Garden Story

 PC
Garden Story Image
Metascore
70

Mixed or average reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 5 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
Rate this:
  • 10
  • 9
  • 8
  • 7
  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1
  • 0
  • 0
  • Summary: Concord, the youngest grape in The Grove, is now a Guardian, and it's their job to help restore the island. That's a lot to shoulder for a grape barely off the vine and more than a few inhabitants are skeptical they have what it takes. Fortunately, Concord has friends like Elderberry, Rana,Concord, the youngest grape in The Grove, is now a Guardian, and it's their job to help restore the island. That's a lot to shoulder for a grape barely off the vine and more than a few inhabitants are skeptical they have what it takes. Fortunately, Concord has friends like Elderberry, Rana, and Fuji on their side! With their help, you can take on the dangerous Rot and find ways to encourage other residents to assist in the efforts.
    Unify a broken community as the newly-appointed Guardian of The Grove. Traverse a vibrant island to combat invasive Rot, inspire its inhabitants, and rebuild your home. You won't have to do this alone: fruity friends await, ready to lend a hand!    … Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. Noisy Pixel
    Aug 20, 2021
    90
    Garden Story isn’t necessarily about what you do, since you mostly take on simple and tedious tasks. Instead, the game is about the people you meet along the way, the lives you touch, the connections you make, and ultimately not forgetting about your roots, no plum intended. It has honestly been a while since I’ve been emotionally moved by a game this sweet, especially one paired with a beautiful soundtrack. If you are looking for a cozy world-building game with some combat and a whole lot of charm and whimsy, then The Grove welcomes you like a home away from home. Concord, you’re truly one-in-a-melon, and you did a grape job raisin me!
  2. Softpedia
    Aug 24, 2021
    85
    Garden Story is not actually about gardening, in the Stardew Valley sense, and that’s great. The story is about growing friendships and the organic development of communities. The mechanics are good enough to keep players engaged with the world. The stakes are never high. Concord doesn’t shine as a protagonist but the world around him is colorful and fun, a good reason to spend 15 minutes at the end of the day doing a little work to make it even better for everybody else. But longer sessions with the game tend to reveal that there’s a lot of repetition, especially when it comes to the action parts. And if the friendly spell of the world-building breaks it can be hard to go back and pick Garden Story up again. The team at Picogram has a good instinct for universe development and cuteness hooks but they do need to put some extra time into creating a better gameplay loop for their unique universe.
  3. GameGrin
    Sep 13, 2021
    70
    At times frustrating, Garden Story is a fantastic example of how charm can help push a game to the next level, despite some frustrating design choices.
  4. PC Games
    Oct 2, 2021
    60
    Garden Story has a great soundtrack and the artstyle is adorable. Well, and that’s all the positives we can think about. Repetitive tasks and very flawed game design make Garden Story a chore to play most of the time.
  5. The Indie Game Website
    Sep 7, 2021
    60
    This game wants to be very charming, and it sometimes comes very close. The art is rich and beautiful, and the interfaces look great. But every other aspect of the game feels one step away from being memorable. Menus are confusing and difficult to use. Locations are overly greebled with landmarks and winding paths, making it difficult to get around with ease or speed—and the map is obtuse, instead of helpful, at a glance.
  6. CD-Action
    Nov 15, 2021
    55
    Despite a pretty good story I left this garden with a sigh of relief, really tired of poor combat and repetitiveness. [11/2021, p.60]
    All this publication's reviews
 This publication does not provide a score for their reviews.
This publication has not posted a final review score yet.
These unscored reviews do not factor into the Metascore calculation.

In Progress & Unscored

?
  1. Rock, Paper, Shotgun
    Aug 16, 2021
    And it’s a world to spend time in, too, not just turn up and smash a few pots and hoard a few coins. Take it slow, says Garden Story. Yes, peril approaches, but fences need fixing just as monsters need slaying. Fighting to save the world is a lofty abstract. Instead, fight to save the soil and the sky, the frogs and the flowers, the wise cacti and the talking pickles. Fight like only a grape in a green bucket hat armed with a parasol can.

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. Zenodo
    May 7, 2022
    10
    Garden story is not what i expected it to be but the story and the journy where awesome. Building the community and watching the world getGarden story is not what i expected it to be but the story and the journy where awesome. Building the community and watching the world get better and better was amazing. I love this game! It's in my top 5 games of all time!… Expand
  2. Loki_the_Great
    Aug 23, 2021
    10
    Garden Story is just a cute game. The journey of a young grape Concord to become the Guardian and complete quests. Basically just the averageGarden Story is just a cute game. The journey of a young grape Concord to become the Guardian and complete quests. Basically just the average casual RPG. Great music, animation, and easy, low effort play style is what I love about this game. It helps me anti-stress.… Expand
  4. FMagno
    Oct 30, 2022
    6
    Such a comfy and sweet story hold back with an unnecessary and albeit meaningless grind, what start as a nice mechanic to restore the villagesSuch a comfy and sweet story hold back with an unnecessary and albeit meaningless grind, what start as a nice mechanic to restore the villages you find in the game, at the end turns out to be just one more "do that to achieve 100%".
    There is nothing wrong with the combat and the fetch quests per se, but on the second half of the game it becomes crystal clear that there is no more real purpose to do anything else for the villages, what end up leaving a really bad taste through the end of the game.
    I had to force myself to finish the game because I could not stand anymore of it, even though I really enjoyed the story and narrative.    … Expand

Current PC Games

Full List »
93 Sektori
92 Resident Evil Requiem
91 Mixtape
91 Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
90 Lost and Found Co.
89 Rhythm Doctor
88 Mewgenics
88 Dying Light: The Beast Restored Land Definitive Edition
87 Lumines Arise
87 Cross Blitz
87 Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection
87 Tombwater
87 Hermit and Pig
87 PRAGMATA
86 Diablo II: Resurrected - Reign of the Warlock
86 Perfect Tides: Station to Station
86 Cult of the Lamb: Woolhaven
85 Esoteric Ebb
84 Titanium Court
68 Last Man Sitting
All Current Games »