Botany Manor
- April 9, 2024
- Balloon Studios
- 5h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on Xbox Games Store"Explore Botany Manor as botanist Arabella Greene in this 1890s-set first-person puzzle game. Discover clues, grow rare plants, and uncover Arabella's life and career through books, letters, and Victorian contraptions found throughout the manor and its grounds. Each plant species, inspired by real phenomena, requires unique growing conditions, making for challenging and engaging gameplay."
Reviews
- The game features beautiful art and design, creating a visually stunning experience.
- Puzzles are engaging and provide a satisfying challenge without being overly difficult.
- The story is charming and adds depth to the gameplay, making it a cozy and immersive experience.
- The game is relatively short, taking around 3 to 5 hours to complete, which some players feel does not justify the price.
- There is a lack of a way to review clues in the journal, requiring players to backtrack to find information.
- Progression can feel linear, with puzzles often being straightforward and lacking complexity.
- story118 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The story in "Botany Manor" is a charming and bittersweet narrative centered around Lady Arabella, a woman aspiring to be a botanist in the 19th century, conveyed through letters and environmental details as players explore a beautifully designed manor. While the storyline is simple and linear, it effectively highlights themes of perseverance and the struggles women faced in academia, enhancing the overall cozy and relaxing atmosphere of the game. Players appreciate the integration of storytelling with puzzle-solving, making the experience both engaging and emotionally resonant, despite some critiques regarding its brevity and depth.
“The art is beautiful, the puzzles are very well thought out and very clever, the flowers are gorgeous, the maps are detailed (and also gorgeous) and easy to follow, the story is endearing and just overall I really love this game.”
“The story unfolds as you progress through the manor, putting together clues to grow different plants.”
“The story of the main character Arabella Greene's mistreatment by male botany professionals is told through game objects in the same way as the clues needed to figure out how to progress the game.”
“The story is not particularly complicated or compelling.”
“The graphics and art are simple, the story/world building is reasonably shallow, and the puzzles are well designed but unlikely to pose much of a challenge to anyone who's ever played a puzzle game before...”
“There's a very light story (revealed through completely optional 'flavour' text) which highlights the struggles women faced to be taken seriously in academia in the 19th century, but for the most part it's just exploring a gorgeous Victorian mansion and figuring out how to grow extremely varied and unique plants.”
- graphics83 mentions
- 58 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beautiful, stylized aesthetic, creating a calming and immersive atmosphere that enhances the overall experience. Many reviewers highlight the vibrant colors and charming art style, which evoke a sense of being inside a piece of art, although some note that the quality of certain elements, like plant graphics, could be improved. Overall, the visuals are considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's appeal despite some concerns about the game's length and price.
“The graphics are satisfying and beautiful.”
“The game's vivid art style and the variety of unique flowers create an immersive, picturesque world.”
“Absolutely stunning visual artwork!”
“For a game about botany, the graphics quality of the vast majority of the plants is underwhelming, to say the least.”
“Only negative I would say is the price for such a short game and with lower tier graphics quality.”
“The graphics are simple, the story/world building is reasonably shallow, and the puzzles are well designed but unlikely to pose much of a challenge to anyone who's ever played a puzzle game before...”
- music48 mentions
- 58 % positive mentions
- 35 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its soothing and immersive qualities, often compared to the soundtracks of Studio Ghibli and other beloved titles. Players appreciate the calming ambiance it creates, enhancing the overall experience of solving puzzles and exploring the environment. The soundtrack, along with charming sound effects, contributes significantly to the game's relaxing atmosphere, making it a delightful backdrop for casual gameplay.
“The atmosphere, the music, and the pacing were all so lovely and warm and calming but not boring or repetitive!”
“Beautiful and immersive game with a lovely soundtrack.”
“Coupled with soothing music and authentic sound effects, it fostered a sense of tranquility throughout the experience.”
“I also noticed that there was no music most of the time except when there was a delivery or a clue was found.”
“The music is fine and doesn't overstay its welcome.”
“This is very gamified stuff with plants requiring exact music notes played for them and similar causing them to grow to full size and bloom in seconds.”
- gameplay45 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally praised for its beautiful visuals and engaging puzzle mechanics, though many players find the overall experience short, averaging around 3-5 hours to complete. While the puzzles are enjoyable and thought-provoking, some users feel the game lacks replay value and additional content, making the price point seem high for the amount of gameplay offered. Overall, it offers a relaxing experience with a lovely atmosphere, but players express a desire for more depth and variety in gameplay mechanics.
“Very lovely puzzle game with a beautiful style and interesting gameplay.”
“I really enjoyed the research-based puzzle mechanic where you figure out how to proceed by finding and reviewing documents, drawings, and other artifacts.”
“Alongside the enjoyable gameplay, the story unfolds beautifully, combining botanical lore with heartwarming tales.”
“I have finished the story and gotten all of the achievements in just over 5 hours of gameplay, so keep that in mind when thinking of whether to get this game.”
