Garden Witch Life
- September 12, 2024
- FreetimeStudio
- 5h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on Xbox Games Store"Garden Witch Life" is a casual game where you play as a newly jobless witch starting anew on a small island. The main focus is to cultivate a magical garden, cook recipes from gathered ingredients, interact with creatures and community, and maintain mental balance. The game encourages sustainability, diversity, and positivity in gardening and personal growth.
PC
Windows
Xbox Series X|S
Xbox
Reviews
- The game features an adorable art style and a cozy atmosphere, making it visually appealing and relaxing to play.
- Players enjoy the slow-paced gameplay that allows for gardening, foraging, and crafting without feeling rushed.
- The developers are actively working on fixing bugs and improving the game, showing commitment to enhancing the player experience.
- The game feels unfinished and lacks clear direction, leaving players confused about how to progress.
- There are numerous bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, including issues with quests and character interactions.
- The town feels empty with very few NPCs, which detracts from the overall immersion and engagement in the game world.
- story48 mentions
- 8 % positive mentions
- 85 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The story in the game starts strong with engaging quests and character customization, but players often find it slows significantly after the initial missions, leading to frustration due to a lack of clear guidance and quest availability. While some enjoy the side quests and the overall narrative, many report bugs and unclear objectives that hinder progression, making the experience feel disjointed and at times, devoid of meaningful interaction with NPCs. Overall, the potential for a rich story exists, but it is marred by technical issues and pacing problems.
“The story is amazing; the more of it you play, the more you appreciate the garden and building features!”
“I really enjoy having small side quests, like commissions, that allow me to complete small tasks throughout the day (in-game) so that I continue to feel like I am accomplishing something every day in the game, even if it's not the main quest line that may be taking a while to complete.”
“It truly feels cozy with very little pressure, while still having goals as incentives to advance the story.”
“I fully thought there was just nothing to do when the intro missions were completed.”
“It makes me feel like the developers gave up when it came to any story.”
“The main problem... a lot of things you need to do are unclear, very unclear at one point I was just out of any quests and it is like hellishly hard to progress.”
- graphics21 mentions
- 48 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their adorable art style, vibrant colors, and smooth performance, creating a cozy and inviting atmosphere. Players appreciate the cute character designs, elaborate customization options, and the charming low-poly aesthetic, which enhances the overall gameplay experience. Despite some criticisms of the game's other aspects, the visuals consistently receive positive feedback for their appeal and creativity.
“The art style is adorable and there are so many cute animals to discover and care for (and pet!).”
“It runs smoothly, colors are vibrant and visuals are fresh.”
“I’m enjoying the gameplay and the graphics, while low poly are so beautiful!”
“There’s not much good to say about the game, beyond the cute aesthetics and Tumblr-flavored characters.”
“Graphically, I would say the chibi look does that count?”
“The graphics are so cute.”
- gameplay17 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 47 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
Gameplay reviews highlight a mix of enjoyment and frustration; while the farming and decorating mechanics are praised for their freedom and relaxation, many players find the broom controls difficult and the overall mechanics to be simplistic or lacking depth. The game encourages a slow, satisfying progression, appealing to those who appreciate a laid-back experience, though some players express dissatisfaction with the lack of guidance for certain tasks. Overall, the art style and the ability to create personal workflows are well-received, making the gameplay enjoyable for many.
“I absolutely love the farming mechanics and how free they are.”
“I love the art style, the gameplay loop is good and relaxing and I do not regret buying it.”
“The gameplay is easy to understand to the point you make your own workflow and pattern on what to do each day.”
“The broom mechanics are very hard to control.”
“The game mechanics are bare bones.”
“The gameplay loop is very slow to start, but this is intentional, and once you get into a flow state, watching your little garden grow and slowly start to teem with life is so satisfying.”
- grinding11 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the cozy farming mechanics but find the grinding aspects, particularly cooking and repetitive tasks, to be tedious and unpolished. While the game offers a charming experience, many feel that the limited variety in activities leads to boredom over time. Overall, it may appeal to fans of the genre, but the grinding elements could detract from the enjoyment.
“The cooking becomes very tedious, and I was excited to have a Cooking Mama-type cooking system, but it gets old fast.”
“What I like about farming games is that the vast majority of things to do isn't just farming; early on, you just water and sleep because you already explored most places that you can with the tools. I always find myself getting bored of the same thing.”
“So, you can imagine my disappointment when something as simple as cooking has become tedious.”
- stability9 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game currently suffers from numerous bugs and glitches, leading to a perception of it being unfinished and lacking guidance for players. While many users report clunky mechanics and specific issues like transparent floors and inventory problems, none have encountered game-breaking bugs, suggesting that while stability is a concern, the overall experience remains enjoyable. Players express hope for future fixes from the developers.
“As it is, there are many things that are so buggy; the game itself has no guidance for the player and it just seems like an unfinished game.”
“I encountered a lot of bugs, such as transparent floors and strange inventory glitches.”
“Lots of bugs, glitches, plants in the air, and missing items needed to complete quests.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its smooth performance, vibrant colors, and fresh visuals. Additionally, it features a convenient reset option for players who get stuck in the terrain, enhancing the overall user experience.
“It runs smoothly, colors are vibrant and visuals are fresh.”
“When you get stuck in the terrain, you can simply reset your player location in the menu (more games should have an easy button for that, no matter how well optimized).”
- music3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received praise for its enjoyable soundtrack, although some users noted that certain pieces resemble a rearrangement of the Lord of the Rings score. Additionally, a few players reported encountering bugs related to the music after specific in-game events.
“I love the soundtrack; it really enhances the overall experience of the game.”
“The music is captivating and adds a lot of depth to the gameplay.”
“The soundtrack perfectly complements the game's atmosphere and keeps me engaged.”
“Some of the music sounds suspiciously like a lazy rearrangement of pieces of the Lord of the Rings score.”
- humor1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is generally well-received, with players finding it amusing and entertaining.
