Welcome to this in-depth review of “Botany Manor,” a game that is probably the coziest you’ll ever play. In it, you step into the shoes of a retired botanist on a journey to prove herself to the greater botany community by publishing her own book full of research about different plants. It’s your job to gather all the research and put it to the test by making each plant successfully bloom.
Story
The storyline of Botany Manor is beautifully set in the stunning manor and its grounds. You play as Arabella, a retired botanist completing her book on plants. Interestingly, there is no narration or character interaction at all. The story is simply told through letters, books, and notes found around the manor. The story is simple and quaint, but it explores some interesting issues that were prevalent in the time period. Overall, the story is cleverly woven into the gameplay, and it adds a drive to completing the book, whilst still being unimposing on the gameplay. For its story and world building, Botany Manor earns a rating of Juiced.
Gameplay
The game play takes on a simple, explorative nature and doesn’t feel rushed or urgent. To complete your book on plants, you need to identify each plant and its ideal growing conditions. You’ll need to search for clues about each plant and put them together to figure out how to get each plant to bloom. The puzzles range from simple to a bit more complex, and they get progressively more difficult throughout the game, but they are very achievable to solve. At times they can feel tedious, and there is a certain amount of backtracking, largely due to having to recheck clues each time to get the information you need. For its game mechanics, Botany Manor also earns a rating of Juiced.
Performance
In terms of performance, the controls feel smooth and easy to use. The game has some really great accessibility features like the text on screen. No bugs were encountered during gameplay, and load times were pretty reasonable. The game runs without load lag, earning Botany Manor a rating of Fully Caffeinated for performance.
Design
The design of the manor is beautiful, and all of the plants are stunning. The notebook you use has a really cute hand-drawn aesthetic. The soundscape is done really beautifully, complementing the graphic style and really setting the whole vibe for the game. Sound effects were useful for determining if you’ve found a clue or got a step right in the plant growing process. Overall, the graphics and sound work together to create an environment that feels peaceful, with a side of whimsical, creating a really cozy and relaxing game. For its graphic and sound design, Botany Manor earns a rating of Fully Caffeinated.
Originality
Botany Manor feels like a breath of fresh air, quite literally. The game doesn’t necessarily bring anything revolutionary to the table in terms of mechanics, but it delivers a game that combines familiar mechanics in a different way. You could definitely compare the game to other immersive sims like Supermarket Simulator or House Flipper in terms of how it feels to navigate the world, but the puzzle side feels more like a narrative detective game rather than typical puzzles. Overall, Botany Manor carves out its own space in the puzzle and immersive sim genres, earning it a Juiced rating for originality.
The Final Brew
The final verdict? Botany Manor is a solid deductive reasoning game with an immersive sim feel that is probably one of the most laid-back and relaxing games I’ve ever played. It’s short but sweet, coming in at 2-3 hours play time, but the story is heartwarming and the manor is absolutely stunning. This is definitely a world that you can get lost in, in the same way you might get lost in a good book. After carefully weighing and pressing the grinds and brewing this game down, Botany Manor is Juiced.
Botany Manor is available now on Steam, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox, including Xbox Game Pass.
For more information, check out the website here: https://www.botanymanor.com/
Until next time, stay caffeinated!
