Seedlings
- September 21, 2023
- Kazetsukai
- 4h median play time
"Seedlings" is a 2D puzzle platformer game set in the stunning photo-realistic environment of a New Zealand forest. As a sentient seed, players control unique plant creatures to solve puzzles and uncover secrets while humanity investigates the situation. With its ambient soundtracks and nature sounds, players will experience a serene yet intriguing journey to discover the Seedlings' origins.
Reviews
- Gorgeous art style and immersive audio create a unique and tranquil atmosphere, showcasing beautiful New Zealand environments.
- Engaging and simple puzzle mechanics that are forgiving and suitable for casual play, making it a relaxing experience.
- Short gameplay duration of around 4 hours, which allows for a quick and enjoyable gaming session without unnecessary fluff.
- The game is quite short, with 100% completion achievable in just a few hours, which may leave some players wanting more content.
- Some puzzles can be frustrating due to unclear platform edges and mechanics that may lead to repeated attempts.
- The swinging rope mechanism can behave unpredictably, affecting gameplay and momentum during certain puzzles.
- graphics18 mentions
- 61 % positive mentions
- 22 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique photographic art style, which beautifully captures the essence of New Zealand's nature. Players appreciate the immersive visuals that blend real images and videos, creating a relaxing atmosphere complemented by soothing music and sound effects. Overall, the game's aesthetic is described as stunning, charming, and perfect for nature lovers.
“Absolutely gorgeous photographic art style makes this game look really unique and the music and sound effects are very immersive.”
“I love the unique use of real images and videos for the graphics, and the way the foliage and animals are edited so you really feel the charm and atmosphere of New Zealand nature.”
“It is an excellent relaxing zen-like puzzle experience with stunningly beautiful New Zealand Aotearoa native forest visuals.”
“The graphics are disappointing and lack detail, making the game feel outdated.”
“The visuals are bland and uninspired, failing to create an immersive experience.”
“I found the graphics to be subpar, with textures that look low-resolution and unpolished.”
- gameplay10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The gameplay is praised for its excellent blend of puzzles, platforming, and ballistics, utilizing simple mechanics like environment manipulation and seed shooting. Players appreciate the tranquil atmosphere combined with intense moments, as well as the variety of plant mechanics and well-paced level design that keeps the experience accessible and enjoyable. Overall, the game offers a refreshing take on puzzle-solving without unnecessary complexity.
“Excellent gameplay, mixing puzzles, platforming, and ballistics.”
“The gameplay and puzzle solving is simple but makes great use of the different mechanics, which mostly involve basic environment manipulation and shooting your seed around into different bodies that have varying abilities.”
“Interesting game mechanics, and great level design that progresses at a pace that makes gameplay accessible and enjoyable.”
“While most of the gameplay maintains a tranquil atmosphere focused on solving puzzles, there are more intense moments.”
“The gameplay was pretty straightforward, with a couple of levels needing a bit more of my brain power to complete.”
“The devs kept everything contained within the few mechanics and didn't needlessly pad things out.”
- story8 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The game's story is characterized by its engaging and surprising narrative, complemented by beautiful visuals and a relaxing atmosphere. While it is brief, players appreciate the emotional depth and humor woven into the plot, making it a delightful experience that leaves them eager for more. Overall, the storytelling is primarily visual and language-neutral, enhancing the game's charm and appeal.
“A short, unorthodox platform puzzler with beautiful photography and a surprising story.”
“Beautiful little puzzle platformer with an ending that really surprised me with a funny story that explains all of it.”
“In summary, despite its brevity, Seedlings offers a visually guided, language-neutral design, a relaxing atmosphere, beautiful moments, and even some emotional storytelling, making it an enjoyable experience.”
“A mainly visual story is told, leading to quite the ending.”
- music8 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 13 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its soothing and immersive qualities, enhancing the overall zen-like atmosphere. It complements the beautiful art style and calming graphics, creating a relaxing experience that allows players to fully engage with the game's environment.
“Great game, beautiful art style with a relaxed atmosphere and gorgeous music.”
“It is calming to progress through different environmental textures and colors, with the music as a lovely accompaniment.”
“The game's soothing music contributes to a zen-like atmosphere and helps players immerse themselves in the world and its challenges.”
“The music also complements the calm vibes of the game.”
“Great calming graphics that integrate seamlessly with the relaxing soundtrack.”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by a tranquil and immersive experience, enhanced by soothing music and beautiful visuals that evoke the charm of New Zealand's nature. Players appreciate the engaging story and emotional moments, which are complemented by a relaxing vibe that balances puzzle-solving with more intense gameplay segments. Overall, the combination of art style, real images, and a language-neutral design contributes to a captivating and enjoyable atmosphere.
“Great game, beautiful art style with a relaxed atmosphere and gorgeous music.”
“While most of the gameplay maintains a tranquil atmosphere focused on solving puzzles, there are more intense moments.”
“The game's soothing music contributes to a zen-like atmosphere and helps players immerse themselves in the world and its challenges.”
“I love the unique use of real images and videos for the graphics, and the way the foliage and animals are edited so you really feel the charm and atmosphere of New Zealand nature.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features a charming puzzle platformer experience, culminating in a surprising and humorous ending that ties the story together in an unexpected way.
“A beautiful little puzzle platformer with an ending that really surprised me with a funny story that explains everything.”
“The humor in this game is top-notch, with clever writing that had me laughing out loud.”
“I loved the quirky characters and their hilarious interactions; they added so much charm to the gameplay.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Seedlings delivers a visually captivating and language-neutral experience that fosters a relaxing atmosphere and evokes emotional storytelling, despite its short duration.
“In summary, despite its brevity, Seedlings offers a visually guided, language-neutral design, a relaxing atmosphere, beautiful moments, and even some emotional storytelling, making it an enjoyable experience.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly noting that some collectibles require repetitive puzzle-solving, which can detract from the overall experience. There is also concern about potentially missing out on content by skipping these repetitive tasks.
“I felt that many of the early collectibles simply required you to do the puzzle twice. I'm not sure if I missed a true ending because I skipped two or so tedious collectibles.”
“The grinding in this game is excessive and feels more like a chore than an enjoyable experience.”
“I found myself repeating the same tasks over and over, which made the gameplay feel monotonous and unengaging.”