Gnomes Garden
- December 17, 2015
- Workroom7
- 9h median play time
Get on SteamIn Gnomes Garden, players help a queen gnome restore her kingdom by managing resources, constructing buildings, and solving puzzles across various levels. The game features time management and strategy elements, with players planting gardens, collecting resources, and removing obstacles to assist the gnomes in their tasks. As players progress, they unlock new skills and upgrades to help them tackle more challenging levels and restore the queen's garden to its former glory.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Windows
Xbox One
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- Cute and simple time management game that is enjoyable for casual play.
- Offers a relaxing experience with a decent challenge for younger players and those new to the genre.
- Can be completed easily with all achievements, making it a satisfying experience for completionists.
- Lacks polish and depth, with repetitive gameplay and limited mechanics that can become boring.
- Inability to cancel queued actions and unbalanced difficulty can lead to frustration.
- Feels more like a mobile app than a PC game, with technical limitations and a lack of originality.
- graphics30 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many users noting that the mobile app features simplistic, cartoonish 2D visuals typical of low-effort titles, lacking customization options and resolution adjustments. While some players appreciate the cute and well-integrated visuals, others criticize the overall quality, especially when compared to expectations for PC games, highlighting a disconnect in graphical fidelity. Overall, the graphics are described as decent but not impressive, with a clear need for improvement in both mobile and PC versions.
“The graphics are so beautiful.”
“The graphics are cute and everything seems to fit nicely together.”
“I want to mention that the visuals in the game are well done.”
“There's no options to change the resolution for the mobile app or customize the graphics settings.”
“There's no way for gamers to try to improve the low quality mobile phone graphics.”
“Considering this is being evaluated as a PC game, having the graphics phoned in like this isn't going to result in a high quality, visually impressive game that PC gamers are used to seeing.”
- story22 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The story in "Gnomes Garden: Christmas Story" is generally viewed as weak and lacking charm, often described as a "lazy tale" that fails to engage players. While some find the narrative minimal and standard for a casual time-management game, others appreciate it as a light backdrop to the gameplay, making it enjoyable for casual play despite its shortcomings. Overall, the story does not significantly enhance the gaming experience, but it serves its purpose as a simple motivator for completing levels.
“Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
“Great game to kill time with! Lots of fun and a basic story, but it makes you want to complete it!”
“You can continue on with the story regardless of how many stars you earned for the previous levels, as long as you finish the level before moving on to the next.”
“The story is just a lazy 'tale'.”
“No, there is nothing particularly new and different here, when compared to other time-management games, and the story is a bit weak and lacking in charm, in my opinion.”
“This is a standard casual time management game with a little bit of story.”
- gameplay16 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The gameplay is primarily centered around simple tapping mechanics, making it accessible as a casual title, though some players may find certain features annoying without an option to disable them. While the game becomes easier and more grindy after unlocking the third spell, its simplistic and relaxing nature, along with appealing visuals, keeps players engaged despite occasional frustrations with replaying levels for higher scores. However, performance issues, such as high CPU usage, can detract from the overall experience.
“The gameplay is a little mobile-like, but it works as a casual title.”
“I wasn't sure what it even was until I actually started to play, but it immediately pulled me in and I appreciated it for its simplistic, relaxing gameplay and the visual style.”
“Replaying some of the earlier stages for 3 stars was sometimes frustrating, but my enjoyment of the gameplay meant that it was never torture.”
“There's no gameplay, just tapping on the screen.”
“Once you unlock the 3rd spell, the game becomes quite easy and a bit of a grind as there are no new mechanics introduced after.”
“It's a fun game, but I can't play it because it runs my CPU at 40%-70% depending on whether it's a loading screen or actual gameplay.”
- music6 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game is described as calming and enjoyable, providing a relaxing backdrop despite the whimsical presence of goblins with musical instruments. Overall, players find the music to be satisfactory, contributing positively to the game's atmosphere.
“The music in this game creates a soothing atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.”
“I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
“Ok music.”
“This game is G-rated - there are goblins that knock out your workers, but they are smiling and carrying musical instruments the whole time.”
- replayability6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game has low replayability, with many players noting that once completed, there is little incentive to return. Suggestions for improvement include the addition of an award or experience system to enhance replay value. Overall, while it offers a good experience, players are unlikely to revisit it.
“Not much replay value once it's finished.”
“If they had some sort of award/xp system, it might have some replayability, but as it is now, I don't think I'll revisit. However, it was definitely a good time.”
“The replay value for the game is low.”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The stability of the game is mixed; while some users report a smooth experience without bugs or glitches, others encounter significant issues such as disappearing resources and unresponsive elements after progressing through levels. This inconsistency raises concerns about the game's quality assurance before its release on platforms like Steam.
“After a couple of levels, the resources disappear, the wood gets stuck and can't be clicked on, for example, or random impossible glitches. When you publish a game on Steam for sale, don't you verify if it's working or not?”
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization of Gnomes Garden has been criticized as a cash grab, with users noting that it feels like a mobile app poorly adapted for PC rather than a genuine game. The gameplay is described as simplistic and reminiscent of a clicker game, further contributing to the perception of it being a money-making scheme rather than a quality experience.
“Gnomes Garden is a mobile app that's been dumped on Steam as if it were a real PC game (it's not)... it's a cash grab from greedy mobile devs. The game is a pointless '12 Labours of Hercules' screen tapper/clicker mobile app.”
