Garden Life: A Cozy Simulator
- February 22, 2024
- stillalive studios
- 13h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on Xbox Games Store"Garden Life: A Cozy Simulator" is a relaxing game where you can plant and nurture your dream garden using real-life techniques. Complete tasks from neighbors, unlock new tools and seeds, and discover the story behind an abandoned community garden. The game features different colorful plant varieties and allows you to enjoy your garden in full bloom throughout the changing seasons.
PC
Windows
Xbox One
Xbox Series X|S
Xbox
Reviews
- The game offers a beautiful and relaxing gardening experience with a charming art style and cozy atmosphere.
- There are many different types of plants and flowers to discover, along with a variety of decorations to customize your garden.
- The gameplay is engaging, allowing players to immerse themselves in the gardening tasks without the pressure of time limits.
- The game suffers from a frustrating plant limit, preventing players from fully utilizing the expansive garden space.
- Inventory management is cumbersome, lacking sorting options and making it difficult to find specific items.
- There are frequent crashes and technical issues that disrupt gameplay, leading to a less enjoyable experience.
- story107 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally described as cute, light-hearted, and endearing, featuring charming characters and a cozy atmosphere that enhances the gardening experience. However, some players express frustration with the pacing and structure of the quests, noting that certain story elements, such as the introduction of a ghost character, detract from the overall enjoyment. While the narrative is appreciated for its aesthetics and relaxing gameplay, many players desire deeper character development and more engaging storylines.
“The story is sweet, the design is beautiful and interesting, the gameplay is fun and rewarding.”
“Got this game during the first few days of release, the story is beautiful and the game aspects make you feel so relaxed, the characters you meet are adorable and the plants are so beautiful.”
“It's super relaxing and I'm really enjoying the story/quests.”
“The game starts out cozy, with you learning about the girl who was running the garden and meeting various friends and family, and then you are introduced to the ghost of the girl. It’s not a cozy storyline to have a ghost narrating the game; it was cozy learning about her through friends and family. I got a refund as this is not my idea of fun.”
“There is a major story barrier with the bridge repair quest, resulting in a monotony of being stuck in the story and doing day after day with fairly little progress. It is far from game-breaking, but it just reminded me to slow down, decorate, rearrange things, and organize my flowers and inventory.”
“I love the characters, but I actually wish there were more to the characters' storylines rather than just receiving a letter from them asking for stuff. It would be nice to have more interactions with them.”
- graphics62 mentions
- 48 % positive mentions
- 47 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their beautiful and cozy art style, evoking a charming and relaxing atmosphere reminiscent of a Studio Ghibli film. However, some users report technical issues, including crashes and poor optimization, which detract from the overall experience. While many appreciate the aesthetic appeal, there are mixed feelings about the consistency and execution of the graphics, with some noting flat textures and a lack of cohesion in certain elements.
“The graphics and style, while obviously subjective, look cute and nice for this kind of game.”
“Graphics are really nice and the atmosphere is cozy and kind of dreamy/melancholic!”
“The graphics are beautiful and all the features are easy to understand, accessible for all ages!”
“The graphics make me motion sick, no matter how I tweak them, and some of the flowers look really flat (like literally flat) and sloppily finished, while this whole game is about gardening and selling flowers.”
“This game crashes constantly, and it's crazy how a game with low-grade graphics can still overclock your computer.”
“Gets repetitive pretty quickly, and the graphics look so washed out despite playing it in 4K.”
- gameplay32 mentions
- 41 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally praised for its beautiful visuals, relaxing mechanics, and rewarding progression, making it enjoyable for fans of gardening simulations. However, some players find certain mechanics frustrating and repetitive, particularly regarding plant management and progression locks. While the game offers a cozy experience with quality of life tools, there are calls for improvements in usability and some mechanics that can detract from the overall enjoyment.
“The gameplay is pretty long too, so it’s hours of entertainment in your own virtual garden!”
“I love the gameplay loop and the variations of flowers.”
“A nice and relaxing gardening simulation with great visuals and neat mechanics.”
“As much as it is relaxing to play, it's also full of annoying mechanics and not user-friendly.”
“I don't think there's any reason for this mechanic other than to waste my time.”
“The gameplay is pretty repetitive, with collecting flower clippings and new seed variants to get more flower clippings of other colors, so if that isn't your cup of tea in cozy games, then this may not be the one for you.”
- grinding12 mentions
- 8 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 92 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the grinding aspect of the game is a mixed bag; while some players find it enjoyable and manageable, others feel it becomes tedious due to repetitive tasks and poor inventory management. The lack of a sorting feature exacerbates the grind for those who collect numerous items, making the experience less relaxing than anticipated. Overall, the game's charm can help offset the grind for players who appreciate cozy farming simulations.
