Horticular

About

Horticular is a single player casual strategy game. It was developed by inDirection Games and was released on July 11, 2024. It received very positive reviews from players.

"Horticular" is a serene yet engaging strategy game where you revive a forgotten garden as mysterious gnomes summon you to their magical world. With hundreds of items and surface types, build and expand your dream garden while attracting adorable animals and uncovering helpful upgrades. Manage decay, corruption, and storylines at your own pace for a rewarding experience, accented by wonderful visuals and marvelous music. However, be prepared for some grinding.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

+27

Skip User Reviews

94%

Audience ScoreBased on 398 reviews

story29 positive mentions

grinding27 negative mentions

The game beautifully combines elements of garden building and ecosystem management, providing a cozy and engaging experience.
It successfully scratches the nostalgia itch for fans of Viva Pinata, offering a charming pixel art style and adorable creatures.
Players appreciate the freedom to design their gardens creatively while still facing interesting challenges related to habitat management.

The habitat placement mechanics can be frustrating, as they often shift automatically, leading to unhappy animals and loss of progress.
Some players find the tutorial vague and the learning curve steep, making it difficult to grasp certain game mechanics initially.
The game can feel slow-paced at times, with periods of waiting for new animal visitors or accumulating resources, which may lower excitement.

story
75 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
57%
4%
The story in the game is described as charming and engaging, providing a balanced experience that motivates players without overwhelming them. Players appreciate the whimsical characters, interesting lore, and the ability to progress through quests at their own pace, which enhances the overall enjoyment of the garden-building mechanics. While some find the late-game pacing tedious and the main quest predictable, the story adds a delightful layer to the gameplay, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of casual and creative gaming.
- “The little gnomes roaming around are so cute and cozy, and the story/lore elements keep everything fresh and intriguing.”
- “I enjoy the slow playing out of the story; those moments are a great balance to being creative with garden building and make me excited about uncovering lore and gaining access to more features.”
- “Beautiful and enchanting cozy game with a rich story, high replayability, and the ability to play at your own speed - treat it as a completely casual cozy decorating game, or try to min-max, or do something in between!”
- “Late game gets tedious though, the main quest is a bit of a surprise and feels like 'that's it?' at the same time.”
- “Nothing big and you will get there in no time if you just follow the plot instead of mastering your garden.”
- “The story is simple, but the dialogue is very well written for an indie game, and the keepers are ridiculously cute.”
gameplay
72 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
70%
8%
The gameplay of this game is characterized by a charming core mechanic focused on building habitats to attract various species, offering a blend of creative freedom and strategic depth. However, players have noted issues with vague tutorials, confusing controls, and problematic habitat placement mechanics that can detract from the overall experience. Despite these drawbacks, many find the game engaging and cozy, with a satisfying loop of unlocking new elements and managing a garden ecosystem.
- “I love the core mechanic of building habitats to attract new species!”
- “The gameplay and the systems for managing/enticing the inhabitants of a garden is great.”
- “There is both mechanical complexity in getting the animals' habitats perfected as well as creative freedom in designing your own garden so that it looks just the way you want it.”
- “This game is extremely aggravating, with half-explained mechanics and terrible visual aids.”
- “The bad: the habitat placement mechanic is a huge problem.”
- “I found I had to look up some of the mechanics online because the tutorial was vague in places.”
graphics
65 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
50%
5%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming and cute pixel art aesthetic, creating a cozy and visually appealing experience. Players appreciate the flexibility in decoration and the intuitive design that enhances both gameplay and aesthetics. While some reviewers express a desire for more variety in art styles within the genre, the overall consensus is that the graphics contribute significantly to the game's charm and enjoyment.
- “The graphics are extremely cute.”
- “It’s such a charming game - the graphics are adorable, there are a lot of options to decorate and it’s just fun to build different habitats and host all those cute animals!”
- “The graphics and music are simply delightful, creating a soothing experience.”
- “To be fair, it's my least favorite art style but some games do it well and it's not an issue for me.”
- “It's my fault for not seeing the graphics on the actual game page.”
- “Love the concept and the graphics but stopped playing because the habitat thing got too frustrating to deal with.”
grinding
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
93%
