There is something ominous happening in the Undermere. With the suspicious death of the head of the nearby coven, everyone is on edge. While running a plant nursery is usually a quiet and peaceful life, some very interesting characters have been visiting the shop. With your intelligence, plant knowledge and connection from the people that visit, maybe it’s up to you to solve who did it. Developed by Bad Viking and published by Iceberg Interactive, Strange Horticulture is a thrilling puzzle game available on the Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox. Everything from the atmosphere, characters, art style, and riddles makes this a difficult game to put down once you start.
You are no ordinary horticulturist. Your shelves are a mix of ordinary plants and ones that hold a supernatural quality. Such as flowers that can unlock doors or leaves that can enhance psychic abilities once burned. Not all plants will be readily available at the start of the game as players will also need to set aside time and explore the map for new flora. Clues and riddles are given in the form of letters from customers, the mailman, and at the start of a new day. However, be cautious with where you go as not every location is safe and welcoming to strangers.
The plants are not automatically identified when they are collected. With the help of the customer’s description and your trusty plant guide, you will need to correctly match them by their smell, side effects and/or visual appearance. Careful not to get too many wrong matches as this affects your sanity level. Once you reach the breaking point, you will need to literally piece together the remnants of your shattered mind to try again. Once a plant has been identified you can use colored tags to name or add specific notes to them.
Much like your green collection, your clientele are just as varying. Other than the typical ornery old man or regular civilian, there are also witches, psychics, and even possible cult members. Regardless of if they are innocent or if they have hidden motives, you still have a job to do and matching them to their correct plant will be key in finding the truth. How many clues you find and what plants you decide to give will be what determines the ending you achieve.
Strange Horticulture is fascinating and positively addicting to keep playing once you begin. The clues are in varying degrees of difficulty, but if one becomes too hard, there is also a ‘Hint’ button to aid players along. There is no money to be earned or experience points to be gained in this game as the ultimate reward is knowledge. With its art style, music, sound design, and overall mood, this puzzle game is great for any player who love mystery, plants, and the thrill of venturing fourth into the unknown.
PROS: Great atmosphere and theme, gives you the ability to change font for easier reading, and addicting to play and solve the mystery. You can pet the cat in the shop.
CONS: Not the best game to play on the PS4 due to how slow the pointer moves with a PS4 controller and would be better played on the PC.
SCORES: 8.5/10
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Related: Reviews by Vivian Chen
Video games have always been a huge influence in my life and have definitely shaped me to who I am today . Some of my best memories growing up were the many adventures and stories I was able to experience and become immersed in. If my hands aren't either covered in clay, typing, editing, creating, or helping shoving food in my mouth, they would either be gripped to a controller, tapping away at the screen of my phone, or clicking away on my PC. I am always up for trying something new because why live just one life when you can live many.
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