Some video games merely ‘wow’ you from the second you’re permitted to enter their worlds, and in that regard, Undertaking Bloomwalker is a blessing certainly. Revealed for the primary time within the Xbox @ gamescom 2025 Broadcast, Undertaking Bloomwalker is a phenomenal survival crafting affair set in a beautiful, anime-infused land that has been corrupted – its plants shrivelled, and its floor turned an ashy white. As a ‘Bloom Walker’, you’ve got the flexibility to remedy the world of this blight, utilizing your travelling caravan, a deceptively spacious home escorted by big robotic legs, housing an equally big speaking cat. It’s quirky, inviting, and incessantly magical.
Throughout a hands-on demo at gamescom, we had been invited to discover Bloomwalker’s world, and the way you’ll search to purify it. This actually is the crux of the sport. You’re not crafting to dominate the pure world – you’re there to heal it, and it feels actually totally different because of this.
The demo begins together with your character rigorously escorting their home via some tainted areas, utilizing its energy to slowly restore the world round it. It’s instantly inviting; the bottom round it’s restored as it really works – the terrain explodes into vibrant inexperienced, foliage and large mushrooms rework from nasty, sludgy mounds to vivid, rainbow hues – all the pieces right here feels deliberately positioned and ripe for exploration, which is strictly what you’ll have to do.
Whereas the vast majority of the world we noticed within the demo was comparatively secure (sans one assault from a large pelican), the contaminated areas require some thought to discover, including layers of puzzle to the combination. You’ll should be ready to come across enemies just like the aforementioned pelican, and enterprise into harmful, blighted elements (taking injury as you do) till you possibly can clear it. Fortunately, there are sources just like the Breathblossom that can help you quickly breathe in these spots, however you’ll have to work quick. For all of its magnificence, Undertaking Bloomwalker’s world might be treacherous, and it appears you’ll have to brace your self for it with a purpose to survive and maintain your own home transferring.
The home’s purification energy (or ‘purrification’, in accordance with our cat, Kuroru), received’t final perpetually; after a brief amble to the designated spot, we’re invited to settle the home down and begin crafting extra purification crystals. That is the useful resource that lets you maintain purifying, and it may be constituted of a lot of gadgets scattered across the map – berries, apples, honey, and some different particular supplies like luminite.
That is the place Kettlekid is available in, a creature I can solely describe because the sentient, very hungry contents of a cauldron. Throwing your gathered sources into Kettlekid will create purification crystals, used to fill purification gauge so the home can carry on transferring. These crystals are ferried over to your own home by absolutely the spotlight of the demo – Oddlings. These tiny, squeaky balls of pure pleasure are right here that can assist you, however they’ll want a little bit of care to perform successfully.
Thankfully, you’ve got a picket crafting desk (additionally geared up with legs, naturally) at your disposal, which lets you craft little leafy beds and tents in your Oddlings to relaxation in. In a pinch, you can even strategy Oddlings which might be exhausted and provides them a hug, which is not going to solely restore 50% of their power, but additionally remedy a tiny a part of your personal soul, too. It’s actually lovely.
Rogue Oddlings may also be came upon within the wild, both stressing out within the open or hid by a small puzzle. When you discovered them, they are often adopted and recruited into your personal Oddling military. Whereas they’re a pleasure to have round anyway, constructing a bigger group additionally expedites some automated crafting actions (like getting crystals from Kettlekid over to the home). There’s a touch of manufacturing facility sim beneath all of the loveliness.
Your individual ambling home is actually spectacular; the quaint little cottage, whereas small on the skin, homes a pocket dimension of kinds – a whimsical, celestial-themed bed room filled with glowing trinkets and cute decorations. It’s actually wonderful the primary time you understand that it’s larger on the within than the skin, with no loading display screen or transition. The eye to design is de facto felt right here – I spent a great jiffy peering into spherical terrariums and zooming into the partitions to soak up each magical element. It’s additionally the place you’ll come to talk to Kuroru about what’s happening, orienting you in your subsequent objective.
Even with simply a short while in Undertaking Bloomwalker, I’m completely entranced by its whimsical panorama and characters, and its poignant premise.
