Welcome to our review of Garden Life: A Cozy Simulator, a game that takes gardening to the next level.
You are in charge of an abandoned community garden and decide to roll up your sleeves to restore it to its former glory. Complete tasks given to you by your neighbors to earn rewards, unlock new tools, seeds, ornaments, and areas of the garden, and learn more about what lies behind this secluded spot.
Instantly unlock every corner of your garden, including all the seeds and ornaments, and give free rein to your creativity: in this restriction-free mode, you can bring your dream designs to life! Procedural growth simulation developed specifically for the game ensures each plant grows in its own way! Each and every plant grows procedurally, and some even adapt to their environment by climbing if planted close to certain objects.
In Garden Life, you are not restricted by a grid: place plants and objects freely to create your designs! Head to the village square to sell flowers and bouquets at your stall and use the earnings to buy new seeds, ornaments and tools in the shop. You can also donates flowers to help create huge floral sculptures in the pavilion and win adorable prizes!
When I think about games like Garden Life, I always think about the games out there on smartphones. Very rarely a game breaks out of that impression I always have and with maybe the exception of the GOAT of this genre, Animal Crossing, this game sets out to be more of a niche game, which is actually its main appeal.
From basic gardening to advanced maintenance, you could say this all comes to mind when playing the game, stuff like composting and planting, all part of this extensive game. Despite the slower pace, Garden Life does do a great job at keeping you entertained for the most part. Yes, gardening is a chore for most and the second you may see this game as such, could be the end of your enjoyment. See how I said enjoyment and not fun, because I am one of those people that genuinely dislike chores.
Garden Life is possibly its biggest enemy though as you need to sit down for this version and play it on the PlayStation. I would rather see myself playing this on the toilet or the subway, namely on a mobile device, preferably even my smartphone. As always, games like this are a tough nut to do right in my personal opinion and I do feel the effort is all there.
When we talk non-portable games, the most important part is without a doubt its “playability” and in cases like these, the menus honestly break or make a game. Well, absolutely no complaints there, I would even say Garden Life could be used as the template for that. Sure, it is a bit of a hot mess at first, due to the variety of things to do, but if you don’t play a hundred different games at once, it should not bother you much.
In conclusion, Garden Life is what it is, a cozy simulator that allows you to sit back and do some “lovely” chores on your TV.
