Bloomtown: A Different Story

If Persona 5 took a wrong turn into rural Americana and crashed into a cornfield full of existential dread, you’d get something a lot like Bloomtown: A Different Story. It starts with Emily and Chester being shipped off to their grumpy grandfather’s house for the summer, which already feels like the setup for a slice-of-life drama, until kids start vanishing and Lucifer shows up in your dreams offering a demon pact. Naturally, you say yes.

On the surface, Bloomtown has all the fixings of a sunny 1960s postcard: movie theaters, grocery stores, dusty libraries. But underneath? Literally, The Underside, a shadowy realm where fears turn into monsters and magic comes standard with side effects. It’s creepy, it’s intriguing, and it’s where most of the good stuff happens.

Combat leans hard into its inspirations. You summon inner demons, scan enemy weaknesses, and set up combo attacks with a team of classmates and one very chatty dog. There’s even a demon fusion hub that might as well be called the Velvet Room’s midwestern cousin. But the comparisons start to overstay their welcome. For every clever twist, like battling manifestations of guilt or corruption, there’s a moment where you can’t help but think, “Didn’t I already do this in Persona 3, 4, and 5?”

Bloomtown shines brightest in its exploration and side quests. Gardening? Tedious. But digging into your friends’ emotional trauma? Surprisingly rewarding. There’s heart here, even if some of it feels secondhand.