Get up and grow!
Garden Life is a game about creating your dream garden.
Gardening can be fun but not everyone has the space to really let their imagination go. However, a new game called Garden Life lets anyone try out their planting and arranging skills in a virtual garden.
There’s a story behind it too. The game takes place in a community garden (one that’s open to people in the local area) that used to be cared for by a gardener called Robin until they died. You are Robin’s replacement, given the job of tidying it up and then planning which plants, decorations and furniture to put in.
There’s a twist: Robin’s ghost (don’t worry, they are a friendly ghost, not scary!) is still around and has a list of tasks to help you get started. You’ll be placing a bench, creating a stall to sell things you grow, rebuilding a bridge and clearing away rubble, among other jobs. It means you never feel stuck for what to do next.
You will also be set jobs by people from the town, using letters sent to the garden’s mailbox. They’ll pay you in “florins” that you can then spend on better tools, items and new parts of the garden. Those include a greenhouse, where you can grow other kinds of plants, and a pavilion (a big tent) for flower displays to celebrate different people in the town.
Garden Life is described as a “cosy simulator”, which means it’s designed to be a relaxing game to play rather than a busy and fast one. You don’t have to worry about time limits or high scores, so you can concentrate on creating your perfect garden as quickly or slowly as it suits you. You don’t need to know anything about gardening when you start playing, either, so it’s great for beginners too.
Garden Life came out for PCs, PlayStation and Xbox consoles in February, with a Switch version following in March.