Overall, a fantastic game that yields a relaxing gaming experience for all. The adventure is fun and awe-inducing. The graphics and music are coupled well together and marry each other to make for an amazing fantasy feel.
"GROW: Song of the Evertree" is a calming sandbox game where you're an Everheart Alchemist, responsible for nurturing the Evertree and creating new worlds through alchemy. Explore the unique world and its vibrant flora and fauna at your own pace, choosing your activities from options like solving puzzles, collecting resources, or fishing. Your main goal is to grow the Evertree by crafting World Seeds and restoring the faded Worlds of Alaria.
The game is visually stunning with beautiful graphics and a charming art style.
It offers a relaxing gameplay experience with no time constraints, allowing players to progress at their own pace.
The world-building and customization options for towns and characters are enjoyable and engaging.
The gameplay can become repetitive and monotonous, with similar tasks being repeated across different worlds.
There are several bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, including game freezes when claiming certain rewards.
The character interactions and relationships feel shallow and underdeveloped, lacking depth and meaningful engagement.
story
1,083 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
67%
4%
The story of "Grow: Song of the Evertree" is generally described as charming and engaging, with a focus on environmental themes and community building. While many players appreciate the cute and whimsical narrative, some find it predictable and lacking depth, often feeling that the gameplay overshadows the story. Overall, the game offers a relaxing experience with a simple yet enjoyable storyline, though it may not satisfy those seeking a more complex or immersive narrative.
“10/10 personally, the story dragged me in.”
“The story was beautiful, the artwork was even better, the music was calming, and I could get lost in it for hours on end.”
“The story is cute and I like the idea of restoring a world and creating towns/houses for NPCs to move in.”
“The story reveal is mostly predictable from the start of the game, so you must really like the core loop of either too-easy town management or gardening -- this is important!”
“You can get to the end of the main 'story' sure but the gameplay progression is just not there and the actual impact of that story is negligible to non-existent.”
“The story is dumbed down to the point that I had figured out the entire thing way before the story had even properly begun, and I was disappointed to find nothing that exceeded my expectations.”
gameplay
585 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
59%
12%
The gameplay of "Grow: Song of the Evertree" is characterized by a charming yet repetitive loop involving gardening, town-building, and exploration, which some players find relaxing while others deem it tedious and lacking depth. While the game features beautiful visuals and a variety of mechanics, many reviewers noted that the gameplay can become monotonous over time, with limited challenges and rewards, making it more suitable for casual play rather than engaging, long-term enjoyment. Overall, it appeals to those seeking a laid-back experience but may disappoint players looking for more complexity and depth in gameplay.
“Visually stunning, great controllers, and super clean gameplay; feels like a AAA game.”
“The gameplay is enjoyable and helps you get your mind off things.”
“Grow: Song of the Evertree is a cute and beautiful game with a very satisfying gameplay loop.”
“The gameplay is underwhelming and tedious; it honestly feels like playing Farmville on OG Facebook, but with the added irritation of having to run all around a small area yourself and click a button 2-6 times to scroll through to the tool you want for every single step of a task.”
“The gameplay loop is extremely repetitive to the point where I wondered why I was still even playing, and I'm saying this as a person that was a fully melded crafter/gatherer in FFXIV, enjoyed Harvest Moon: Back to Nature, Friends of Mineral Town, a Wonderful Life, Magical Melody, all the Rune Factories, Stardew Valley, Worlds Apart, Animal Crossing, and the Atelier series since the first Atelier Iris on PS2.”
“The core gameplay loop just isn't compelling and many features feel half-baked.”
music
537 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
58%
1%
The music in *Grow: Song of the Evertree* is widely praised for its beauty and ability to enhance the game's serene atmosphere, with many players describing it as calming and enchanting. However, some reviewers noted that the soundtrack can become repetitive over time, leading to a desire for more variety. Overall, the music is considered one of the standout features of the game, contributing significantly to its relaxing and immersive experience.
“The music totally fits the atmosphere which is serene and colorful, pleasing to the eyes and ears.”
“The music is beautiful and calming.”
“The music, the scenery, the exploration of the world around you, everything comes together to create a truly magical experience that makes you keep wanting to play and explore just to see more of what the game has to offer.”
“The sound randomly breaks in certain areas and you can't hear your character, only the music.”
