Strange Horticulture is a game that I recently came across and instantly fell in love with.
Most of the time, I don’t prefer puzzle games, as I get lost quite easily, but in this game, I never veered too far from the answer.
You begin the game as the owner of a strange plant shop. Through your time playing, you meet many colorful characters who come to you for help.
Each plant in your shop has a specific power that one of your customers is seeking. The goal of the game is to identify all of the plants and use them to guide you throughout the story.
As time goes on, you’ll receive hints and pages for your guidebook that will help you identify each plant.
You can also label each plant for easy access, so you don’t have to search through the book every time you need a plant you’ve already discovered.
As time goes on, you learn more about each character and you learn more about the treachery inflicting peril on the town and the rest of the world.
Each character you meet has a different hand in the conflict. A witch has awoken an ancient monster that is now under her control.
You must assist different people in their attempts to stop her, but they will all have different methods of resolving this issue.
You may choose to help the coven she’s strayed from or join a cult. Certain decisions you make will influence the story and result in one of the six story endings.
I won’t spoil too much because I really encourage you to play this game. Pursuing one storyline took me 5.6 hours, but you can try for other endings as well.
So now we have to rate the game!
Easy to Learn: 2.5/5
My rating for the learning curve is relatively low because it did take quite a bit of time to understand the map/traveling functions, but once you get the hang of it, it’s simple.
I also had trouble with some of the clues for plant identification, but when you get stuck there is a hint button that usually clears it up for you.
Replayability: 2/5
The game does encourage you to play again to get different endings to the story. I feel as though once you’ve played through once there isn’t enough variation and you’ll end up reading the same dialog over and over again.
You may wish to try for other endings but you’ll already know all of the plants’ names so identifying them won’t be as fun as the first run-through.
Story: 5/5
The story itself hit it out of the park. The characters were very interesting and I had fun getting to know them every time they visited the shop.
I tend to skip through dialog in most games but in Strange Horticulture, I ended up reading everything and fully enveloping myself in their backstories and forming opinions on the events within the town.
Art Style: 5/5
Absolutely no complaints about the art style. It personifies what a “cozy game” is to the fullest degree.
The characters are beautifully drawn and though they are still animations, they don’t feel any less real.
All of the plants you collect in your shop are unique, beautiful, and very detailed. They all have their own personalities in their own right.
The map of the world is also incredibly beautiful and interactive. The world-building is thorough and they don’t skip over a single detail.
Soundtrack: 2/5
I would give the soundtrack a one out of five because the music was beautiful but once you listen to the background music all the way through it just replays the same song again.
The only reason I give it a two is because of the background noise within the game. There were soothing thunder and rain sounds which remained when I turned the music sound off.
Admittedly, I did turn the music off about thirty minutes in and played the Last of Us game soundtrack instead. It fits the theme quite well, I must say.
Gameplay: 4/5
It took me a little while to get used to the gameplay style within the game. The “travel” aspects don’t actually take you anywhere, it just gives you a note that summarizes what happened when you go there, so it all takes place within the shop.
Though it may seem a bit boring, there’s a lot to do within the shop and throughout the time I played the game, I never felt that it got boring or repetitive.
The hints and daily cards that you receive provide a fun little mystery that you get to solve which gives you that serotonin boost that we love!
The only complaint I have is that I wish there was more. More plants, more stories, more things to do.
Is it worth the money? At the price of $14.99 regularly, I would have to say no. It only took me five hours to complete, so that would roughly cost $3/hour.
Maybe in the future, if there are more updates I would change my mind but as for right now, I wouldn’t pay full price.
BUT right now you don’t have to pay full price! It’s currently on sale on Steam for 35% off as part of the Steam Spring Sale, so if you’re interested but still cautious, you should definitely get it now!!!