Overall, players appreciate that the game allows them to progress at their own pace without the typical grinding found in many farming games. However, they note that creating and managing habitats can be tedious and frustrating due to clunky UI and automatic placements that don't always align with player intentions. While it offers a unique blend of city-building and farming aesthetics, some late-game elements feel repetitive and underwhelming.
- “The habitats are tedious to make and annoying to move after they've been placed.”
- “The UI is clunky in places and the lack of sorting for tags like shaded or flowery makes finding specific items tedious.”
- “This makes some of the creature things very tedious, as the game doesn't always pick the best plot to set as the center of a creature's habitat, or it may create the creature's habitat automatically before you are done placing down all of the objects you need to make it just right.”
music
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
88%
12%
The music in the game is widely praised for its relaxing and soothing qualities, with many reviewers noting its cute, early 2000s vibes that enhance the overall experience. The sound design complements the visuals beautifully, creating a delightful atmosphere that is perfect for players seeking a calm and enjoyable gaming experience. Overall, the soundtrack and sound effects contribute significantly to the game's charm and appeal.
- “The music is cute, and really hits you with the early 2000s vibes, and the pixel art looks a lot better in-game than the store screenshots (to me at least).”
- “The graphics and music are simply delightful, creating a soothing experience.”
- “The sound design is so pleasing, the characters are adorable, and the music is lovely and so chill!”
replayability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The game offers high replayability through features like a new game plus mode, various play styles, and potential mods that enhance content and challenge. Players can enjoy a rich story at their own pace, whether casually or with a focus on optimization, making it a versatile experience. Overall, the combination of modes and customization options contributes to its enduring appeal.
- “I heard there's a new game plus mode too and I'm a huge fan of that type of replayability, so I'm pumped to see what's coming in my next hours of playing the game once I find the time.”
- “The mods will end up making this one of those endlessly replayable games with oodles of content.”
- “Beautiful and enchanting cozy game with a rich story, high replayability, and the ability to play at your own speed - treat it as a completely casual cozy decorating game, or try to min-max, or do something in between!”
- “I heard there's a new game plus mode too, and I'm a huge fan of that type of replayability, so I'm pumped to see what's coming in my next hours of playing the game once I find the time.”
- “- more modes or even endless new game plus, maybe challenging 'mutators' defining my playthrough to give some replayability.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the game emotionally resonant, often describing it as cute and wholesome, evoking a sense of nostalgia and familiarity that many have missed. It has also provided comfort and support during difficult times, such as grieving, highlighting its ability to connect with players on a deeper emotional level.
- “This game brought a smile to my face as it made me feel a familiarity for a game that's been lost to a lot of people for a long time, and I am sure that many will come to it feeling that same familiarity.”
- “This cute and wholesome game has been helping me with my grieving.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development is highlighted through distinct and memorable designs that set each character apart, enhancing their individuality and making them more engaging to players. The crow nectar merchant serves as a notable example of this effective design approach.
- “Individual character designs are nice, and they stand out against each other to help them feel more memorable, like the crow nectar merchant.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Users find the optimization of habitat setup challenging due to the isometric view, lack of a visible grid, and random variations in plant appearances, which complicate the arrangement of different animal habitats.
- “The optimization problem of setting up proper habitats for different types of animals is challenging due to the isometric view, which lacks a visible grid, and the random variation in the appearance of plants.”
- “The optimization problem of setting up proper habitats for different types of animals is difficult due to the isometric view, without a visible grid, and with some degree of random variation in the appearance of plants.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game creates a cozy atmosphere that appeals to a wide range of players, thanks to its three well-balanced difficulty levels.
- “It offers a cozy atmosphere with three well-balanced difficulty levels to suit any player.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report that the game exhibits some stability issues, particularly during the new game plus (NG+) phase, where collecting creatures can feel buggy and time-consuming. Overall, while the game is playable, these bugs may detract from the experience.
- “The save was about 73% finished by the time I started New Game Plus, but collecting all of the creatures takes a long time and feels a bit buggy at times.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express disappointment in the humor aspect of the game, noting that the potential for comedic value is hindered by limitations on gameplay, such as the inability to click the cookie excessively. This suggests that while the concept has humorous potential, it falls short in execution.