Engadget, "The best Playdate games" (updated 12 May 2025). "The art is beautiful, the story feels personal and the soundtrack is the perfect thing to lull you into a chilled-out state."
https://www.engadget.com/gaming/best-playdate-games-190049201.htmlGames / Catalog / Bloom
OverviewCatalog
Bloom
AdventureCrank: yes$10
1 · official Catalog screenshot
2 · official Catalog screenshot
3 · official Catalog screenshot
4 · official Catalog screenshot
5 · official Catalog screenshot1 · official Catalog screenshot2 · official Catalog screenshot3 · official Catalog screenshot4 · official Catalog screenshot5 · official Catalog screenshotOverview. Not yet reviewed. No score. Checked 12 Oct 2026. Built from official and press sources.
What it is
Bloom is "a real-time narrative-driven social sim about starting up a flower shop". You play Midori, who has quietly left college to open her own shop. Most of the game is text messages with her girlfriend, family, friends and neighbours. You check in a few times a day over many real-world days as the story unfolds. On the roof you plant, water and harvest flowers (the crank moves you between floors), and there's an arcade-style minigame with daily collectibles. A day/night cycle and weather change the scene. An Accessibility Mode lets the D-pad stand in for the crank.
It's by RNG Party Games (Jake White, Ben Busche and Peyton Balasko). It started as a 72-hour Ludum Dare 49 game, released before the Playdate itself shipped, and was one of the device's early sideloaded hits. It joined the Catalog at launch in March 2023, along with an update that added a post-game story and a "chill" mode. It costs $10 (also on itch.io) and is in Panic's "Great Stories" collection. The content note mentions "moderate use of profanity" and themes "aimed at a teenage or older audience".
Who made it
What others are saying
The Verge (Andrew Webster, 7 Mar 2023). calls it "one of the device's early hits, the charming real-time narrative Bloom".
https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/7/23627413/playdate-catalog-store-launch-date-best-gamesPlaydate: The Unofficial Website (Nick Simberg). "Bloom is a really special game… Besides maybe Mystic Messenger, I've never really played any game like it."
https://www.playdateunofficial.com/the-games/bloomCallout (?): No review yet. We haven't reviewed Bloom yet. This page is an overview built from official and press sources.
Sources
Checked 12 Oct 2026.
- Official Catalog page (description, credits, size, dates, content/AI/accessibility notes). https://play.date/games/bloom/
- Engadget, "The best Playdate games" (updated 12 May 2025). https://www.engadget.com/gaming/best-playdate-games-190049201.html
- The Verge, Andrew Webster, 7 Mar 2023 (Catalog launch; Bloom update). https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/7/23627413/playdate-catalog-store-launch-date-best-games
- Playdate: The Unofficial Website, Nick Simberg. https://www.playdateunofficial.com/the-games/bloom
OverviewNo score
Overview
Not yet reviewed.
No score. This page is built from official and press sources.
On the card
Midori has dropped out of college to open a flower shop. Text friends and family and tend her rooftop garden in real time, over many real days.
From the sources
