Strange Horticulture

Strange Horticulture is an excellently entertaining romp, featuring great puzzles, an intriguing mystery and gorgeously ambient sound effects.

There’s something so very enthralling about Strange Horticulture; the way it lets you take the lead and figure out everything by yourself will really appeal to those with an analytical mind. The story could perhaps be a little more engaging, but it serves its purpose. Ultimately, it’s going to be Strange Horticulture‘s puzzles, its delicate but eerie presentation, and its satisfying and calming gameplay that will keep you hooked. Something very special awaits for those curious enough to enter Strange Horticulture.

Strange Horticulture is part ideal life sim and part puzzle adventure, where running an arcane plant shop is quiet, meticulous, delightful, dark, and beguiling.

Become more than a plant shop owner. Become a plant shop detective.

Strange Horticulture’s biggest struggle is shoehorning itself into the Switch’s little screen and thumbstick controls. It does that well enough to preserve its wonder, but if you have a PC to play it on, that might be preferable. It comes from a very simple place: a one-screen playfield with basic, heavily scripted interactions. But that is the perfect backdrop to throw the player’s new discoveries into sharp relief and bring an eerie world and gripping mystery to life. This irresistible immersion stems eventually from a quiet and unassuming start, so stick with it – it’ll grow on you.

Take your green thumb to a whole new level in Strange Horticulture. Find and catalog new plants, and use your ever growing collection to unravel Undermere’s dark mystery. But don’t forget to tend to your customers, however peculiar they may be. Will you be able to identify all 77 plants?

Besides the fantastically written main storyline and characters, the simple joy of organising your plants is honestly addictive. I could happily spend days leafing through my growing book of plants, identifying and labelling my colourful array of flowers and mushrooms, and petting your cat, Hellebore (the real star of the show). The animations for moving things around on your desk and shelves are beautifully satisfying, even down to how the map unfolds. It’s a truly wonderful game, relaxing in a beautifully dark way and is easily one of the best detective games I’ve played in a long time.

Many people look to video games as a way to blow off some steam or unwind through a casual, cathartic experience. This is one of the reasons why games like Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, and Spiritfarer are so popular. Strange Horticulture from Bad Viking is an occult puzzle game that offers players a laid-back experience of identifying various plants for your customers. However, underneath this seemingly simple premise lies a dark mystery awaiting to be uncovered. As intriguing as this see...