If you like cozy games with a hint of puzzle in there too, then this game should definitely be on your list.
Urban Jungle is an adorable game, where you place plants in their optimal positions around different environments. This game isn’t all just gameplay though, there’s a wholesome storyline woven throughout each level that features themes like family, purpose, and navigating the challenges of work life balance.
In this article, we’ll be talking about the main features of the game (spoiler free) and whether or not we think it’s worth your time!
The story kicks off with you as a child, learning some important life lessons from your Grandma. Your grandma is a plant lover, and has instilled that same love into you and recruits you to help her decorate her cottage with plant life.
From there you’ll follow the main character as she grows up, with different levels spread over her childhood right through to her adult life. You’ll follow her journey as she navigates school, university, corporate life, finding love, and pursuing her true passion, all told through some short and sweet dialogue scenes.
The story for Urban Jungle is definitely one a lot of people will relate too. Having your parents on your back about studying and finding a ‘good’ job, and the sacrifices many of us make, giving up our passions in pursuit of money or status, is a familiar one, and the game tells the story beautifully.
There’s a depth to the dialogue that navigates family relationships, what’s really important in life, and eventually how everything works out, providing players with a really wholesome and uplifting experience.
The story is definitely impactful, but it’s actually pretty light on in the gameplay, as most of your time will be spent placing objects and plants around different environments.
The gameplay has a lot of similarities to games like Unpacking, or My Dream Set Up, providing you with a relatively sandbox experience to place objects and plants at your leisure. You’ll find a set of tasks available to complete for each level, but there’s no obligation to tick them all off. These can range from patting the cat, to finding all the presents to go under a Christmas tree, to planting a certain number of saplings, and each will reward you with coins that you can spend on plants.
Each level is set in a different environment that has an element of setting up in it, so most feature moving boxes full of various items for you to unpack. There’s definitely some similar themes to Unpacking in this one, with some items following you from your childhood, into your later homes, but there’s a big variety of different items to place, so it doesn’t feel like it’s a copycat.
In addition to the item placement you also have the main feature of the game: the plants. In each level you’ll be able to choose from a randomly generated selection of cards that each correspond to a particular plant. You can reroll the cards, if you’re looking for particular types of plants, but typically there’s a decent spread to choose from.
There are a bunch of different plant type or species available to choose from, and each plant has it’s own preferences and needs. Your plants have three main areas to satisfy: light, humidity, and the other types of plants it likes or dislikes being around. Each of those needs can be met in different ways, and the more of the needs you meet, the higher the points you score for the placement.
To win each level you need to generate a certain number of points, so ensuring your plants have every need met and plenty of likeable plant buddies, is crucial to completing each level. Your plants will get light from natural sources like windows, or, if outdoors, the sun, as well as artificial lighting like lamps and greenhouses. For humidity, you’ll need to make use of provided humidifiers, and plants can also find humidity from water sources close in proximity, like watering cans. Plants also have a rarity level, with those rarer plants having slightly different preferences, and the potential to score you more points too.
In terms of design and aesthetic, Urban Jungle nails the cozy vibe in every single way. The graphic style is adorable, and gives a soft cartoon vibe that still adds a level of realism to the game, but in a way that feels cozy. There are some darker themed levels in the game, that feature items and furniture with a sharper style, but even these feel cozy, and really bring the story into the gameplay too. The soundtrack matches perfectly, giving you a great soundscape to place plants too, and the combination really creates a game that feels wholesome and has a nice tactile feel to it.
I don’t have many gripes with the game, but I did find it was a little annoying that you couldn’t move items between the different floors in the multi-story levels. It would’ve been great to be able to put certain things in different areas, but this ultimately wasn’t a huge deal breaking element.
I did find that often it felt like you were placing a million different plants into a level to get the required points, and wonder if a bit of tweaking in the balancing would allow for a more aesthetic experience. That being said, putting more time and dedication into plant placement and ensuring the plants needs are all being met could have optimized that a bit more.
Overall, I really enjoyed my time playing through the wholesome story of Urban Jungle. It’s a short but sweet game, coming in at around 2 hours playtime, but I definitely played with a story driven focus, and you could easily spend hours decorating and changing things around in each level. This is a game that is perfect for all ages, and is a game that truly encapsulates the cozy feeling, providing a relaxing and stress-free game, that feels like it’s had a lot of heart and soul put into it.
This is a game that is definitely worth your time, particularly if you love a nice cozy game!
Urban Jungle is out now on Steam, and you can take advantage of it’s launch offer until April 5th to get 10% off.
Until next time, stay caffeinated!
