Guardener
- June 21, 2022
- Sokpop Collective
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Get on itch.io Store"Guardener" is an arcade strategy game where you defend your garden as a garden gnome, growing and selling vegetables to create an army, and fending off pests through different seasons. The game features 5 vegetables, 8 enemies, and 3 seasons, with online leaderboards and an original soundtrack. It offers approximately 1-2 hours of playtime, with a new game released by Sokpop every month.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game is incredibly cute and charming, with delightful graphics and audio.
- Gameplay is straightforward and fun, providing a satisfying challenge despite its short length.
- The risk/reward mechanics of selling fighters for profit add an engaging layer to the gameplay.
- Controls are clunky and unintuitive, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
- The game lacks depth and replayability, with limited content and no saving feature.
- Many players experienced issues with unit pathing and collision, making micromanagement cumbersome.
- gameplay8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
Gameplay is generally straightforward, focusing on growing and selling fighters, but it suffers from clunky controls, a lack of intuitive mechanics, and limited depth and replayability. While the art style and cuteness are praised, players note that the game could benefit from quality of life improvements and better pacing to enhance the overall experience.
“10/10 for the cuteness and gameplay!”
“The mechanics could have some quality of life updates, but the vegetables are cute and the art style is also very enjoyable and visually pleasing.”
“Other than that, gameplay is pretty straightforward, and there's really only one way to win: grow a lot of fighters and then sell the injured ones in at least groups of three.”
“Controls are clunky, gameplay isn't intuitive, there are no keybindings, the game speed keeps changing, and it lacks depth and replayability.”
“Maybe I'm missing some mechanic, but you don't gain money nearly fast enough to progress to the later stages of the game in a satisfying way.”
- graphics4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The graphics are characterized by a cute and visually pleasing aesthetic, complemented by adorable vegetable designs. While the art style is enjoyable, some users note that the slow movement of minions can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences. Overall, the visuals contribute positively to the game's charm, despite some mechanical issues.
“Cute game with a fun sound set, adorable graphics, and mildly panic-inducing strategy requirements.”
“The vegetables are cute, and the art style is also very enjoyable and visually pleasing.”
“Visually, the aesthetic is cute, and the progression curve seems like it would be fun to manage.”
“Visually, the aesthetic is cute, but the graphics are hindered by performance issues, as all of your minions are very slow and continuously block each other from their objectives, creating a frustrating experience.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
Overall, the game has been criticized for its low replayability, with players noting that it can be completed quickly—often in under two hours—and lacks depth or incentives for multiple playthroughs beyond achievement hunting. Many found the gameplay mechanics, such as clunky controls and inconsistent game speed, further detracted from the desire to replay.
“I'm going to recommend this, but with a caution because I beat the game in 2 hours and there really isn't any replayability unless you want to try and 100% the achievements.”
“It's fun, but the replay value is way too low.”
“I'm going to recommend this, but with caution because I beat the game in 2 hours and there really isn't any replayability unless you want to try and 100% the achievements.”
“Controls are clunky, gameplay isn't intuitive, no keybindings, keeps changing game speed, lacks depth and replayability.”
“I paid $5 for the game, beat it in about 45 minutes, and unfortunately there isn't much replay value.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly regarding achievements that feel more like chores than enjoyable tasks, such as acquiring all the land on the map. While the farming and combat elements are engaging, the repetitive nature of certain objectives detracts from the overall experience.
“Make achievements less tedious because going through some of them didn't seem fun, just a bit of a chore, such as having to acquire all the land on the map.”
“Grinding feels like a never-ending task that detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.”
“The repetitive nature of grinding makes it hard to stay engaged with the game.”
