Jon Mercer
Platform: PC Developer: Ubisoft Reflections Publisher: Ubisoft Release Date: Feb. 4, 2015 Rated: E for Everyone.
In “Grow Home,” players take control of an adorable little robot named B.U.D. (Botanical Utility Droid), entrusted to harvest oxygen from a fertile planetoid to feed the needs of its home world.
There’s no arguing that 2014 did not go as intended for Ubisoft as the triple-A developer and publisher found what should have been a bull’s-eye salvo of releases landing with a wet thud.
Whether it was struggling against the force of its own hype (“Watch Dogs”), screaming against the echo of its own successful predecessor (“Far Cry 3”) and/or suffering for bugs and glitches (the ambitious poster child for longer development cycles (“Assassin’s Creed: Unity”), Ubisoft came out of last year looking haggard and punch-drunk. Save for a brilliant, almost fairy tale-like decision from the massive publisher to allow its development teams to stretch their artistic legs with smaller, digitally distributed visions.
It has seen the release of both “Child of Light” and “Valiant Hearts” from Ubisoft Montpellier, and now Ubisoft Reflections has added to the pile with the heartfelt “Grow Home,” which has arrived on Windows a short two weeks after it was announced.
In “Grow Home,” players take control of an adorable little robot named B.U.D. (Botanical Utility Droid), entrusted to harvest oxygen from a fertile planetoid to feed the needs of its home world. This is accomplished by growing massive Star Plants, as tall as skyscrapers, and collecting the seeds.
When an accident leaves B.U.D. stranded 2,000 metres below the view of its ship, the li’l bot has to find its way home the only way it knows to look — up. The object of the game is to grow massive star shoots high enough to take root in the floating islands that drift above, all while the ship’s computer, M.O.M., tasks the player with extra objectives.
Born as an exercise in procedural animation, and tended to by a development team of only 10 members, it’s correct to assume the main objective of “Grow Home” is low-hanging fruit. B.U.D. can be returned to his ship in around three hours.
However, it’s a real treat just exploring off the beaten path, checking out all the little jokes and surprises that Reflections has littered across the planetoid.
Plus, this offers up opportunities to do some pretty cool tricks, such as using a leaf as a parachute, “Wind Waker”-style to make incredible leaps from shoot to shoot.
There’s even a sidequest that offers up a sweet little jetpack as a reward.
The root of “Grow Home’s” fun is in its unique sense of motion. Reflections has fired up thick slices of gold in their definition of exploration. B.U.D. moves with all the grace of a drunken frat boy at 3 a.m. His teeny legs wobble to support his upper body, but controlling him is not difficult, just different.
His arms and legs move independently of his body, enslaved to gravity and his own momentum rather than industry standard canned animations. Using his arms to climb and grab re- quires alternating button presses.
Players are free to choose between a keyboard and mouse setup, or a gamepad (being weaned on consoles, I couldn’t fathom trying to control any platformer, let alone a physics-based puzzler such as “Grow Home” with a keyboard and mouse).
Overcoming and understanding the physical hurdle of being B.U.D. is a big part of the game’s challenge, and it makes for a pretty enjoyable afternoon.
“Grow Home” is a simple, wholesome game, a truth that translates nicely to its graphics. It uses rudimentary 3D models combined with bright colours and modern lighting techniques to create pleasing visuals that wouldn’t seem out of place in young children’s television programming.
Imagine the video for Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing” in HD. It almost lends itself to looking like paper craft. And the accompanying soundtrack is pleasing ambient electronica that relaxes and sets the pace for ambling into the green and blue expanse of “Grow Home’s” world in search of oxygen, adventure, and bouncy leaves.
It’s the kind of game you play, enjoy and return to for hours whenever you need to wind down. Despite its unique con- trol scheme, it has much in common with Sony’s 2012 hit, “Journey.” After a long day, it’s hard to stay tense when you’re watching a wobbly little robot clinging on with all of his minis- cule might as a giant vine rockets into the sky, leading to a new island to explore.