TENDY: Robot Gardener
- May 16, 2022
- Too Much Tomato
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io StoreIn "TENDY: Robot Gardener," players nurture and grow a virtual garden using a customizable robot assistant. Complete various tasks to maintain the garden, such as watering, trimming, and planting seeds. Unlock new items and customization options as you progress, while learning about plant care and ecology in a fun and engaging way.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Charming art style and engaging sound design create a delightful atmosphere.
- The puzzle mechanics are unique and encourage strategic planning, making for satisfying gameplay.
- The game is accessible and enjoyable for casual players, with a gentle difficulty curve and a relaxing vibe.
- The randomization of actions can lead to frustration, as it sometimes feels more based on luck than skill.
- The game is relatively short, with only 15 levels, which may leave players wanting more content.
- Some players found the UI confusing and the locking mechanic could feel limiting, reducing the depth of the puzzles.
- gameplay30 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay features a unique puzzle mechanic reminiscent of programming games, where players give randomized instructions to complete tasks. While the gentle difficulty curve and charming aesthetic are praised, many reviewers feel the puzzles are too easy and the mechanics can be exploited, leading to a lack of challenge. Overall, the game is suitable for casual players but leaves some wishing for more complexity and depth.
“Interesting mechanic, nice and gentle difficulty curve that's nonetheless satisfying, lovely atmosphere and presentation.”
“While the mechanics may seem a little opaque at first, it unspools its challenges gradually and by a few stages into the first section, the actions you need to take will become clearer.”
“Really fun and weird aesthetic, a very nifty programming mechanic that is easy to understand but still has a wide possibility space.”
“It adds nothing to the gameplay, not even additional challenge as you can just keep resetting until you get the order you want.”
“I get the sense that this was not the gameplay the devs intended, but rather than pivot or rethink it they slapped on a few band-aids like the 'lock' mechanic.”
“The experience is certainly for casual puzzle enjoyers, as it never gets too hard, and the player can always abuse the mechanics to brute-force a level too hard for them.”
- graphics24 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are widely praised for their unique and charming aesthetic, reminiscent of claymation and 90s play-dough styles, which contribute to a lively and bizarre atmosphere. While the visuals are engaging and filled with idle animations, some players noted a lack of cohesion between the graphical design and controls, suggesting that improvements in text legibility could enhance the overall experience. Overall, the art style stands out as a highlight, making it a favorite among players.
“The art style is very cool and the game is bizarre in a charming way.”
“I really love the graphics in this game since they are so unique and charming.”
“The art style is very reminiscent of claymation, and the way everything has a sort of idle animation while standing still adds to this being my favorite game in the Cosmos 9 bundle, visuals-wise.”
“I get that it's an aesthetic, but some legible text would go a long way.”
“And there's no real cohesion between the graphical design or the controls, meaning the whole 'console' gimmick doesn't really hold up.”
“The aesthetic of this one was really strong with this deformed play-dough style of the 90s, but the puzzles were mostly too easy.”
- music10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is highly praised for its chill and enjoyable soundtrack, particularly the drum and bass original soundtrack that enhances the puzzle-solving experience. Reviewers highlight the combination of great music and art as a key reason to engage with the game, contributing to its overall charm.
“The chill drum and bass OST made sitting down and working through puzzles an extremely pleasurable experience.”
“Check it out for the art and music alone!”
“It's a charming game with neat music.”
- story6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game's story unfolds gradually after each level, providing both narrative and gameplay insights, which enhances the experience. It combines elements of sokobond and card-based randomness, all presented in a charming visual style that complements its hopeful and deeply human narrative. While the puzzle mechanics are somewhat limited by a nine-move constraint, the story remains engaging and intriguing throughout.
“It's a bit of sokobond, a bit of card-based randomness, wrapped in a visual style and score that ooze charm and wonderfully support its hopeful and deeply human story.”
“Puzzle space is forced to be pretty narrow due to the 9 move limit, but the game gets decent mileage out of its concept and there's an element of story that's intriguing to boot.”
“After each level you complete, you receive some exposition that explains both the story and how to play.”
“After each level you complete, you receive additional exposition that explains both the story and how to play.”
“It's a bit of Sokobond, a bit of card-based randomness, wrapped in a visual style and score that ooze charm and wonderfully support its hopeful and deeply human story.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and often unmotivating, as it requires extensive analysis of random outcomes to achieve guaranteed success in puzzles. While some games in the pack are deemed worth playing, many are criticized for being underdeveloped or overly repetitive, leading to a general recommendation to avoid the bundle.
“I suppose you could spend extra time trying to find the lock configuration that guarantees victory 100% regardless of randomization, which apparently exists for every puzzle according to the game, but I was rarely motivated to do so because it often felt like that would involve tediously analyzing various random outcomes.”
“If you do have to get any games in this pack, Triga is probably worth full price, Linelith and Ifo are pretty cool albeit a bit underdeveloped and probably worth it on sale, and maybe Tendy and Frequency Dissonance are worth it on sale but those are hard to recommend otherwise, and the other four are either too tedious or too underdeveloped to be even worth your time, so I'd give the bundle as a whole a pass.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is consistently praised for its friendly and relaxing qualities, complemented by lovely presentation and an engaging mechanic. Reviewers appreciate the gentle difficulty curve that enhances the overall experience without causing frustration.
“Interesting mechanic, nice and gentle difficulty curve that's nonetheless satisfying, lovely atmosphere and presentation.”
“A nice puzzle game with a friendly and relaxing atmosphere.”
