• Log In | Sign Up

  • News
  • Reviews
  • Top Games
  • Search
  • New Releases
  • Daily Deals
  • Forums

Review of Botanicula by Stefan

Stars - 35

Rating by Stefan posted on Sep 3, 2012 | edit | delete


Solid game, but lacks story


There is no story whatsoever (there is the “save the planet” theme, but no dialogs or interaction). This is essentially a puzzle game.

The puzzles are diverse but a bit too easy. The most memorable one was the bug race, but that was spoiled by the need to do some tricky actions afterwards to get the final result.

Some puzzles require ONLY trail-and-error and these were annoying, i.e. selecting the right rope in a maze of entrances and exits - you figure the right combination only to be taken back to the start after making a “mistake” in the second part of the puzzle. Others required at least some thought, so they were enjoyable in the end, i.e. jumping on “mushrooms”.

The visuals are done great, but the art style is a matter of taste - it works great for the game’s botanic/eco theme. My jaw didn’t drop to the floor, though I must say I enjoyed it a bit. The game features tons of items and unfortunatelly some of them are not polished enough, especially those that are just there for fun. Some of the real world items look really bland and flat. They really do stand out because the rest (the big majority) of the game is so beatiful and you can see that the devs put a lot of attention to the detail.

The game is quite short, so if you don’t buy it in a pack with other games, you may feel that you don’t get what you pay for. As you go and interact with the environment you collect a set of cards that depict what you have seen. When you finish the game you learn that the more you get the more extra presents you get. I wish I knew that from the beginning (and as ypu go there’s no counter)! I don’t care enough to replay the game - and that sums up my feelings after finishing Botanicula.

Great game, but I would have quite a few “ifs” before recommending it to anyone.


Read the review »

Time Played: 2-5 hours

View all user ratings for this game

Guest
Back to the top