Despite the fact that the main character is fed up with the rat race and the COVID-19 pandemic, Garden Simulator is a game that does what it says on the tin. For the past few months, the main character has been working from home and is struggling with deteriorating mental health. As they revive their family’s old homestead, you’re immediately thrown into gardening.
At first, the garden is small, but you can expand it to cover the whole house. While some items are available from the in-game catalogue right away, others must be unlocked. The criteria for unlocking each item, both decorative and functional, are in the catalogue, which takes the guesswork out of things, but it’s usually to grow X amount of a certain crop or something similar.
While tasks are sent to your mailbox at home, they aren’t particularly challenging and can be quite mundane. You are rewarded with experience points and garden coins for completing them. It is possible to improve gardening life by leveling up. This includes improving watering efficiency, harvesting funds, etc.
You can plant in the ground, raised beds, and pots; veggies go here, flowers go there. It feels quite realistic, but the controls seem to have a hard time allowing you to put things down with any accuracy, which really spoils your whole vision.
Despite the small plot of the game, we spent hours enjoying it, which is exactly what the small plot of the game is supposed to do. While it’s nice to potter around your small garden admiring your crops, it does get tiresome after a while. Tasks tend to be repeated in some form or another and there is no variation in season or weather. It could have been so much more if I had added garden pests and this.
Pros:
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Totally relaxing.
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Engaging gameplay.
Cons:
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In-game repetition.
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Seasons and weather are constant.
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Precision is lacking.
This game gets a 6 out of 10.