Grow Home

94%
Game Brain Score Based on 2,751 reviews
  • gameplay
  • graphics
  • story
Grow Home Game Cover
"Grow Home isn't awfully deep, nor does it provide any real story to hook you, but this game taps into the pleasure centers of seeing something and going there... however you may choose to do so."
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In Grow Home, players control a quirky robot named B.U.D., tasked with growing a massive plant to save his homeworld. Featuring unique climbing mechanics, players navigate the open-world of an alien planet, exploring and solving puzzles to further their progress. The game boasts a serene atmosphere, with soothing visuals and a calming soundtrack, making it a refreshing take on the platforming genre.

  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Steam Deck
  • Windows
  • Linux
  • Play​Station
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

94%
Audience ScoreBased on 2,751 reviews
gameplay237 positive mentions
grinding59 negative mentions
  • Charming and relaxing gameplay with a unique climbing mechanic.
  • Beautiful low-poly art style and vibrant colors create an inviting atmosphere.
  • Fun exploration and discovery of hidden crystals and creatures throughout the game.
  • Controls can feel clunky and unresponsive at times, leading to frustrating falls.
  • The game is relatively short, with the main story completed in just a few hours.
  • Limited replay value as there are few additional challenges after completing the main objective.
  • gameplay578 mentions

    The gameplay of "Grow Home" is characterized by its unique climbing mechanics, which allow players to control each hand of the character independently, creating a fun yet sometimes clunky experience. While the game is visually charming and offers a relaxing exploration of its vibrant world, many players find the gameplay repetitive and the controls frustrating at times. Overall, it provides a short but enjoyable experience, with a focus on exploration and simple mechanics that may not appeal to everyone.

    • “The mechanics are simple yet satisfying, allowing you to climb, glide, and grow your way through the landscape.”
    • “The gameplay is all about movement, and the grasping/climbing mechanic is the most entertaining part of the game.”
    • “The overall gameplay was incredible, exploring the tiny but vertical map was insane, the story was so short but really added to the lore.”
    • “It's only realistically 5 hours of gameplay - after you finish the main part, you can still do additional collectibles, but since the game gives you very little to go by, it becomes a bit of a scavenger hunt, and with these controls, it's not exactly fun.”
    • “The climbing mechanic, on top of being extremely tedious (right click/left click for each step), simply does not work, and even though you see the grab indicators, your clicks are ineffective and the robot just refuses to grab.”
    • “The gameplay just feels like a chore and all it really consists of is connecting a large plant to flying islands in order to make the plant grow, allowing you to reach your goal which is located 2km up in the sky.”
  • graphics374 mentions

    The graphics of the game are characterized by a charming low-poly aesthetic that has aged well, featuring vibrant colors and playful designs that enhance the exploration experience. Many reviewers appreciate the simplistic yet beautiful visuals, which create a relaxing atmosphere and complement the game's mechanics. Overall, the art style is seen as a standout feature, providing a unique and inviting world that captivates players despite its minimalistic approach.

    • “The art style is charming, with a playful aesthetic that makes exploration feel like a joyous adventure.”
    • “The game's art style is a standout feature, with its vibrant colors and cartoonish graphics creating a fun and inviting world to explore.”
    • “The graphics are simplistic in nature but somehow still amaze you; it's very pretty down on the ground, but as you get higher, the sense of scale really comes into its own.”
    • “The graphics are extremely simplistic, but Grow Home remains beautiful all the same; a testament to the fact that you don't need 4K textures and ridiculous amounts of special effects to make a game visually appealing.”
    • “The game has graphics which would have been an embarrassment in the PlayStation 1 era; they’re ugly and unappealing, and the creatures in the game look terrible.”
    • “The visuals are minimalistic, verging on ugly and lazy, and the soundtrack isn't anything to write home about either.”
  • story243 mentions

    The story in "Grow Home" is generally described as simple and short, focusing on the protagonist, a robot named Bud, on a mission to grow a giant plant to reach his spaceship. While some players appreciate the charming and cute premise, many note that the narrative lacks depth and complexity, often feeling more like a backdrop to the gameplay rather than a central element. Overall, the game prioritizes exploration and mechanics over a robust storyline, making it a relaxing experience despite its brevity.

