”
- “If you enjoy exploration style games with no combat and an absolutely beautiful atmosphere, then get this.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by light-hearted and amusing dialogues that enhance NPC interactions, making them feel more engaging than mere quest givers. However, some players noted a decline in comedic timing and pacing from the demo to the full release, leading to moments that felt less impactful. Additionally, the charming and humorous nature of the environment and its cute animals contributed positively to the overall comedic experience.
- “Dialogues aren't super deep, but often funny and make the NPCs feel like more than random quest dispensers.”
- “What I really loved about the game was the environment changing as you planted more vegetation, and the few animals there were, were super cute and funny.”
- “This point didn't come up until after the 2-hour refund mark though... funny that.”
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
While players appreciate the character designs and the vibrant world, the overall character development is hindered by repetitive gameplay, leading some to lose interest after a few hours. The initial appeal of the characters is overshadowed by a lack of depth in their progression.
- “Love the soundtrack and character design.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its wholesome and emotionally uplifting experience, allowing players to transform a desolate wasteland into a vibrant world through relaxing gameplay and light puzzles. Reviewers highlight its charm and the positive emotional impact it delivers, making it one of the loveliest games they've encountered.
- “In any case, it's super wholesome and one of the loveliest games I've played.”
- “If you want to have something wholesome, mostly relaxed, with no combat, some slight puzzle aspects, and something in which you can see a desolate wasteland turn into a lush world, more and more with each solved planting area and collected trash, this is a good contender.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Overall, users express a lack of replayability for the game, with many stating they do not foresee themselves starting over or playing it again after completing it. Despite this, some still feel the game is worth the initial investment.
- “-zero replayability; I can't see myself replaying this game from a fresh start.”
- “Not sure it would have any replayability, but very much worth my $.”