Botany Manor - Review

When Botany Manor was announced, my first thought was that it was looking a lot like The Witness, a first person puzzle game, now that I have played the game, I can see why I thought that. However unlike the Witness, Botany Manor offers up a more meditative experience with some puzzles to help keep you engaged.

The story that you get to discover in Botany Manor is presented through letters, books and other bits and bobs that you find around the place. Your character is Arabella Greene, who has spent their life discovering all things to do with plants and exploring the world. Now that they have returned home again, they have decided to write a book about the unique plants they have found. The big catch is that the game is set during the 1890’s and men of that time and for far too long afterwards were dismissive of women doing anything scientific, so she has no support from anyone in that world. As you explore the manor grounds you will start to discover that while she may not have the backing of those in the field, she has friends, family and those who work on the grounds supporting her. I won’t talk about how the game ends, but I will say just make sure you read all you can.

As far as the gameplay is concerned, things are fairly simple from a controlling point of view, you move around the world and interact with things and that is really it. You can sprint and focus your view, aka zoom in, but there is no jumping, climbing or anything other than just moving around. This could seem like a detriment to the experience, but as the puzzles are so quiet and calming, the moving around does fit what else is going on. You are not just going to explore and plant, you also need to compile your book, with the process being the same for each plant you add. Upon finding the seed for a listing, you will then explore the manor to discover clues about it, what type of soil it likes, the temperature it needs to grow in, does it like water or not. The clues are then added to the pages in the book, some plants only need 3 clue, but there are some that need 7 and you need to determine which clue goes where. A successful plant, pun intended, of all the right clues on a page will have them become locked in, so its easy to see when you have gotten them right.

As for planting itself, there is not a lot of variety in that action, you grab a pot, fill it with soil, pick your seed of choice and water it, then fulfil the conditions needed. There is one plant that requires a little more work before you plant the seed, but only the one. The real trick comes to the growing of the plant, as each has a condition to meet. One such plant requires you to measure the sugar levels required to help it grow, as it does not contain the Chlorophyll required to allow for photosynthesis. You then need to make up a liquid that contains the right amount of sugar for your pot, based off the notes that Arabella has listed previously. This is the only time that I got really stuck on a puzzle, as I had it in my head to do it one way, but after a break and coming back I realised my error and was quickly back on the way again.

Perhaps the only real downside to the game is that it is quite short, it only took me a few hours to complete it, which isn’t to say shorter is bad, just that by the time the plants started to get interesting in their methods of growing, the game wraps up.

As for the games visual design, there is a lot to enjoy, as the game features a detailed minimalist look. By that I mean there is detail in every room, but nothing jumps out as being super important, only the dot over an item tells you something is interactive. Because of this, you can pretty much stand still in any location, be it the library, formal garden, orchard and even the gatehouse and get a view that would be at home in any gallery. The games watercolour visuals also help welcome you in, with there never being anything to dark or bright, keeping things easy to see. There are some downsides, some of the text in the game is low quality and while the game does have a text overlay option, it feels like they should have made the text more legible as well. The other visual issue is that the game suffers from a lot of loading issues with minor assets, like vines and grass. I never noticed anything inside the manor, but on the grounds outside, it was always displaying flickering elements and it was quite distracting. As far as the sounds go, the game sports a nice calming soundscape, with running water, trees blowing in the breeze and so on. There is no spoken dialogue, even Banjo speak, so the game really lets you just sink into the world.

Botany Manor might not have been a game on your radar, but it totally needs to be. The game is not long, you could easily get it done within an afternoon, but what you will find inside its gates is a game that is teaming with charm. The puzzles around how to grow the plants are really well done, some of them are really simple, but then some are fiendishly challenging, but the satisfaction is just as high. With a charming visual presentation and audio that enhances the experience, it feels like it could go on for a few more hours and you would never tire of it. Should you be looking to escape to the country and the chance to embrace your green thumb, them Botany Manor is a destination you should totally visit.

The Score

8.5

Review code provided by Whitethorn Games

The Pros

Smart puzzles that grow with your playtime, ensuring the challenge isn’t too much right away

Visually, it is a beautiful game, with a watercolour inspired look across the experience

The Cons

The runtime is quite short, which feels like it goes against the fun of a calming game

There are some visual issues that do pop up, which don’t look great