    • “The story is simple, the collectibles entertaining to find, the visuals hold up to this day – but in the end, it is the simple concept of climbing and growing and climbing again, feeling the scale of the effort every time you look down, that is the thing that moves you.”
    • “A short but endearing little quest that will captivate and calm you, as you explore a miraculously tall world growing a strange plant.”
    • “Grow Home is an amazingly charming little game that gives a lovable experience to fans of niche and wacky mechanics and story.”
    • “The game has little to no story, which for me serves only to heighten the gameplay experience and put a larger focus on the interesting ideas for mechanics.”
    • “The main story itself is around 2-3 hours though.”
    • “There is very little story to the game; there are a few bits of flavor text here and there, and mom – either an AI of some sort, or a fellow being who is elsewhere in the universe – occasionally gives you hints or makes 'wry' (non-voice acted) remarks on your progress.”
  • music168 mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for its calming and ambient qualities, enhancing the overall relaxing experience of gameplay. Many reviewers noted that the soundtrack complements the visuals beautifully, creating a serene atmosphere that encourages exploration. However, some players mentioned that the music can become repetitive or minimal, with occasional glitches affecting the experience. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a strong point, contributing to the game's charm and appeal.

    • “The soundtrack complements the visuals beautifully, enhancing the overall experience.”
    • “The soundtrack takes clear inspiration from ambient music, with a light collage of electronic sounds accompanying you through all parts of the world.”
    • “A wonderful, relaxing game with a chill soundtrack.”
    • “The music is limited.”
    • “There are a few short songs playing on menu screens, but no music is present in the actual gameplay portion.”
    • “With little in the way of music to speak of, Grow Home's weakest area is this by far.”
  • atmosphere93 mentions

    The atmosphere of "Grow Home" is widely praised for its light-hearted, calming, and whimsical qualities, creating a unique and immersive experience that encourages exploration and relaxation. Players appreciate the game's charming visuals, soothing music, and the sense of joy and innocence it evokes, making it a delightful escape from more intense gaming experiences. Overall, the game's atmosphere is described as enchanting and inviting, enhancing the enjoyment of its simple yet engaging gameplay.

    • “The atmosphere is light-hearted and filled with humor, making it a perfect escape from more serious games.”
    • “Through its art and other methods, Grow Home achieves an atmosphere that feels otherworldly, as if you really are a little robot on a mission on a foreign planet which, contrary to how the trope is usually played, is actually quite friendly, pleasant, and goofy.”
    • “Grow Home is a beautiful platforming game with a good focus on exploration; it has a beautiful atmosphere and soundtrack, where you control Bud, a robot whose objective is to grow an enormous world-sized plant.”
    • “The atmosphere of the game envelops you from the start, creating a great experience with excellent gameplay, music, and art.”
    • “The sometimes-wonky camera can be a drawback, but its positives (atmosphere, music, mechanics, characters) more than make it enjoyable, despite having a fairly short completion time.”
    • “The atmosphere decreases (tougher gliding) but gravity doesn't as you go higher up, making platforming feel sluggish.”
  • humor87 mentions

    The humor in the game is characterized by its light-hearted and quirky atmosphere, featuring a clumsy robot protagonist whose awkward movements and interactions lead to many hilarious moments. Players appreciate the witty dialogue from the robot's motherly AI, as well as the amusing physics-based mechanics that create unexpected and funny situations. Overall, the game is described as a charming and entertaining experience, perfect for those seeking a relaxing yet humorous escape.

    • “The atmosphere is light-hearted and filled with humor, making it a perfect escape from more serious games.”
    • “Your only form of communication is with your motherly robot boss, who injects bits of humor into the experience whenever you mess up, as well as words of encouragement throughout.”
    • “Bud is cute and clumsy; his awkward controls create hilarious and hair-raising situations.”
    • “Pretty funny, but it loses its charm when you fall off the vines and have to climb back to where you were.”
  • replayability66 mentions

    The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with many reviewers noting its short completion time of around 3-6 hours and limited content, leading to low replay value for most players. However, some players appreciate the fun mechanics and exploration aspects, suggesting that there is potential for replayability, especially for those who enjoy collecting achievements or exploring the game world. Overall, while some find it enjoyable enough to revisit, the consensus leans towards a lack of substantial replayability.

    • “Completing the game took 3 hours, but there's decent replay value.”
    • “It's a bit short, but eminently replayable.”
    • “The game took me about three hours to complete, but that isn't to say this game is without replay value.”
    • “Unfortunately, it has limited replay value as little incentive to keep playing is given after reaching the ending.”
    • “As I noted above, the only real fault I found with the game is in the almost complete lack of replayability.”
    • “The only negative is that it's only worth a couple of hours of playtime and then the game is over, with very little replay value.”
  • grinding62 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game is frequently described as tedious, with many players noting that achieving 100% completion can feel like a chore due to repetitive tasks and frustrating mechanics. While some found the exploration and collection of items enjoyable, others criticized the controls and level design for exacerbating the tediousness, leading to a mixed experience overall. Despite the grind, some players appreciated the charm and potential of the game, suggesting that the enjoyment may depend on individual tolerance for repetitive gameplay.

