Bloom: Memories heads to Kickstarter to fund a new take on the ARPG formula

Bloom: Memories is an ambitious action RPG that's going to try to marry the exploration of Zelda, the stealth of Thief, and the living world of Harvest Moon.

is an ambitious action RPG that's going to try to marry the exploration of Zelda, the stealth of Thief, and the living world of Harvest Moon. With a big emphasis on clever solutions beyond violence and a really beautiful batch of concept art, I'm not surprised that Bloom is already halfway to its $40,000 funding goal after only a couple of days on Kickstarter.

“We understand that there are different types of players, and we are dedicated to building a world that accounts for each of them in a rewarding way,” the game's description reads. Among these options is the very reasonable idea to Consider Talking: “The world is filled with strange creatures; sometimes taking a moment to talk to them can be well worth the time. Every now and then, as you consider how to kill the imposing monster standing before you...you might instead simply try and say hello.”

Developer Studio Fawnis also enamored with the deep stealth gameplay of the original Thief and is adopting a similar approach. Standard action-RPGs like Diabloand Torthlighthave the player leave a mile-wide trail of destruction and corpses through the world, so this is a pretty new idea for this genre. Of course, if trails of corpses are your thing, consider the ominously described option to “Grow stronger by feeding off those you defeat...slowly grow more powerful through taking the lives of others. In the end, you may find yourself with a great deal of strength...but at what cost?” Spooky.

Bloom will be on Kickstarter for the next month, though I don't think they'll need that much time. For $10, you can snag a DRM-free copy of the game, due out in December 2015. You can also download a demo of the current pre-alpha build at Studio Fawn's website.