Grow Home

 PlayStation 4
  • Publisher: Ubisoft
  • Release Date: Sep 1, 2015
  • Also On: PC
Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    Oct 16, 2015
    70
    Although completable in a single sitting, Grow Home is just as long as it needs to be without overstaying its welcome. [December 2015, p70]
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  2. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Oct 10, 2015
    70
    A charming, if insubstantial freeform exploration game that feels refreshingly open thanks to your intuitive climbing skills. It's almost guaranteed to, ahem, grow on you. [Nov 2015, p.98]
    All this publication's reviews
  3. Brash Games
    Sep 24, 2015
    70
    The fact that there’s no story makes the game feel a bit empty at times, but the brilliant controls and interesting environmental design made it feel fun.
  5. DarkStation
    Oct 6, 2015
    60
    Grow Home is worth checking out if you’re looking for an interesting romp through a beautiful world with new mechanics in terms of platforming, just be ready to fall to your death and not understand why.

Awards & Rankings

63
#63 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2015

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 168 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 60 out of 168
  2. Mixed: 64 out of 168
  3. Negative: 44 out of 168
  1. Billyj80
    Sep 2, 2015
    10
    Ok well i got it for free for ps plus so i gave it a try and boy was i surprised didnt expect it to be as good as it was like i was expectingOk well i got it for free for ps plus so i gave it a try and boy was i surprised didnt expect it to be as good as it was like i was expecting something different but instead i got a fun opened world physics based gameplay kind of game with fun exploration so i definitely recommend it even if you get it for ps plus it is well worth the asking price… Full Review »
  2. thunderclast
    Sep 3, 2015
    2
    Incredibly bad game. The controls are terribly sloppy. You might expect your little gardening robot to handle like a robot: precisely andIncredibly bad game. The controls are terribly sloppy. You might expect your little gardening robot to handle like a robot: precisely and predictably. Not so. Your character moves around like a 20 ton octopus slathered in petroleum jelly. Momentum is hard to get going and even harder to stop. This will result in you falling off ledges for no good reason. Often.

    Aside from the general awfulness of the controls, the developers have also omitted the option to invert the camera controls' x-axis. When you click "invert camera controls," it inverts only the y-axis, which is incredibly frustrating, unless you're one of the two dozen people in the world who play flight sims.

    Yes, I just dedicated a whole paragraph to the importance of being able to invert both camera axes. And here's another, especially for the developers:

    IN A THIRD PERSON GAME, THE RIGHT STICK CONTROLS THE CAMERA. WHEN I PRESS RIGHT, THE CAMERA SHOULD MOVE RIGHT. WHEN I PRESS UP, THE CAMERA SHOULD MOVE UP. GET THE PICTURE?

    At least give me the option, for crying out loud. It can't be that hard to code.

    Aside from my gripes about the controls, there are also the graphics to complain about. The untextured simple polygons that make up every object in this game look like they came from 1995. I'm talking Star Fox 64 graphics here. Which is apparently too much for this game to handle, considering all the screen tearing.

    Moving on to game play: it's pretty boring and repetitive. There's no real story to speak of. The exploration is sort of fun, and the general concept of the game is creative. That kept me playing for a while, but not for too long.

    Over all, the concept of this game is good, but it would be difficult for the execution to be worse. I'm awarding 2 points for sheer creativity.    … Full Review »
  3. Tirah
    Sep 15, 2015
    2
    When I found out we'd be getting this game for free on PS+, I had high hopes for it to be good. What I got was a clunky mess following in theWhen I found out we'd be getting this game for free on PS+, I had high hopes for it to be good. What I got was a clunky mess following in the footsteps of Surgeon Simulator and other oh-so-hilarious wacky physics-based games.
    The main character, a robot named B.U.D., controls terribly. I don't know whether it's supposed to be funny or cute, but I was really annoyed by it. You spend 90% of the game climbing very, very slowly on various surfaces. You do so by repeatedly pressing the shoulder buttons. Right for right hand, left for left hand. Press the button to grab an object or hold onto a wall, release the button to let go. Sounds cool in concept, but in reality it's tedious and it makes my hands hurt after mere 20 minutes of gameplay.
    I don't like the art design of GH, so I'm not gonna criticize it. What I WILL criticize, however, is the terrible screen tearing whenever you move the camera around, and framerate drops.
    The worst thing is the sound design. B.U.D. makes the most annoying sounds you can imagine, especially when jumping. The background music is okay and would be pretty relaxing, if the gameplay wasn't so boring that it immediatelly puts you in a bad mood.
    I wanted to like the game, I really did. After all, Ubisoft has a history of producing some of the best platformers ever made.
    Unfortunately, Grow Home is not the next Rayman or Beyond Good & Evil. The only positive thing is, I didn't have to pay for this. Otherwise I'd be REALLY disappointed.    … Full Review »
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