Project Bloomwalker Hands-On – Cozy Post-Apocalypse or Survival Reinvented?

Project Bloomwalker: Cozy Adventure in a Tainted World

Project Bloomwalker was quietly on display at Gamescom, and it instantly grabbed my attention-not just because it was unannounced, but because it looked nothing like the typical Netmarble output. Forget freemium mobile RPGs and gacha systems; this is a chill adventure in a post-contaminated Earth, where your mission is to restore nature, not rack up kill counts or loot boxes. For a studio mostly known for Game of Thrones: Kingsroad, this is a pretty radical pivot-and honestly, a refreshing one.

• Project Bloomwalker puts cozy, exploration-driven gameplay front and center-no combat grind in sight.
• The main mechanic? Healing a devastated planet with resource gathering, crafting, and befriending Oddlings.
• Hands-on demo hints at non-linear objectives and plenty of freedom, not the usual, quest-marker-dotted handholding.
• The “hug your Oddlings” mechanic straddles the line between cute and potentially repetitive—remains to be seen if it wears thin.

What Sets Project Bloomwalker Apart?

This isn’t your usual survival game where hunger meters and death spirals rule the day. Instead, you’re rolling through a poisoned Earth in your mobile caravan—a cozy home base on wheels, complete with a “magic door” and a secretive cat (I’m already shipping this as the game’s lore dropper). After a meteor smashes into the world, you and your Oddlings—adorable, white fluffballs—take up the mantle of restoration. Think more Spiritfarer than Valheim.

The demo began with a pelican attack that scattered your Oddling companions, immediately flipping the usual predator-prey logic on its head. Rather than gearing up for revenge, your focus is on finding and rejuvenating these helpful creatures. Tending to your Oddlings is a core mechanic: you’re not just commandeering them for labor, but actively nurturing—and, yes, hugging—them to boost their spirits and skills. If you’ve played games like Pikmin or Ooblets, you know how quickly “cute management” can become its own kind of pressure.

From Routine Crafting to Environmental Puzzles

The core gameplay loop features a blend of exploration, crafting, and resource management. You’ll be chopping wood, collecting berries, and cooking up fruit just to keep your caravan thriving. Early on, unlocking new tools like axes and hammers requires building up a resource meter—pretty standard stuff if you’ve lived through the Stardew Valley boom. But Project Bloomwalker teases a more relaxed pace and a focus on beautification and restoring the landscape, rather than just grinding for survival.

Here’s the most promising twist: the devs claim there’s plenty of player freedom and non-linear objectives. The idea is that you’ll be able to decide how to tackle environmental puzzles and in what order you want to heal the land. I’m a bit cautious here—demos are always scripted to a fault, and we didn’t see much real “choose your path” variety. Still, Netmarble Neo is aware of the need to break out of the quest-checklist formula.

The Oddlings: Delightful Helpers, or Chore Machines?

I admit the Oddlings are absurdly cute, and there’s tactile joy in giving them hugs to boost their productivity. But is there a risk that what starts adorable quickly turns mechanical? If there’s one thing the cozy-sim genre struggles with, it’s keeping “comfort” mechanics from sliding into tedium. Personally, I loved this sort of thing in Spiritfarer, where interactions always tied back into character depth—so I’m hoping Project Bloomwalker avoids transforming Oddlings into needy Tamagotchis you just spam with attention for minor buffs.

Industry Context: Why Netmarble Needs This Change

It’s honestly wild to see Netmarble leaning into Unreal Engine 5 and a “restorative” adventure. Most known for their mobile/MMO pedigree, the move to a cozy, environmental sim for PC and Xbox in 2026 hints at just how much the cozy-crafting genre has blown up (thanks, Stardew, Animal Crossing, and even Sun Haven). The challenge for Netmarble Neo is clear: avoid endless crafting repetition, and deliver on promises of open-ended play. The genre can be cozy, but if it’s just busywork, players bounce—and fast.

TL;DR—Is Project Bloomwalker Worth Watching?

Project Bloomwalker could be a breath of fresh air—a genuinely cozy take on post-apocalypse that’s about healing, not hoarding or hunting. There’s plenty to be skeptical about, especially given Netmarble’s track record and how quickly cuteness can become a grind. But if they get the balance right, this could be a sleeper hit. Here’s hoping for meaningful exploration and Oddling moments that feel earned, not checklist-driven.