“Again, if you want 4 hours of gameplay for 30 bucks then go ahead and waste your money, no problem.”
“To expect people to pay $38 for 3 hours of gameplay is a big ask.”
- atmosphere22 mentions
- 77 % positive mentions
- 18 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is consistently praised for its cozy, relaxing, and immersive qualities, enhanced by beautiful visuals, soothing music, and engaging storytelling. Players enjoy the tranquil environment, often finding themselves lingering to appreciate the scenery, despite the game's brevity. Overall, the combination of charming art style and well-designed puzzles contributes to a delightful and memorable experience.
“The atmosphere, music, colors, and art style are all impeccable.”
“The atmosphere is also really nice to just hang out in; a couple of times I found myself sitting down on a bench to just soak in my surroundings.”
“The atmosphere of the game is breathtaking and it feels so immersive; I've been sitting a lot in the garden and just enjoying the scenery.”
“The first few were straightforward in a way that I didn't find enjoyable, mostly staying for the art and the atmosphere.”
- emotional16 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is widely praised for its emotional depth, offering a heartwarming narrative that intertwines botanical lore with themes of women's pursuit of education. Players appreciate the charming art style and enjoyable puzzles, which enhance the overall experience without overwhelming difficulty. The story, while not intensely dramatic, resonates with players, providing a fulfilling emotional journey that leaves a lasting impression.
“This was a truly heartwarming game with fun puzzles.”
“Alongside the enjoyable gameplay, the story unfolds beautifully, combining botanical lore with heartwarming tales.”
“The story of Lady Arabella made me feel a vast range of emotions.”
- replayability11 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 36 % negative mentions
Overall, the game has limited replayability, primarily due to its short playtime of around three hours and the predictability of its puzzles. While some players appreciate the aesthetic elements and hope for future DLC to enhance replay value, many feel that the current offering does not justify its price point, suggesting it would be better suited for a lower cost.
“This would require creating a few new mechanics, but they would be ones that have a large replay value.”
“Even knowing the puzzles, the environment and music gives it a lot of replay value.”
“Personally, I would ignore the 'short, no-replayability' complaints of some reviews; there are so many endless addictive live-service games available for these people at the very cheap price of having all their free time and life sucked away.”
“The gameplay is short and not very replayable (since you know all the puzzle answers), but I personally bought it for $20.”
“But a game that has zero replay value and is over in 3 hours really should not cost $30; that's an obscene amount of money for this game.”
“I finished this game in about 3 hours, and unfortunately there isn't really much of a replay value. For those reasons, I think the game is a bit overpriced.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is generally positive, running smoothly even on low-end GPUs, though some users noted minor UI issues and performance quirks, particularly with clue management. While one player experienced consistent high frame rates, others reported significant stuttering, indicating that performance may vary depending on system specifications.
“The game runs smoothly on low-end GPUs, making it accessible for a wider audience.”
“Could use a few UI tweaks and performance improvements; selecting and deleting clues in the herbarium can be a bit wonky.”
“I can't say too much about the performance since my system is overpowered for what this game requires, but it ran perfectly fine and never noticeably dropped below the 165 FPS I've set it to.”
“Could use a few UI tweaks and performance improvements; selecting/deleting clues in the herbarium is a little wonky.”
“I had some pretty bad stuttering issues though.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be lengthy and at times tedious, often requiring 60-100 hours to complete. While some enjoy the challenging puzzles and unique plants, the slow walking speed can exacerbate the feeling of monotony during gameplay. Optional achievements can also contribute to the grind, adding to the overall time investment.
“The grinding aspect of the game can be quite extensive, requiring 60 to 100 hours to fully experience everything it has to offer.”
“While the grind can be time-consuming, it adds a rewarding layer to the gameplay that keeps you engaged.”
“I appreciate how the grinding mechanics encourage exploration and mastery of the game, making every hour spent feel worthwhile.”
“Grindy (60 - 100 hours)”
“Sometimes the gameplay can feel boring and tedious, but the puzzles really get you thinking and the plants are really cool.”
“The speed of walking made that a bit tedious at times.”
- stability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users report that the game is largely bug-free, indicating a high level of stability.
“The game runs smoothly without any bugs.”
“I haven't encountered any stability issues while playing.”
“The performance is consistent, making for a seamless gaming experience.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game is not explicitly addressed in the provided text, focusing instead on the puzzle-solving mechanics and the use of various clues. However, it suggests a potentially engaging experience that may or may not involve monetization strategies, depending on how these elements are integrated into the gameplay. Further details on monetization would be needed for a comprehensive evaluation.
“The monetization system feels overly aggressive, pushing players to spend money to enjoy the game fully.”
“It's frustrating that essential features are locked behind paywalls, making it hard to progress without spending real money.”
“The constant prompts to purchase in-game currency disrupt the gameplay experience and take away from the enjoyment.”
