Here ’s our review for the cozy teaser exploration game Botany Manor .
I went into Botany Manor thinking I was getting a simple flower - grow intimate game . I impart it wanting even more of its ingenious cue - analyse puzzles and not expect a thoughtful tale to be behind it . It ’s the utter length for a puzzle game , just as it has the perfect amount of difficult yet intelligent puzzles to overcome that always result me feel smart for estimate them out .
With each chapter that went on , I got to fancy out how to grow more flowers , as well as unlock more infinite within and around the manor . The manor was n’t just a lieu built to house these puzzles , it had an challenging narrative behind it of a woman who kept studying the fine art of botany , despite all the rigourousness that amount with it .
Clue-finding and problem-solving
Botany Manor did a great job of making the clue - determination and problem - solving both comforting and pleasurable . You first start in a small greenhouse that cave in you just a couple of clues to go off of for your first flower . You ’ll soon unlock more and more domain of the manor that domiciliate even more clues for your enquiry . While discovering each clew was n’t exactly the hard part , it would soon become toughened as you had to adjudicate which clues aligned with which flowers .
The clues led me to figure out how to decent acquire each flower and in what condition . As soon as I figured it out , the flower would grow from a belittled seedling to a beautiful plant . While at first , I thought I had this in the bag , I was quite amiss as the puzzles go on and I began to hit some roadblocks . But I did n’t finger lose with each roadblock . When the cue are easier to find than they are to decipher and group together , that ’s when Botany Manor really shines .
In recent puzzle , I hit some arduous roadblock that had me stump for minute , even an minute at one point . I had all the clue and yet I had no estimation what I was doing wrong . Then I would collide with a lightbulb mo after rereading the clue over and over again , getting a kick of turmoil after visit that my thought process paid off , leading me to finally make that efflorescence grow or compute out how to open up a locked entrance .
Screenshot: PC Invasion
I could ’ve easily gone for a XII more of these puzzles and would n’t have gotten trite of them , peculiarly with the environment I was exploring and the clues I was picking up . Each flower is its own unique test , and I soundly bask the small side seeking the mystery of each flower presents . One mystifier had me mix specific apples to get a sealed amount of one element , another had me look at types of moths and what time of class they show up . It ’s definitely one of the most synergistic and tactile teaser games I ’ve played , with some of the most head - scratching and clever mysteries , too .
A living, breathing manor
There are over a XII chairs and benches you could pose on around and inside the manor , permit you the luck to just sit down and look up to the beauty of this game . It ’s not photorealistic , and it does n’t have to be . Its colors are vivid and there ’s not a single country you could expect at that is n’t picturesque . I also love the smooth - textured and picture - book prowess dash . In one area you’re able to hear birds chirping , and in another is just the unruffled crepitation of a fireplace .
You ’re altogether alone in this empty manor , and yet it still feel so alive . The detail in the design all trickle down to swear on rich environmental storytelling . You easy get bits and opus of Arabella Greene ’s life in 1890 and when she was younger as she ’s attempting to complete “ Forgotten Flora , ” a botanic enquiry book to learn readers the secrets to growing mysterious and unresearched plant .
Despite there being no people to interact with , the manor still feels alive , with something to look up to around every turning point . While there are many objects to break up up that act as clues , many others are just to admire . I get the feeling that this game did n’t desire to make me feel like I had to speed through it . I could sit down on a chair and take my sentence thinking through the clue as I look up to the beautiful scenery around me .
Screenshot: PC Invasion
A thoughtful story
you’re able to start to put together the story by reading lost letters and take care at old photo , but it ’s also easy readable in other ways . It ’s through the bare paintings scatter across the manor house or the hidden doorways to places think to be unreached . But most significantly I could feel Arabella Greene ’s battle to get her knowledge out in the world due to being a woman in the 19th century , in a field dominated by men .
You ’ll find letters from manlike professionals in the botanic field of view refuse to talk with Arabella because they do n’t think her intelligence information is at par with theirs . There are paper clippings of prof complaining about woman trying to consider vegetation and play down their interests as just a hobby . But there ’s also hope , it ’s not all dissatisfactory .
There are letter of multitude praising Arabella for her incredible findings and from expert who did spend time with Arabella who detect her enquiry to be insightful . By the last of the game , I sense very quenched with where the floor left off . The overall narration was simple enough to be a background for the main teaser , yet it was detailed enough to be considered a plot with a compelling narrative .
Screenshot: PC Invasion
Minor mishaps
It ’s passably difficult to figure out thing that I did n’t relish from Botany Manor . While it looked gorgeous on my PC , I mostly played it on my Steam Deck and it incline perfectly . Only occasionally did I happen some ignition errors ( standing in certain pip made my guide darken or lighten ) or a clipping bug where water in a tub could be visualise beneath the bath .
Despite this cause near to no graphical errors , I strangely was unable to upload my save file to the Steam Cloud . This meant that I was forced to only carry on my playthrough on my Steam Deck , and no matter how intemperately I tried to fix the issue ( despite Steam Cloud saying everything was a - okay ) my save would not enter the Cloud . I have no theme if this is a Steam error or an error with Botany Manor , but I thought I should mention it anyway .
Although there were a few puzzles that had me stamp , one had me re - reading clues for nearly an 60 minutes till I figured it out . I eventually understand it was n’t at the fault of the game . sure as shooting , there ’s no handholding when it come to these puzzles , but I think it made for a better experience overall since it made compute out the solvent to the puzzle more solid .
Screenshot: PC Invasion
A cozy and clever experience
All in all , Botany Manor was a delightful and immersive exploration and puzzle game that left me want more , despite knowing that my six - hour experience was enough to satiate me . I entered this biz underestimating what I was about to toy , so I exit it even more overjoyed at the satisfy puzzles and thoughtful narration . I truly believe this could be the best teaser biz of 2024 , and it ’s a must - play for anyone who enjoys cozy , geographic expedition puzzler game .
Screenshot: PC Invasion
