SteamNo numbers here!
I don’t review using a system, or out of five stars. See my thoughts on numerical ratings, if you’re wondering why.
Premise
You’re a horticulturist managing a plant shop. Customers go in and you have to satisfy requests of varying specificity—sometimes they know what plant they’re looking for, sometimes you’ll have to choose what plant to get them, and sometimes you have to figure out what they need.
Spoiling the game won’t benefit this review, but I’ll mention that there is an overarching story. The story keeps you asking for more, and the content’s breadth keeps it from being monotonous.
This game is similar to Papers, Please, though putting that next to Strange Horticulture does make look Papers, Please quite dated. If you liked Papers, Please, then you’ll love Strange Horticulture.
Steam Deck playability
Game runs perfectly without issue on the Steam Deck. One important thing to note is that there’s no touchpad functionality. You’ll have to configure that yourself, but it has native generic gamepad compatibility.
In retrospect, writing this review: THERE IS AN AUTO-LABEL FEATURE in the settings but the game does not tell you about it—or it never told me about it when I was using the Deck. I only recently found out when I was writing the review for the sequel and had to check if I got my facts right.
I personally find the cursor moving and the labelling sluggish. Though if you’re playing with peripherals, this is a non-issue. The sequel improves upon this by a lot.
Content after this warning contains minor spoilers.
For those who don’t mind, I’ll talk about stuff that (1) occur very early on in the game and (2) what I deem to be insignificant to the experience as a whole. If enjoying content completely for the first time (i.e. a blind run) is important for you, I advise you to exercise caution.
Mechanics
The game’s core loop is getting a request for a plant, and you identifying that plant and fulfilling said request.
- You will have to rely on incomplete information, such as vague descriptions, slightly helpful illustrations, colloquial and Latin names for plants. You’re consulting an in-game plant encyclopedia for this.
- You get new plants, or new book entries, nearly each time you fulfill requests.
- There are other, more complex mechanics I won’t spoil, but the “identifying plants” part gets harder with increasingly vague descriptions and additional identification mechanics.
Feedback mechanic
If you get plants right, the game rewards you with… more game. If you get plants wrong, a meter fills up, which presumably gives a major setback, or goosebumps down your spine. I’ve never filled up that bar yet, so I’ll leave it as an exercise for the reader on what that does.
Game length and value
I got an ending after 4.7 hours. This is my first mystery game in a long while, so I played clicking on the Hints button too, sadly. I deduce quite fast (since I do it professionally, as well) so this playtime may be on the faster end.
I’d say the length is just right. Unlike the usual city-builders and strategy games I play, where length (and quality) of playtime is typically seen as a good thing, dragging out mystery games like these isn’t my cup of tea—unless you have distinct sections and a way to keep things fresh.
I bought the game at a discount (~150 Php), and I’d give more money if I can.
Content and replayability
There is post-game content, and there are multiple endings. If you love the gameplay loop, there’s probably an extra few more hours for you. The content is not randomized so you’ll definitely recognize the plants on your succeeding playthroughs beyond the first.
Pros and cons
The positives
- You could tell the game is made with love. Each plant is meticulously designed and no two plants are identical. There’s no lazy palette swapping involved. The plants are unique enough for you to tell them apart—yet similar enough to induce some confusion when necessary.
- The atmosphere is just straight immersive. The music is calming and doesn’t intrude on your thoughts. Sometimes, it also rains in-game, adding to the ambience. I was also skeptical at first looking at the graphics but it shouldn’t be understated.
- It does not get boring. The breadth of content is wide enough to fend away dullness, but small enough to combat repetition. There are also callbacks to plants you’ve previously identified, so studying the plants consciously as you go is greatly rewarded.
- There’s enough QoL to keep you going. You can label plants, reorder them (I ordered them alphabetically for easier access) as you see fit. Random notes and letters you’ve already gone through can also be archived to reduce clutter.
- Choices matter. There are multiple, well-thought out endings to the game. Makes it feel you own the story as much as you own your plant shop.
- I believe this game is playable for the colorblind. The “closer inspection tool” gives you a plant’s color explicitly in text which makes me believe so.
- An in-game hint button. The hints can be incremental (e.g. two hints, with increasing amounts of information being given away), but not wholly destructive in the sleuthing experience. Very helpful if you get stumped / don’t know what to do.1
The negatives
- It’s a bit cumbersome on the Deck but still playable. I’d imagine it’d be hell on a gamepad since you have to type for labels. The sequel improves upon this.
- There are some misspellings here and there, but nothing that would significantly damage your experience. Even Kingdom Come: Deliverance has these.
Conclusion
As a whole, it’s a must-play for me! I particularly recommend it to the following:
- Fans of Papers, Please and similar games. You can see the inspiration, but is different in every way. The similarity ends in the “detailed inspection” part. If you wished for a more varied game, and botanical-themed, then this will scratch your itch.
- People who seek mystery in games but don’t like gore + jumpscares. Which also includes myself. Sometimes it gets creepy, but not gore-y in any way.
- People who’d like to try out a mystery game for the first time. I believe the game is very beginner-friendly.
However, I can’t recommend it to:
- People seeking a straight horror / gore experience. This game is just not it.
- Gamers seeking a lengthy, twenty goose chases-long game. The game is very concise and can be done in a day or two by someone with experience.
- People thinking this plays like Stardew / Harvest Moon. This isn’t a farming game, even if there’s a water can.
Go get the game! I bought the game at a discount on Steam during the Halloween sale, and I felt bad—so I also got Strange Antiquities at full price, the sequel, and you can read its whole review here.
Footnotes
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Though I recommend that if you do get stumped, just stop playing and come back to it another time. ↩