
Botany Manor
Release Date: April 9, 2024
Adventure, FPP, puzzle elements, domesticated, 19th century, exploration games, Game Pass, singleplayer
OpenCritic
Steam
A relaxing exploration game with riddles and other puzzle game elements. Botany Manor is set in 19th century England and tells the story of a retired botanist, Arabella Greene, who is trying to develop the best methods of growing rare plants.
Botany Manor is a relaxing game focused on the exploration and cultivation of rare plants in an estate modeled after those of 19th-century England. It is the debut project of the small Balloon Studios, founded by Laure De Mey.
Plot
The story in the game does not play an important role, providing only a background for the gameplay. We play as a retired botanist, Arabella Greene, who decides to continue her passion for plants. Visiting the estate she owns, we learn about the history of her scientific career and the impact of her past achievements on how she spends her time today.
Game mechanics
The title's gameplay focuses on exploration. Exploring the corners of the estate and garden, we look for clues that allow us to keep unusual plants in good conditions. The entire mechanics is maintained in the form of puzzles made up of several stages. In order to plant them, we must first find the right seeds, place them in the corresponding bed, and then water them in the right amounts and at the right intervals. Many of these plants like to fuss, so to ensure their comfortable conditions, you need to skillfully use all the clues scattered around the property. They were drawn up like scientific newspaper clippings, notes from Arabella's career, postcards, letters or posters. Analyzing the information contained in them, we draw conclusions about the appropriate treatment of a particular plant species. The game will not stop us from making a wrong decision, so we should be careful with every move.
We will come to visit the estate, the garden around it, the greenhouse and other facilities offering other opportunities for the development of our plants. The game focuses on relaxation, so nothing prevents us from occasionally stopping by the fruits of our labor and gloating over them, listening to the peaceful sounds of nature. We can also collect some of them and then study their properties in a workshop prepared for this purpose. Due to the rarity of many species, the experiments carried out on them can result in many important discoveries.
Technical aspects
The game is made in a colorful low poly style, reflecting the peaceful atmosphere of the British countryside.
Videos and Screens
[1:03] Botany Manor - PlayStation Launch Trailer
[0:40] Botany Manor - PlayStation Release Date Trailer
Checkpoint Gaming: 8 / 10 by Bree Maybe
Exploring Botany Manor is a great experience as everything feels beautifully interconnected and the puzzles are fun and engaging to tackle the whole way through. It makes up for its lack of difficulty with charm in spades and an interesting personal story happening behind the scenes if you know where to look. Putting together the Herbarium is a lot of fun, allowing you to grow some plants you'll never be able to kill.
IGN: 8 / 10 by Saniya Ahmed
Clever clues entwine with Botany Manor’s charming old English setting to make for a lighthearted first-person puzzler worth tending to.
Shacknews: 9 / 10 by Larryn Bell
Despite its brevity, Botany Manor is a wholesome puzzle game that turns academic research into an engaging endeavor. The central theme focuses on finding the conditions to allow a living entity to flourish, a concept that is elegantly reflected in both Arabella’s personal journey as well as in gameplay. The game thematically underscores the overall interconnectedness of nature and highlights the influence that one's environment can have on well-being. Botany Manor left me yearning for more botanical discoveries and I can only hope that the developers sow the seeds of a sequel someday.
Botany Manor Summary
Platforms:
PC / Windows April 9, 2024
PlayStation 5 January 28, 2025
Xbox Series X/S April 9, 2024
Switch April 9, 2024
PlayStation 4 January 28, 2025
Xbox One April 9, 2024
Developer: Balloon Studios
Publisher: Whitethorn Digital
Age restrictions: none
Botany Manor System Requirements
PC / Windows
Minimum: Intel Core i5-2500 3.3 GHz / AMD FX-6350 3.9 GHz, 4 GB RAM, graphic card Intel HD 4600 / Radeon RX Vega 8 or better, 5 GB HDD, Windows 10 64-bit