The short overview on Steam made this sound like a fairly chill game. Your classic coven-cult-cat-cacti arrangement, maybe with a few puzzles along the way. Chill Sunday game…
I was wrong.
Strange Horticulture came out in January 2022, developed by the UK’s very own Bad Viking Games. I could tell that the developers were British while playing it, with the detail put into the map of the Lake District (where the game is set), the language used by the characters, and the fact that it’s nearly always bloody raining.
You start in Undermere – which is 100% not Windermere at all – as the owner of Strange Horticulture, a shop specialising in weird plants. And by weird I mean ‘potentially lethal’, but who am I to judge? As the local horticulturalist, which I’m pretty sure is the fancy way of saying ‘florist’, you meet a wide cast of characters. These range from people getting flowers for their nan to cult leaders.
Yep. Cult leaders.
And it gets weirder.
Something strange is happening in Undermere and you, my horticulturalist friend, are going to help uncover it. How? The power of plants! Use your bizarre nursery to assist the local detective, the friendly neighbourhood coven, or the cult next door.
It sounds crazy like it should be some almost light-hearted dark comedy. But it isn’t. It’s a proper detective game! There was an air of mystery that held up very well throughout the game, aided by the backstory of the culprit being given in drips each night. It made a point to give very little away while making you feel something for the person you’re looking for. Still, not enough was revealed that I was bored.
You really do solve each part of the puzzle with flower power. But which one? That part was weirdly difficult at times. You’ll be given a description or use of the plant needed, and you can read through your encyclopedia (with pictures!) to evaluate the right one. But even then, some plants look very similar. Some have similar sounding applications. Picking the specific one you need? Tricky. And the game punishes you for being wrong.
And it’s creepy when it does that!
Sometimes, you need to make a choice. And I always wonder in games if my choices matter. And with eight possible endings, I think it’s safe to say that yeah – they do. And it’s not just different routes for the same conclusion – the choices you make actually matter.
The mechanics are relatively simple for the most part – this game is very much narrative driven. Though much of the game is the aforementioned plant-presenting, you can also solve puzzles given by your clients or clue cards received each night to find more plants or areas of importance.
Some of these I really struggled with. Now, that may be a comment on the complexity of the puzzles, or maybe I’m just not that bright. If it weren’t for the fact I was streaming the game and being helped by chat, I probably would have struggled a little bit.
Overall, I’m glad that I picked it up! It’s a much better game than I anticipated, and one I will likely recommend to those who like relaxed puzzle games with a twist.
Wisteria & Witches
If you’d like to try Strange Horticulture for yourself, you can so do on PC or Switch!
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