Strange Horticulture

This is a game that I have recently been playing on the PC and I thought I’d tell you a little about it…

The game begins with a short introductory background story that places you in the town of Undermere where you have inherited your Uncle’s shop specialising in unusual plants and botanic remedies…

You start with a small stock of plants but through clues discovered or brought to you by customers, these will quickly grow in number. The game revolves around the correct identification of plants that will fulfil a desired purpose for several customers each day. Here’s the first such identification you would encounter in the game…

…Victoria Gray needs something to improve her hearing and suggests St John’s Poppy which you have an entry for in the ‘Strange book of Plants’ and which you will find on your shelves. Successful identifications will often result in a new plant entry being added to your book…

…In this case, an entry for Meakdew. On the other hand, choosing the wrong plant will cause an increased sense of dread…

…note the ‘A Rising Dread’ circle in the bottom left hand corner. Three such errors in the same day and you will have to retire to the back room to get your head in order by working on a puzzle before returning to hopefully find the right plant for the customer you were serving.

Most days the Postman will visit and he usually brings some background news along with the mail…

…The letters normally give a location at which you will find a new plant or two for your shop. To collect the plants you need to visit the suggested location using the map…

…Each new day also gives a section of background story relating to the overall tale and also a card clue for a location to visit…

…Once again this will normally provide a plant. Some of the clues are simple but later on they become more convoluted and require some thought as do some of the plant identifications.

If you looked closely at the map in the illustrations above you will have realised that Undermere is really Windermere in Cumbria. As the story unfolds within the game you will find yourself caught up in a mix of paganism and the occult with only a short time to find a solution to bring the plight of Undermere to a successful conclusion. The game has a limited number of days and has at least 7 different possible outcomes which are determined by your choices along the way – Not all the outcomes are good ones!

Along with the Strange book of Plants, there are several items to help you which you can see in the drawer on the right of the screen. More items will be added as the days pass and you will have to work out how some of them are used. The labels speak for themselves – Whenever you ID a plant, be sure to label it…

…because you never know when someone might need it again! There is also a Hint button on the right which will provide help if you are stuck. Once you start to meet key characters in the plot there will also be a Bio’s button where you can go and review your interactions with them.

Although the game is simple in format, it certainly gets you scratching your head. The pace of the game is relaxing but there is a steady and ongoing sense of foreboding and tension built into the game play which the background music accentuates. The developers have produced a gem here that can be replayed more than once and enjoyed. Highly recommended for those looking for a game to play that doesn’t require fast reactions, have lots of flashing screens and make a lot of noise. If you enjoy puzzles, an odd background story and unusual art style, I think you’ll love this. The game is available for PC, Mac, Nintendo Switch and XBox One. I see it is also in Google’s Play Store, so presumably can be loaded onto mobile phones and tablets.