Garden Galaxy

About

Garden Galaxy is a single player casual simulation game. It was developed by Anneka Tran and was released on December 14, 2022. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

"Garden Galaxy" is a relaxing sandbox game where players create and manage their own intergalactic garden. Customize your planet, grow exotic plants, and attract cosmic creatures to create the ultimate cosmic oasis. Complete quests and unlock new items to expand and enhance your garden, all while exploring the vast and mysterious universe.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

98%

Audience ScoreBased on 2,162 reviews

music74 positive mentions

grinding38 negative mentions

The game is incredibly relaxing and visually stunning, providing a peaceful atmosphere for players.
There is a vast collection of cute items to collect and customize, allowing for endless creativity in building unique gardens.
The gameplay loop is addictive, with a satisfying balance of randomness and strategy in item collection.

The RNG nature of item drops can be frustrating, making it difficult to obtain specific items needed for garden designs.
The storage system can become cluttered and overwhelming, leading to tedious inventory management.
Some players may find the gameplay repetitive over time, especially when trying to complete collections.

music
204 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
62%
2%
The music in the game is widely praised for its soothing and calming qualities, enhancing the overall relaxing experience of gameplay. While many players appreciate the gentle, lofi soundtrack that complements the cute visuals, some note that the limited variety can lead to repetitiveness over extended play sessions. Overall, the music effectively creates a cozy atmosphere, making it an ideal backdrop for casual gaming or multitasking.
- “The music is lovely and blends in well with gameplay, allowing you to be creative if you'd like. It's so simple (in the best of ways) that you could not play it for a while and come back and continue where you left off with ease.”
- “The music is really relaxing, and I am absolutely obsessed with the gameplay.”
- “The music is soothing and the gameplay is simple enough, creating a peaceful atmosphere.”
- “This definitely brought the 'relaxation' level down quite a bit since I found that the rhythm of the gameplay needed to make progress and keep my space clean was at odds with the calming music, cute aesthetics, and my preferred pace for a game like this.”
- “The music is cute but repetitive and the items and blocks are really well made!”
- “There is only one song on the soundtrack and it gets repetitive after a couple of hours.”
graphics
194 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51%
47%
2%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their adorable and charming art style, which enhances the relaxing gameplay experience. Players appreciate the vibrant colors, cute animations, and the ability to customize various aesthetic elements, creating a soothing atmosphere that complements the calming music. Overall, the visuals are described as beautiful, engaging, and integral to the game's appeal, making it a delightful choice for fans of cute and cozy gaming experiences.
- “The visuals are as stunning as they look, if not more so.”
- “The art style is super cute and the attention to detail is incredible.”
- “The graphics are extremely well done, bright, cheerful, and humorous.”
- “Only issue I have with this game is regarding graphics; I get a lot of eyestrain while playing.”
- “Graphics are pretty simplistic but pretty.”
- “This definitely brought the 'relaxation' level down quite a bit since I found that the rhythm of the gameplay needed to make progress and keep my space clean was at odds with the calming music, cute aesthetics, and my preferred pace for a game like this.”
gameplay
140 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
65%
2%
The gameplay is characterized as a blend of relaxing, simple mechanics with elements of sandbox building, gacha, and idle gaming, creating an enjoyable and addictive experience. While many players appreciate the soothing atmosphere and creative possibilities, some express frustration with inventory management and the repetitive nature of certain tasks. Overall, the game is praised for its charming visuals and calming music, making it a delightful choice for those who enjoy casual, creative gameplay.
- “Fantastic game, I love how it beautifully blends the idle gameplay with the sandbox creation.”
- “The gameplay is simple and straightforward, but with endless possibilities.”
- “Incredibly relaxing and rewarding gameplay loop, a true little work of art.”
- “The amount and variety of items is nice, but the storage system just falls apart when you have this many items in the game, especially later in the game where you can use some mechanics to basically get all the coins you want and just end up throwing 90% of the items into the furnace because storing and sorting hundreds of items is way too much of a hassle when you are doing it on repeat.”
- “This definitely brought the 'relaxation' level down quite a bit since I found that the rhythm of the gameplay needed to make progress and keep my space clean was at odds with the calming music, cute aesthetics, and my preferred pace for a game like this.”
- “There isn't much in terms of gameplay.”
grinding
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
2%
8%
90%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while achievements can be fun and attainable with a good system in place, the process of managing and organizing items can quickly become tedious and overwhelming. Many users note that the repetitive nature of farming for items and the cumbersome inventory management detracts from the overall enjoyment, although some appreciate the option to engage in grinding if they choose. Overall, the game is described as cute and relaxing, but it may require significant time and patience for those who prefer a more casual experience.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Farming for tiles in the late game sucks; when cashing out a stack of 30 rainbow coins, it takes forever to sort and put away all of the different, random tiles and items. The way items stack on top of each other and random coins is very cumbersome to sift through.”