“Not too long, fun to do and collect everything, not too grindy either.”
“I put it down as I felt it was too grindy.”
“It wasn't the chill, relaxing game I was looking for; it's very grindy and requires a fair bit of micromanagement, but it was so charming I stuck with it anyway.”
“However, there is no sorting feature and it gets tedious and frustrating once you get more than a couple dozen types of seeds/flowers to keep everything straight.”
- optimization9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Overall, optimization feedback is mixed; while some players report a smooth experience with no glitches, others criticize the game's performance limitations, particularly the restrictive plant cap and lack of graphics options. Many users feel that these issues indicate poor optimization, suggesting that the developers prioritize performance over player experience.
“I have read in a few other reviews that they had problems with the optimization, but it ran smoothly for me.”
“I understand that the developers decided on a 300 plant cap for performance.”
“It's a very relaxing and beautiful game, with so many quests to complete and enjoy. I haven't found the game to have any glitches yet; everything runs smoothly.”
“Granted they're upping it to a 1000 but this just screams poor optimization packaged into concern for their players.”
“You need to provide more graphics options in settings and fix the awful optimization.”
“Please reconsider this and either remove the limit of flowers you can plant or at least triple the limit size because I appreciate the more flowers you have the more it'll affect the game performance.”
- stability8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing frequent freezes and crashes, particularly during specific quests or while managing inventory. However, others report a smoother experience after initial issues, noting that the game can be enjoyable despite occasional glitches. Overall, while there are significant stability concerns, the game's aesthetic and relaxing gameplay are appreciated by many.
“After a couple of months, it no longer freezes, but there is a quest that won't trigger.”
“We could go on and on about glitches, crashing, and the fact there's not a lot of decorations in general unless you buy their DLCs. The painting is awkward since on a gazebo there are color separations for the bows and two layers of the tent covering, but you can't pick the colors individually. The storage cabinets have no way of filtering or sorting anything, and there's no way of searching for specific plants in the plant book either.”
“The game randomly freezes and crashes!”
- atmosphere7 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 29 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is consistently praised for its cozy, dreamy, and melancholic qualities, enhanced by beautiful graphics. Players find it inspiring and charming, making it enjoyable for those interested in collecting, decorating, and even botany. Overall, the atmosphere contributes significantly to the game's appeal, encouraging hours of engaging gameplay.
“Graphics are really nice and the atmosphere is cozy and kind of dreamy/melancholic!”
“The atmosphere of this game is wonderful and I happily spend hours playing it.”
“I love the atmosphere, the graphics are really nice, and it's overall just a really good game.”
“Chill atmosphere and very little risk?”
“Inspiring and charming atmosphere for an artist, and educational for a budding interest in botany.”
- music7 mentions
- 71 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 29 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its beautiful and relaxing qualities, enhancing the overall cozy atmosphere. Reviewers appreciate the chill soundtrack, which complements the art style and natural sounds, creating a serene experience without being intrusive.
“It is so chill and relaxing, the soundtrack is beautiful.”
“Very chill with nice music and natural sounds of wildlife (especially the froggos!)”
“The soundtrack isn't too intrusive, which is always a plus in cozy genre games.”
“The art style and music/voice acting!”
- emotional4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game evokes a strong emotional response, offering players a cozy and heartfelt experience through its charming decorations and touching characters. Its blend of relaxation and a meaningful story creates a sense of connection, making players feel seen and engaged throughout their gardening journey.
“It's all very sweet, and this game really surprised me with how it made me feel so seen and cozy.”
“The decorations are cute, the seasons are nice, it's a very relaxing game with a little heartfelt story on top of it all. From beginning to end, it made me fall in love with taking over this garden.”
“Beautiful and touching characters.”
- character development2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
While the character designs and illustrations are praised for their beauty and attention to detail, there is little mention of the depth or progression of character development within the game. Overall, the focus seems to be more on aesthetic appeal rather than the evolution of characters.
“The character designs are gorgeous, the illustrations are perfect, and I have had little to no issues with running this game.”
“The game is beautiful, and I can tell the design team had a good time coming up with the decorations, character design, and environmental look.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted through amusing decor and descriptions, providing a lighthearted touch that enhances the overall experience of the calmer gameplay.
“The decor and their descriptions can be pretty funny, adding a nice little touch to a calmer game.”
“The humor in the dialogue is clever and keeps the gameplay light-hearted.”
“I love how the game incorporates puns and witty remarks that make me chuckle throughout.”
