Garden Life: A Cozy Simulator review

I could buy myself flowers- or at least build myself a garden.

Given the number of agrarian-focused games on the market, there’s a good chance that you’re already a veteran digital horticulturist. Games like Story of Seasons, Rune Factory, Immortal Life, have all walked players through the process of crop cultivation. From plowing the soil, and regular watering, to keeping those bothersome weeds from overtaking your fields, each title has coaxed us into developing a daily routine.

And largely, that’s the case with Stillalive Studios’ Garden Life: A Cozy Simulator. Unlike its peers, the focus here isn’t on growing bushels of sustenance nor finding a life partner. Instead, the game is about cultivating an ornate European garden filled with a variety of wildflowers and a shed of over 240 different decorative items. And yes, there are plenty of gnomes to place in your green space, if that’s your kink.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Whereas genre entries opt for a cartoonish look, Garden Life attempts opulence. As such roses don’t grow in standardized 2D rows. Instead, they bloom in natural-looking bushes, while daffodils sprout into a modest height, and climbing flora like ivy convincingly intertwines with trellis. Each plant is procedurally generated, helping your garden look enchantingly organic. Similarly, when you go into the city to purchase supplies and tools, the town square is remarkably detailed, conveying the indulgence of a Victorian hamlet.

But this visual luxury has a cost. Garden Life puts a restriction on the number of plants that can be placed in a garden. As such, that verdant oasis that you’re probably imagining remains out of reach. The scalability of Unreal Engine 5 allows Garden Life to perform smoothly on hardware like the Steam Deck once you bring the graphical settings down. But one thing you’ll notice is that the game’s world isn’t one big expanse. Every time you go home to sleep or visit the town, you’ll encounter loading screens.

Some might complain about Garden Life’s lack of physics modeling. Like any in-game object, you can pick up, rotate, and replace rocks. But grab one and any stone that’s sitting on top of it will float in the air. Undoubtedly, Stillalive had to make some sacrifices- and the absence of gravity impairs the sense of simulation. At least the developer’s other divergences from reality seem to be for player convenience, such as flowers blooming in one calendar day or seasonal periods that are cosmetic.

Blossoms Amidst the Weeds

Of course, if you’re able to overlook these imperfections, there are some enjoyable moments within Garden Life. You can tackle the game through either Story Mode or via Creative Mode, which lets you loose with all the tools, seeds, and decorations to make your own scaled-down rendition of the Gardens of Versailles. If you’re seeking a bit more structure, the game’s narrative will likely suffice. Sure, it’s a bit silly with the ghost of your garden’s previous caretaker providing you with quests.

But working your way to an unlockable greenhouse (with automatic sprinklers) does provide an agreeable enticement. Other activities include fulfilling requests for bouquets, obtaining derivative seeds for new plant colors, and dealing with pests. For better or worse, there’s little thinking involved beyond implanting a straightforward solution for each problem. Perhaps, that’s a fundamental element for any “cozy” game.

Conclusion

As much as I enjoyed nurturing my digital garden, I got a bit burned by the game’s Western European design. At present, there’s DLC that supplies recycled decorations such as fairy lights made from plastic bottles and tires that enjoy a second life as planters. But if you’re looking to duplicate the Hanami of Shinjuku Gyoen or Ueno Park or the horticultural allures of Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay, you might have to look elsewhere for your botanical pleasures.