Petal Runner first debuted at Day of the Devs: Summer Game Fest Edition 2024, and it instantly caught my eye with its charming retro visuals, unique mechanics, and laid-back focus. Crafted as a slice-of-life RPG, you play as a delivery driver for pets. I had the opportunity to check out the game hands-on for the first time at Summer Game Fest: Play Days 2025, and I have to say – Petal Runner is shaping up to be a grand nostalgic time.
From the surface, it can be easy to think that Petal Runner is a creature-collecting game like Pokémon, especially looking at the almost Game Boy Color-like visuals or the HanaPets you can collect. While it might be inspired by the series, the premise couldn’t be more different. You play as Cali, who is accompanied by Kira, a HanaPet. These HanaPets are digital pets stored in flower-powered Leap Cells, which are the items that you will be delivering to customers across four different towns.
There are no traditional battles in Petal Runner. Instead, once you install a Leap Cell in a customer’s home, you have to complete a series of pet-themed minigames to calibrate it and generate the HanaPet. These almost felt like something out of WarioWare, as they’re both humorous and quick. I found myself having to guide a spoon into a giraffe’s mouth, avoiding asteroids while piloting a UFO as a HanaPet, attempting to avoid the pets below as I landed with a parachute, and much more. Once you complete the sequence of games, a HanaPet is spawned into the world. During my preview, I calibrated a Leap Cell and spawned in a little shark HanaPet into a surfer dude’s house.
Being an RPG, there’s also a narrative to be told here. Petal Runner mostly follows the day-to-day life of Cali and Kira as the two drive around on a motorcycle and deliver Leap Cells in the cyberpunk-inspired Sapphire Valley. Beyond these daily activities, though, there seem to be a few interesting plot points set up to be explored. I was told that the story is really going to dive into the idea of Kira being a Generation 1 HanaPet and the challenges that come with that in a world where Generation 2 HanaPets are what everyone wants. The Generation 1 pets are accessed through a battery-powered “Leash”, which is mostly rendered obsolete in the world.
Of course, the main highlight here has to be the pixel art. The visual choice to use both pink and purple heavily throughout has given Petal Runner a very unique look that sets it apart in a very heavy RPG market. I spoke with Brandon James Greer from Nano Park Studios, and he shared that he had been very interested in experimenting with these colors in pixel art for some time. I found the combination to be quite charming and striking. It looks great online, but there’s something about seeing it in person up close.
As a love letter to the Game Boy Color era, Petal Runner was already a game that I was excited for. After having played it, though, I feel it not only pays respect to that era of gaming but also builds toward something new. It’s nice to see the creature elements of a game like Pokémon or Digimon turned into a game that takes a relaxing, slice-of-life approach. While the pixel art and art direction instantly grabbed my attention, I walked away feeling satisfied with the entire package of Petal Runner. I have a feeling Nano Park Studios and its debut title will be worth keeping an eye on next year.
Petal Runner, developed by Nano Park Studios and published by iam8bit Presents, is set to launch on PC via Steam in 2026.
