Games / Arcade Games / Pulse Bloom / Guide
Pulse Bloom
Rings of light shrink toward a flower in the middle of the screen. Tap as each one arrives and you play the next note of the melody yourself. Play well and the song grows a glowing garden.
What is Pulse Bloom?
Pulse Bloom is a one button rhythm game. There are no lanes or arrows to read, just rings closing in on one flower. Every tap you land plays a note, so the melody is literally yours. Miss and the note isn't there. The music behind you (drums, bass, chords) is built as you play, in four moods: Sunrise, Rain, Night and Festival.
It's free, runs in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer, and there's no download. Headphones help, but they aren't required.
How to play
Tap anywhere on the screen at the moment a ring meets the edge of the flower. On a computer, click, or press Space, D, F, J, K or Enter. P or Esc pauses and M mutes.
Some rings are long. Those are hold notes: press when the ring arrives and keep your finger (or key) down until it has passed. Lift too soon and the game calls it "Let go early", which breaks your combo.
Timing windows
| Your tap | Result |
|---|---|
| Within 45 ms of the beat | Perfect |
| Within 100 ms | Good |
| 100 to 170 ms early | Early (counts as a miss) |
| More than 100 ms late | Miss |
| Way early, more than 170 ms | Ignored, no penalty |
The flower has health. Misses make it wilt, hits bring it back. If it wilts all the way, the song ends. You'll hear it before you see it: the music goes muffled as the flower gets weak.
Scoring and combos
A Perfect is 100 points and a Good is 40, multiplied by your combo level. A finished hold note adds 60 times the multiplier, and every 25 notes in a row adds a 500 point bonus.
| Combo | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| 0 to 9 | x1 |
| 10 to 24 | x2 |
| 25 to 49 | x3 |
| 50 and up | x4 |
Stars
Finish a song to earn stars. Accuracy counts a Good as a bit more than half a Perfect, and a miss as nothing.
- 1 star for finishing the song
- 2 stars at 80% accuracy
- 3 stars at 93% accuracy
Modes and songs
- Play: plays your chosen song. Sunrise is open from the start.
- Daily Song: a fresh song every day, with a random mood, key and tempo. Everyone gets the same one. It keeps a day streak.
- Endless Jam: starts at 86 beats per minute and keeps speeding up, to a top speed of 176. The mood and key change every few phrases. Misses hurt more the longer you last. No stars here, just score.
| Song | Tempo | Unlocks at |
|---|---|---|
| Sunrise (warm and easy) | 92 bpm | Open |
| Rain (soft and steady) | 84 bpm | 2 stars |
| Night (slow and deep) | 74 bpm | 5 stars |
| Festival (bright and quick) | 114 bpm | 9 stars |
Stars add up over every run you play, so replaying a song you've already cleared still earns more.
Your garden and unlocks
A run that scores 600 or more plants flowers in your garden: one, plus one more for every 7,000 points, up to six at a time. The garden holds 72 flowers, and it's what you see glowing behind the menu.
| Unlock | How |
|---|---|
| Heart flowers | Lifetime points: Star Lily 8,000, Dusk Poppy 25,000, Lantern Bell 50,000, Sunwheel 90,000, Glass Orchid 150,000, Ember Rose 230,000, Frost Fern 330,000 |
| Colors | Lifetime Perfects: Ember 80, Ocean 250, Moss 500, Aurora 900 |
| Instruments | Stars: Kalimba 3, Glass 7, Harp 12, Choir 18 |
The instrument changes the sound of the notes you play, which is a nice reason to chase stars even after you've opened every song.
Tips for more Perfects
Calibrate first
Open Timing from the menu before anything else, especially with wireless headphones or a TV. Tap along to the clicks and adjust in 5 ms steps until your taps feel centered. A Perfect window is only 45 ms wide, so even a small delay from your speakers can turn Perfects into Goods.
Listen more than you look
The rings are drawn to the beat, but your ears are faster than your eyes. The kick drum falls on the strong beats. Tap with the music and use the rings to tell you which beats have notes.
Alternate two keys on a keyboard
Holding a key down doesn't repeat, so each note needs a fresh press. For quick runs, put your left finger on F and your right on J and alternate, like drumming on the desk. It's much easier than hammering one key.
Don't panic tap
A tap that comes far too early is ignored, but one that comes slightly early (100 to 170 ms) counts as a miss and breaks your combo. If you lose the beat, stop for a moment and come back in on the next strong beat.
Protect the combo after 50
At x4, a single Perfect is worth 400. A Good is still a combo hit, so near the end of a long streak it's fine to play safe. A miss is the real loss, because you drop all the way back to x1.
Finish hold notes all the way
Keep pressing until the long ring is fully past the flower. You get a tiny bit of slack at the very end, but lifting early costs you the combo and some health.
Farm stars on songs you like
Stars are counted across all your runs. If Festival feels out of reach, three star Sunrise a few times and the Night and Festival songs, plus the Harp and Choir instruments, open up on their own. The Daily Song gives stars too.
Questions
Is Pulse Bloom a free rhythm game?
Yes. Pulse Bloom is free to play online in your browser on phone, tablet or computer, with no download.
What keys do you use in Pulse Bloom?
Space, D, F, J, K or Enter all tap. Clicking or tapping the screen works too.
Why are your taps always a little late?
Your screen or headphones are adding delay. Use the Timing screen in the menu to calibrate it.
How do you get 3 stars?
Finish a song with at least 93% accuracy. 80% gets you 2 stars.
How do you unlock new songs?
Earn stars. Rain opens at 2, Night at 5 and Festival at 9, counted across every run.
Does Endless Jam ever end?
Only when your flower wilts. It speeds up the whole time, up to 176 beats per minute.