“Music is meh although they clearly copy-pasted Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening song that you can hear every now and then even the discovery spots sound the same as the game.”
“The music is.....alright, but it does get grating because it cycles the same track pretty much unless you are in puzzle room/cave.”
graphics
521 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
40%
2%
The graphics of "Grow: Song of the Evertree" are widely praised for their adorable and colorful art style, evoking a whimsical and cozy atmosphere reminiscent of classic games like "Viva Pinata." While many players appreciate the beautiful visuals and charming character designs, some have noted issues with graphical glitches and a lack of polish in animations. Overall, the game's aesthetic is considered a significant draw, enhancing the relaxing gameplay experience despite some criticisms regarding repetitiveness and technical performance.
“This game is beautiful, yes, with amazing music scores and visuals.”
“The graphics are bright and colorful, and the simple gameplay loop of clearing worlds and bringing them back to life is lovely.”
“The visuals are breath-takingly beautiful; it can be taken at a relaxing/slow pace, and there are fun adventures to be had.”
“The graphics in the game are terrible, and for $40.00 AUD I feel robbed despite getting my money back.”
“The graphics are... juvenile, and were the reason this just sat in my library for a long time.”
“Sadly, gameplay can't save the graphics (the people look like melting plastic).”
grinding
495 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
99%
The grinding aspect of "Grow: Song of the Evertree" has received mixed feedback, with many players finding the gameplay repetitive and tedious, particularly as they progress. While some appreciate the relaxing nature of the tasks involved in farming and town building, others criticize the lack of depth and the excessive micro-management required, leading to a sense of monotony. Overall, the game is seen as enjoyable for those who appreciate a slower-paced experience, but it may not satisfy players looking for more dynamic or rewarding gameplay.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“I usually play farm sim games, and while this one isn't farming, it is kind of a god game plus city building game.”
“The gameplay is underwhelming and tedious; it honestly feels like playing Farmville on OG Facebook, but with the added irritation of having to run all around a small area yourself and click a button 2-6 times to scroll through to the tool you want for every single step of a task.”
“While the game is very sweet and clearly handcrafted with love, the actual game loop is just very tedious and boring.”
“The gameplay at first seems expansive, but it quickly becomes repetitive and grindy when nothing new is added between areas other than a new color scheme to do the same repetitive tasks in.”
emotional
114 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is widely praised for its heartwarming and captivating story, which resonates deeply with players, often evoking feelings of happiness and nostalgia. Many reviews highlight the game's wholesome and cute aesthetics, making it a comforting experience, though some note a desire for more engaging romance options. Overall, players find the game to be a relaxing escape that fosters emotional investment and joy.
“The story was so captivating and emotional.”
“With such a touching story and cute design, this game connects with my heart!”
“I cried while playing as everything is so peaceful and wonderful.”
stability
86 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
2%
91%
The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting frequent bugs, glitches, and crashes that can disrupt gameplay. While some users have found workarounds for minor issues, others have experienced significant problems, such as game freezes and unresponsive quests, particularly on the Steam Deck. Despite these challenges, a portion of the community appreciates the game's charm and the developers' responsiveness to reported issues, suggesting that ongoing updates may improve stability in the future.
“All in all, this is a very cute and well-made game. I've encountered no glitches or other weirdness, the game saves regularly and lets you load an old save without any issues (this got me out of a situation where I jumped into a hole out of curiosity).”
“The game also runs great and I have yet to run into any major bugs or glitches.”
“Not very buggy considering it just came out!”
“This game is a constant buggy mess and I tried my hardest to just go around the minor bugs and enjoy the game, but this is becoming more of a chore than I'm willing to handle.”
“The game just freezes up constantly.”
“This game could be fabulous, but has unworkable freezes and is now unplayable.”
humor
75 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is generally well-received, with players appreciating its cute and charming dialogue, quirky characters, and funny easter eggs. While some find the humor relatable and endearing, others note that repetitive dialogue can detract from the experience. Overall, the game offers a lighthearted and whimsical atmosphere, making it a delightful choice for those seeking a relaxing gaming experience.
“The animation for the tree growing was funny because it looked like a PS1 animation, but it felt more endearing than anything else.”
“It's charming and sweet, with some funny writing that had me smiling almost the whole time.”
