Ever since I played Maquette a few years ago, I’ve gotten pretty excited about immersive puzzles. The idea of being thrown into a world and solving increasingly complex environmental problems from a first-person perspective engaged me from the start, which is undoubtedly why I’ve been so interested in checking out Balloon Studios’ delightful Botany Manor.
The game is about exploring a mansion located in the green hills of Somerset in the UK at the end of the 19th century. You take on the role of retired botanist Arabella Greene and, using your botanical talents, must figure out how to grow a selection of bizarre and exotic plants while learning more about the grand and sprawling manor you’ve inherited. It’s not a demanding or stressful game, quite the opposite in fact, and in many ways the core setup is even reminiscent of Call of the Sea and the way Out of the Blue structured that project, or even Sad Owl Studios more recently with Viewfinder .
As Botany Manor is an immersive simulation game, there is no guide or tutorial. You have to explore the places at your disposal in the manor, pick up clues and study them to find out how each individual plant develops from a seed to a seedling and on to an adult plant in full bloom. This process is fairly similar throughout the game, although the challenges and clues become increasingly complex. While you start by determining the temperature in which a flower blooms, towards the end of the game, for example, you must use the animal call at the correct rate per minute to ensure that a seed reacts and germinates.
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There is a very intuitive and interesting physical and practical system that Balloon Studios has developed with this game, where you manually pot seeds, interact with items and objects and so on, but as I mentioned a moment ago, it is also very familiar, as each puzzle follows the same trends. You unlock a new part of the manor, search the area for the seed packet, find all the respective clues around the area, figure out which clues apply to the seed in question, and then put the learning into practice to make the plant grow . There are never any detours from this well-trodden path, but that’s in many ways a good thing, because otherwise Botany Manor could be a headache to navigate.
I say this because some of the clues can be hard to find, and many of them require you to think outside the box to make them come true. You’re never pressed for time or pressured by the presence of a dangerous creature, so you can tackle these problems without stress, but there have been times in my playtime where I’ve gotten stuck or confused and had to spend 10 minutes on rewiring the brain to find the solution. Fortunately, the level design, artwork, soundtrack and effects, graphics, and overall audio-visual presentation of the game are so excellent and charming that it doesn’t matter if you get stuck and have to go back and forth. You want to be in this world similar to the wonderful period views of Downton Abbey or Bridgerton. This is not a packed gray city street, but a gleaming white manor house surrounded by rolling green hills, colorful flora and fauna, and at the height of the British summer when the sky is clear azure and the sun shines relentlessly.
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Despite Botany Manor having no dialogue, there is a good sense of narrative in this game as well. By picking up clues and exploring the manor, you get to know who Arabella and her family are. You don’t need a main story to immerse yourself in this world, because Balloon has done a fantastic job with the environmental narrative. Admittedly, this may partly be due to the fact that Botany Manor does not take too long. It’s a short game with limited replayability, leaving your focus and attention solely on exploration and puzzle solving. That’s a plus, and for those looking for a relaxing game to chew through in an evening or two, there’s a lot to appreciate. But if you’re looking for something more, you’ll likely be disappointed, as there aren’t even side objectives or tasks to spend your time on in addition.
It has to be said that there are some weird bugs plaguing this game at the moment. It’s everything from text overlays that don’t match or are completely wrong compared to what is written in some of the texts, liquids that are cut out of solid objects, clues that are stated to be in the wrong place compared to where they actually are, and so on further. It’s not something that breaks the game or causes major problems, but it can lead to some frustration or reduced immersion when you discover such things.
Botany Manor is an ideal Game Pass game. It’s simple, charming, vibrant and sweet. This is a puzzle game that strikes just the right balance between challenge and simplicity, and the first-person setup and stunning presentation provide an immersive experience in a world you want to explore. It doesn’t quite have the narrative depth of Call of the Sea, the ingenuity of Viewfinder, or the mechanical excellence of Maquette, but when you look at the total package, this is a fine addition to the collection when it comes to immersive simulation puzzles.
2024-04-08 14:01:22
#Botany #Manor #Review