- “Taking items out of storage is frustrating, as it seems to be random what items can stack on top of each other. When farming items or taking stacks out of boxes, half of the items in the game require you to take them out one at a time.”
- “It gets very repetitive and tedious, as you are simply putting in coins to get randomized items and then placing them in the world.”
atmosphere
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The atmosphere in the game is highly praised for its beautiful and calming qualities, enhanced by customizable elements such as time of day and various weather effects. Players appreciate the gorgeous art design and the ability to create unique, aesthetic spaces filled with charming items that contribute to an enchanting and peaceful environment. Overall, the game's gentle pace and delightful visuals make for an addictive and rewarding creative experience.
- “What makes this so much fun for me is the customization of the atmosphere (daytime/nighttime, rain/leaves/petals/spores, stars/no stars).”
- “The game's gentle pace, colorful visuals, and enchanting music create a peaceful atmosphere.”
- “I surely recommend playing this game for its beautiful calming atmosphere, for the thrill of collecting it all and for the fun of creating your own small unique world.”
story
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
44%
50%
The game is characterized by a complete lack of story, which many players find enhances the relaxing experience, allowing for creativity and self-directed goals. While some users express a desire for more structured content, such as missions or inhabitants, the absence of a narrative is generally seen as a positive feature that encourages free exploration and creativity.
- “Anyways, sad boo-hoo sob story aside, creativity is endless... I managed to get all achievements, and I am still finding new things to create or play with.”
- “The game has no objective and no story, so you can set yourself a goal or just turn your brain off and do whatever you want.”
- “I absolutely loved the crazy amount of items and customizability, but I wish there were something more to it, maybe missions to complete that are randomly generated, or maybe inhabitants you can attract with nice islands that populate your builds, like in AC, would love that.”
- “A truly relaxing experience with no story - and it shouldn't have one.”
emotional
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game excels in evoking a sense of coziness and emotional warmth, with players praising its wholesome and adorable atmosphere. Its slow-paced nature encourages relaxation and creativity, making it a comforting experience that leaves players feeling uplifted. Overall, it successfully captures the essence of a cozy gaming experience, making it a worthwhile investment for those seeking emotional solace.
- “They've really captured the emotional essence of what 'cozy' should be.”
- “The developers have done a wonderful job of creating a slow-paced game that is also very wholesome.”
- “This game made me feel a little better, so it’s definitely worth at least the low $9.99 if you ask me.”
monetization
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
60%
30%
The game features a unique monetization model that eliminates microtransactions, offering a one-time purchase for full access to all content. Players appreciate this approach, as it combines gacha mechanics with sandbox gameplay without the typical pressures of in-game purchases or time limits. Overall, the absence of microtransactions is a significant positive aspect highlighted by users.
- “Simple game that takes the gacha mechanic and turns it into an idle game without any microtransactions.”
- “Do you hate microtransactions?”
- “This is a gacha style game but better, since you don't have to deal with microtransactions or time limits.”
- “No in-game purchases, just a one-time purchase to get all the objects in the game.”
replayability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The game offers a decent level of replayability, particularly as it continues to receive updates and players can experiment with different garden designs after unlocking various items. However, some reviewers feel that it lacks the depth and replay value found in other games at a similar price point, suggesting it may be better to wait for a sale if replayability is a key concern.
- “The details really make it--the fact that your watering can extinguishes candles, the little birds, weather changes, etc. There's also a surprising amount of replay value; once you've unlocked a good amount of garden/stuff types, you can start to be more selective and try to build specific scenery.”
- “Plus, it's still getting updates, so there's replayability.”
- “Good for a $10 game, but you might want to wait to hit it on sale if you're wanting a game with replay value.”
- “Good for a $10 game, but you might want to wait to get it on sale if you're looking for a game with replay value.”
- “It needs more, especially when you consider the games that you can buy for £8 that have 10 times the depth and replay value.”
- “Plus, it's still getting updates, so there's some replayability.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
Users report a positive experience with optimization in gameplay, particularly in resource collection, but express a desire for improved optimization on the Steam Deck platform.
- “Now that I've optimized how I go about collecting things, I'm having a wonderful time.”
- “Can we get Steam Deck optimization, please?”
- “Can we get Steam Deck optimization please?”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers highlight the game's humor as bright and cheerful, enhanced by well-executed graphics. The unpredictability of the gacha mechanics adds a layer of comedic surprise, making the experience both entertaining and engaging.
- “The graphics are extremely well done, bright, cheerful, and humorous.”
- “I find it funny that it has a super safe gacha feel; you never know what you'll get until you get it!”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game demonstrates excellent stability on Linux, with multiple users reporting a smooth and reliable performance.
- “Runs great on Linux.”