I didn't realise how much I wanted a Pokémon meets Stranger Things game until I saw this monster taming JRPG

What do you get when you mix Stranger Things, Pokémon, Stardew Valley, and a hint of Persona together? Apparently, the answer is Bloomtown: A Different Story.

Bloomtown is an upcoming game from developers Lazy Bear Games and Different Sense Games and will be published by Twin Sails Interactive. They describe the game as "a narrative JRPG mixing turn-based combat, monster taming and social RPG" set in the backdrop of 1960s Americana.

You play as Emily, a 12 year old girl who's sent with her younger brother Chester to their grandpa's over the summer holiday. He lives in the seemingly quaint town of Bloomtown and it all looks super cosy, like it's come straight out of Stardew Valley. 

And then you start to notice that things seem a little bit off. People are glitching out into shadow versions of themselves, and a number of children are going missing from the town. As Emily, you set out on a journey to find out what's going on with the help of friends and tamed creatures.

Bloomtown has a dark, demon world called the Underside, where people's fears become real. Emily will have to travel to the Underside to battle demons and dungeon bosses, and she can summon her own inner demons alongside the ones she's tamed. There's a "deep fuse system", according to Lazy Bear Games and Different Sense Games, hopefully meaning there's huge scope for different combinations of creatures.

The game runs in real-time, and you can spend your time doing a variety of activities, including gardening, working at the local grocery store to earn some pocket money, or just exploring Bloomtown and making friends.

The art looks amazing, especially when you go down to the Underside, and the music sounds banging from the trailer. The various demons and creatures also look amazing, although I'd be lying if I said my favourite wasn't the super buff corgi on Emily's team. That's peak monster design, right there. If the game can pull together all of its influences into a coherent experience, it could well be one to watch out for.

Bloomtown: A Different Story is available to wishlist on Steam now, and is coming soon to PC and console.

There's plenty of upcoming indie games for 2023 and beyond you should be keeping an eye out for.