    • “Slippery space physics, bouncing leaves, fun achievements, most of which aren't grindy, awesome growing mechanics, and relaxing soundtracks.”
    • “The collectibles aren't boring, and most of the achievements aren't tedious to do.”
    • “If you plan on 100%, do be warned that some of these achievements are very tedious.”
    • “Could have been a nice game but terrible design decisions turned the game into a tedious and frustrating chore, and there is not much interesting going on to keep you engaged.”
    • “A very interesting experimental, physics-based platformer with novel traversal mechanics, Grow Home is unfortunately burdened by a number of flaws, ranging from poor level design (expect lots of tedious backtracking), anachronistic gameplay mechanics (expect lots of tedious hunting-for-hidden-collectables), and an overall lack of polish.”
  • stability32 mentions

    The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with some players reporting significant bugs and glitches that affect gameplay, such as visual issues, control problems, and save file deletions. However, others have noted that it runs well on various systems, including the Steam Deck and older PCs, with minimal performance issues. Overall, while the game is enjoyable, it is marred by persistent stability concerns that detract from the experience.

    • “The game runs great on old systems.”
    • “It runs on pretty much everything and it's mostly bug-free.”
    • “Runs great natively on Manjaro Linux, and that's always a plus.”
    • “Happened after a starseed fell into the ocean and started glitching out (doesn't seem to be an uncommon bug which also hardlocked me from getting the achievement for collecting them all unless I start a completely new game, which who knows if the same thing wouldn't just happen again). The spot in which I presume it fell into the ocean starts getting very visually buggy after starting the game up and playing for a bit and then consistently crashes.”
    • “I bought this game for $7.99 and it glitches, and I can't play because everything is invisible or completely black. Please fix this.”
    • “I loved the game, but I had several glitches that randomly deleted my saves, so if you guys can fix that bug for other players and me, that would be great.”
  • emotional31 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is overwhelmingly positive, with players describing it as wholesome, charming, and heartwarming. Many reviewers express feelings of nostalgia and joy, likening the experience to childhood memories and emphasizing its relaxing nature as a welcome escape from more intense gaming experiences. Overall, the game evokes a sense of wonder and happiness, making it a delightful emotional journey for players.

    • “This game honestly made me feel happy when nothing else would.”
    • “Grow Home is an amazingly heartfelt game that doesn't overstay its welcome, and keeps evolving the gameplay as you progress.”
    • “This game was an emotional adventure for me.”
  • optimization15 mentions

    The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing severe performance issues, including black screens and stuttering, while others report a smooth experience with minimal bugs after updates. Although some users appreciate the game's visuals and overall performance, there are calls for further fine-tuning and optimization to enhance the experience across all systems.

    • “The game runs smoothly at all times and, for the 6-hour long 100% complete expedition I went through, I encountered no outstanding bugs or technical issues with the game.”
    • “It is beautiful and it even runs smoothly on my laptop; I absolutely love this game!”
    • “A laid-back, relaxing game with pretty optics and flawless performance.”
    • “This is one very poorly optimized game on a spotty engine that is known for having performance issues.”
    • “I never got more than a few minutes into the game because of the poor performance.”
    • “I refuse to ever play this game when the devs can't be bothered to fix performance issues.”
  • monetization5 mentions

    The game is praised for its lack of microtransactions and over-complicated monetization strategies, offering a refreshing experience free from the typical pitfalls of modern gaming economies. Reviewers appreciate its straightforward approach, highlighting its indie charm and visual appeal without the burden of excessive in-game purchases or advertisements.

    • “It has no microtransactions, no Uplay, no massive open world full of repetitive side missions, and no thousands of developers creating a two-hour-long credits sequence.”
    • “No over-designed in-game economies or resources to manage, with microtransactions on top of that.”
    • “It is visually appealing and has not fallen under the spell of over-the-top monetization.”
    • “Saw this game as a side-advertisement and was slightly intrigued, clicked on it and saw it was a small almost indie title.”
  • character development2 mentions

    Character development in the game is highlighted by its extraordinary and unique art style, which enhances the overall character design and level mechanics. However, the character design itself received a moderate rating of 7.3/10, indicating room for improvement despite its creative presentation.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

73% average critic score

Buy Grow Home

Play time

6hMedian play time
7hAverage play time
3hMain story
8hCompletionist
4-7hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 27 analyzed playthroughs

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