Botany Manor
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2016}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Botany Manor
| image = Botany Manor Cover.jpg
| caption = Steam header art
| developer = Balloon Studios
| publisher = Whitethorn Games
| director = Laure De Mey
| designer = Laure De Mey, Kitt Byrne
| artist = Tim Steer, Kitt Byrne, Jim Bending
| composer = Thomas Williams
| platforms = {{ubl|Nintendo Switch|Microsoft Windows|Xbox One|Xbox Series X/S|PlayStation 4|PlayStation 5}}
| released = {{ubl|Switch, Windows, Xbox One, Series X/S|9 April 2024|PS4, PS5|28 January 2025}}
| genre = Puzzle
| modes = Single-player
}}
Botany Manor is a 2024 video game developed by English independent developer Balloon Studios and published by Whitethorn Games. The game is a puzzle title in which players explore a period English countryside manor to cultivate magical flora. Upon release, Botany Manor received generally positive reviews, with critics praising the game's environmental design, tone and pacing.
Gameplay
Set in 1890, players assume the role of Arabella Greene, a retired botanist and inheritor of a Somerset manor who is undertaking research on plants in preparation of publishing a book about the world's 'Forgotten Flora'. Players complete point-and-click puzzles across several chapters by growing one or more plants, in turn completing sections of Greene's book. Plants in the game have magical qualities that respond to certain behaviors, such as light or temperature, with the player changing these environmental conditions to allow the plants to bloom. Clues on how to grow plants are dispersed throughout the areas of the manor in each stage and collected in a notebook. When a plant successfully blooms, the notebook will reveal an illustration and more details, and unlock progression to the next stage, often where a key to a new room of the manor is delivered.
Development
Botany Manor was developed by Balloon Studios, a Devon-based team founded by Laure De Mey, who had previously worked with Ustwo Games, the developers of Monument Valley.{{cite web|website=Nintendo Everything|title=Botany Manor's creative director discusses upcoming game's narrative, inspiration|last=Serpa|first=Nicholas|date=20 March 2024|accessdate=9 April 2024|url=https://nintendoeverything.com/botany-manors-interview/}} De Mey stated that the inspiration of the game was to explore a setting for a manor, with the house of naturalist Charles Darwin, Down House and the fictitious manor of Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider series serving as inspiration for the design. The late nineteenth century was pursued as a setting to capture the "era of great scientific discovery", and provide a "feasible" premise for creating a puzzle game about fantastical botany.{{cite web|website=TrueAchievements|title=Xbox Game Pass puzzler Botany Manor promises "gentle and accessible" achievements|last=Nicholas|first=Heidi|date=29 February 2024|accessdate=9 April 2024|url=https://www.trueachievements.com/news/botany-manor-interview}} Development of the game pursued a "clear and straightforward" approach to puzzle design and difficulty with the stated aim of designing a "nice peaceful setting" and gameplay that struck a balance between being "not too challenging, but obviously not too simple" to minimise "strain on the player".{{cite web|website=PC Gamer|title=Botany Manor's lead designer assures players that this cozy game is clear and straightforward, 'there's not too much strain on the player'|last=Gould|first=Elie|date=3 April 2024|accessdate=9 April 2024|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/games/puzzle/botany-manors-lead-designer-assures-players-that-this-cozy-game-is-clear-and-straightforward-theres-not-too-much-strain-on-the-player}} Balloon Studios announced the game at a Nintendo Indie World event for the Nintendo Switch in November 2022,{{cite web|website=IGN|last=Plant|first=Logan|title=Nintendo Switch Indie World Showcase November 2022: Everything Announced|date=10 November 2022|accessdate=9 April 2024|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/nintendo-switch-indie-world-showcase-november-2022-everything-announced}} and was published on its announced released date of 9 February 2024 for the Nintendo Switch, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.{{cite web|website=IGN|title=Botany Manor - Official Release Date Trailer|date=9 February 2024|accessdate=4 April 2024|url=https://www.ign.com/videos/botany-manor-official-release-date-trailer}}{{cite web|website=Gematsu|first=Sal|last=Romano|title=Botany Manor Launches April 9|date=8 February 2024|accessdate=4 April 2024|url=https://www.gematsu.com/2024/02/botany-manor-launches-april-9}}
Reception
{{Video game reviews
