A growth market
Ah, to be good with plants.
I, on the other hand, am a plant killer.
There, my plants are happy and weird, and with them I can save the world.
I can do all manner of more mundane things inStrange Horticulture, though.
The other part is a puzzle game, where the puzzle is “what plant do I need?”
So out comes your copy of The Strange Book Of Plants.
At first, it only has a few pages.
It is so satisfying and rewarding, and you begin to feel like an expert.
Too much Dread is game over.
But each time you succeed, you get a new page or two for your book.
For alongside the complaints of locals, Strange Horticulture is also quietly supernatural.
As time goes on, you start gettings visits from customers who are investigating a strange murder.
Each night you dream the next part of the story of a girl running away from home.
Perhaps your mysterious shopkeeper kinda likes the idea of the world ending.
Sometimes that does depend on you having the right selection of plants at your disposal.
I think that’s what I find most impressive about Strange Horticulture.
The setting is perhaps vaguely Edwardian but mostly unmoored by its strangeness.
But it’s so immersive!
The gentle animation of all the plants makes them feel so alive.
The pattering of the rain on the windows.
It gets cold in the shop, especially in the rain.
If only I could persuade Hellebore to come and sit, purring, on my lap sometimes.
Why yes, I have just the thing to help you sleep.
Let me see now…
Strange Horticulture is quiet, meticulous, delightful, dark, and beguiling.
An utterly lovely game.