“Achievement names are funny, such as 'my precious!' for mining valuable gems and 'wet the bed' for using the watering can on your bed.”
atmosphere
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
68%
24%
8%
The atmosphere in these games is consistently praised for its calming and immersive qualities, enhanced by beautiful graphics and fitting music that create a serene and colorful environment. Players often feel a sense of wonder and exploration as they engage with the game's world, making even mundane tasks enjoyable. Overall, the enchanting atmosphere serves as a major draw, providing a relaxing escape for players.
“The music totally fits the atmosphere, which is serene and colorful, pleasing to the eyes and ears.”
“It is a beautifully crafted world with relaxing music, cute characters, a simple storyline, amazing scenery, and atmosphere - I totally immerse myself in this lovely world of Evertree.”
“The best aspect of this game is the atmosphere and the music.”
“In some games, moving to a new area creates a sense of wonder that makes you want to stop and drink in the new atmosphere.”
“The music is decent and really builds the atmosphere, and the graphics are solid.”
“But the visual style and calming atmosphere gives it a solid recommendation from me.”
replayability
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
53%
20%
The reviews present a mixed perspective on replayability, with some players noting the potential for endless gameplay through procedural generation and crafting new planets, while others criticize the lack of engaging content post-main quest. Many agree that the game can feel slow-paced and lacks a 'wow' factor, leading to diminished replay value for some. Overall, while there are elements that can enhance replayability, such as custom seeds and randomly generated worlds, the experience varies significantly among players.
“Although it follows a storyline, it technically has infinite replayability as you can continue to craft new planets for as long as you care to.”
“The game is endlessly playable and replayable, even if the main story ends the game will endlessly provide quests, tasks, and content, using procedural generation and randomly generated worlds to explore and villagers to meet.”
“The replayability is absolutely there and getting to make your own custom seeds with a plethora of different attributes is also a rewarding experience as you watch them grow and tediously tend to them.”
“The 'game' centers on completing the main quest rather than any activity having replay value.”
“Once you've finished the game, there is no 'wow' factor nor any replay value.”
“There is no replay value in this game.”
character development
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
62%
19%
Character development in the game has received mixed reviews, with some praising the whimsical and visually appealing character designs, while others criticize them as bland, repetitive, and overly child-like, which detracts from the overall depth of the characters and makes certain elements, like romance options, feel awkward or unnecessary. Overall, while the graphics and initial character creation system are highlighted positively, the lack of distinctiveness among characters is a notable drawback.
“The graphics blow me away, and I adore the character designing system in the beginning.”
“Amazing world and character design.”
“More than just visual fidelity, its whimsical character designs, lush environments, and sheer color are all things that make it an easy contender for one of the best-looking games of the year.”
“Some of the character designs are a little too child-like, which makes the inclusion of a romance option seem either weird or juvenile.”
“None of the character designs really stood out.”
“Very bland and repetitive character design - most characters look the same with very little variation.”
optimization
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
43%
19%
The game's optimization varies significantly across platforms; it runs poorly on the Switch, leading to slow performance and frustrating gameplay, particularly in puzzle areas. However, on PC, it generally performs well with minimal issues, though some users noted clunky menus and occasional bugs. Overall, while the game is visually appealing and well-optimized for lower-end PCs, the Switch version suffers from notable performance drawbacks.
“The game runs smoothly and it's breathtaking!”
“The design is really cute and it doesn't have to be an expensive PC to get the best performance while the game looks good.”
“Well optimized, no bugs.”
“The game is not optimized for Switch, so it runs pretty slow.”
“I got to 95% done and then frustration-quit over a couple of platformer puzzle areas I can't reach due to performance issues with water being on screen.”
“Performance-wise, it runs well on my PC, although I experienced some clunky menus at times and got stuck once in a chest, forcing me to restart.”
monetization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game is likened to typical mobile games, heavily featuring advertisements and in-game purchases. While some players appreciate the additional content like caves and puzzles, the overall impression suggests that the monetization strategy may detract from the gameplay experience.
“In reality, it looks and plays like one of those mobile games you get bombarded with advertisements for.”
“The extra additions like caves, puzzles, and merchants feel more like a way to push ads rather than enhance gameplay.”
“The monetization strategy is so aggressive that it detracts from the overall experience.”