| NLife = {{Rating|9|10}}{{cite web|website=Nintendo Life|title=Botany Manor|last=Gray|first=Kate|date=9 April 2024|accessdate=9 April 2024|url=https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/switch-eshop/botany-manor}}
| rev1 = CGMagazine
| rev2 = Digitally Downloaded
| rev2Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|website=Digitally Downloaded|title=Review: Botany Manor (Nintendo Switch)|last=M|first=Lindsay|date=9 April 2024 |accessdate=9 April 2024|url=https://www.digitallydownloaded.net/2024/04/review-botany-manor-nintendo-switch.html}}
| rev3 = Press Start
| rev3Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|website=Press Start|title=Botany Manor Review - Garden Up|last=Verrugge|first=Kieron|date=8 April 2024|accessdate=9 April 2024|url=https://press-start.com.au/reviews/xbox-series-x-reviews/2024/04/09/botany-manor-review-garden-up/}}
| rev4 = Windows Central
| rev4Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|website=Windows Central|last=Boddy|first=Zachary|date=8 April 2024|accessdate=9 April 2024|title=This day one Xbox Game Pass addition doesn't stay too long, but it's the perfect way to spend an afternoon relaxing
|url=https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/botany-manor-review}}
}}
According to review aggregator Metacritic, Botany Manor received "generally favorable" reviews from critics. Reviewers praised the game's execution of its botanic theme and environmental design, with comparisons to botanical games such as Strange Horticulture, or games set in open environments such as The Witness. Larryn Bell of Shacknews described the game's themes as highlighting the "overall interconnectedness of nature" and influence of environment on wellbeing, although expressed that plants could have had more utility in the game. Alice Bell of Rock Paper Shotgun commended the game's design of a "bright" and "bouncy" world, writing that "the developers have clearly taken pains to make it a nice place to be".{{cite web|website=Rock Paper Shotgun|last=Bell|first=Alice|date=8 April 2024|accessdate=9 April 2024|title=Botany Manor review: peaceful and beautiful best-in-show plant puzzles|url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/botany-manor-review}} Digitally Downloaded similarly praised the game's "beautifully crafted" world, finding the music and sound to "work harmoniously with the game's visuals". Saniya Ahmed of IGN described the scenery as "picturesque" and "quaint", finding the environmental details of the game's various "pamphlets, bottle labels, (and) advertisements" as conveying a "vintage charm", although finding the manor's space to feel empty.
Many critics remarked on the game's sedate and relaxing pacing. Kate Gray of Nintendo Life characterised the game as part of a genre of "cozy and wholesome" titles focused on "cultivation and creation" in opposition to those of "violence and conflict" predicated in most genres. Larryn Bell of Shacknews noted the game was "wholesome" and "laid-back" and allowed players to complete it at their own pace. Digitally Downloaded praised the game as "cozy", citing the lack of time limits and the game's ability to "gently prod you in the right direction".
The game's narrative was mostly praised by reviewers. Larryn Bell of Shacknews considered the "nuanced storytelling" through letters, notes and objects to tell a "thoughtful" and "poignant tale" about overcoming adversity and discrimination in the context of the late nineteenth century. Alice Bell of Rock Paper Shotgun similarly noted the existence of a subtle narrative "that suggests a full but frustrating life" but made the conclusion more satisfying for those players paying attention. However, Saniya Ahmed of IGN considered the personal story of the protagonist to be "one-note" and "trail behind" due to its reliance on notes, writing that these "fail to dig deep into her emotions".
Some critics observed bugs and quality of life issues. Kate Gray of Nintendo Life considered the game may have benefited from the ability to document clues more thoroughly and clearer location of the player on a map of the mansion. Similarly, Digitally Downloaded noted the need for players to "tediously run all over the place" to reference clues absent these features. Kieron Verbrugge of Press Start experienced "visual bugs" and "glitched achievements" throughout gameplay, although noted these were "small issues" that had "little impact on the actual game. However, Digitally Downloaded praised the game for its accessibility features.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|botanymanor.com}}
Category:Nintendo Switch games
Category:Single-player video games
Category:Video games about plants
Category:Video games developed in the United Kingdom
Category:Video games set in country houses
Category:Video games set in the 1890s
Category:Whitethorn Games games