GAME REVIEW: Botany Manor

Introduction

Botany Manor is a first-person adventure and puzzle game that has you searching for clues to help you grow plants.

Synopsis

Discover the historical manor and the gardens surrounding it in the English countryside in the year 1890 as you use clues to create plant life through various methods.

Analysis

Play as a botanist named Arabella Greene as you roam an English countryside manor and its surrounding gardens. Piece together her travels, career, and her life as your search for clues, within books, notes, pictures, and science. Unfold the story of the challenges of being a woman of science.  

The gameplay 

When botanist Arabella Greene returns to her impressive manor, she wants to grow plants and finish her botany book of rather unusual flora and fauna. Help her remember how to grow these unusual plants by locating clues from around the estate and piece together the proper procedure to procure the plants.  

Move about the grounds to read every note, consume every sight, and use peculiar methods to give life to the plants. The clues you obtain can be used to reveal more information on the plant you are trying to grow so make sure you apply the clues to the plants you are investigating to unveil these secrets. Once you do it is a bit simpler so just find the seed, grab a pot, add the dirt, plant the seed, and water the plant. Once you do these tasks the fun of how to get them to sprout is part of the magic of this game.

Some examples I can provide are as follows:

• Plant grows by selecting the correct apples to create a cider bath.
• Using wood to burn and create a smokey circumstance.
• Harnessing temperature, weight, pressure, sound, and light.

Every single plant has a unique circumstance that allows it to grow. You get to discover that method and figure out the puzzle behind it.

The farther you go in the game the more areas you can unlock with keys, codes, and solving puzzles. The layout is not overwhelming because of the bite size portions of the map you unlock each chapter and the exploration of these areas with assistance from the map. Take your time by sitting in the chairs all over the manor or try and speed run it, you decide.

Final Score:

Botany Manor: is impressive with how well in combines so many mediums in the game, such as photography, color wheels, music, science, cooking, etc. You take all of these and create a thought-provoking maze of wonder to explore, and you will have a proper gaming experience.  

Art – The art style is bright, colorful, inviting, and has good balance on basic and attention to detail where needed. It is a joy to walk around in this space.

Music – The themed music rises and falls at precise moments in the game that accompany what the player is doing. The ambient noises flesh out the areas to feel full and lived in. small details like looking out a window and seeing a sheep and hearing it bleat was a nice touch.

Puzzle – The puzzles that you come across as you get further into the game can feel overwhelming, but if you take it in small pieces and read and take in all that is happening you will prevail, much like every single puzzle you come across in this game. I was never bored nor struggling for long periods of time. Take your time and enjoy what is in front of you.

I didn’t know what to expect when playing this game and I was thoroughly impressed with the creative journey I got to partake in. This game had very little setbacks for me personally. Some time the frame rate or loading was a bit slow and sometimes I fumbled about on figuring out the puzzles, but over all a solid experience.

The game compresses so many mediums into this fun, cozy puzzler and makes me wish I had a manor and beautiful gardens to escape to. The serene and soothing land and soundscapes coupled with the creative puzzles really promotes relaxing vibes. An amazing addition to the cozy first-person puzzle genre.

Shane Kelley is a Senior writer for Boss Rush Network, as well as a writer for Another Zelda Podcast. His favorite game is The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. You can find him on Twitter to talk video games, Marvel, and axe throwing.

Sources: Taken by Author