Botany Manor Review – Green Thumb’s Up

Botany Manor Review 

From Whitethorn Digital, Botany Manor is a first-person puzzle game set in a Victorian English manor. Play as Arabella Greene and explore the vast grounds. Cultivate your green thumb by solving puzzles and putting your gardening skills to the test. All this in the name of cozy botanical research. 

Into the dirt

Botany Manor is set in 19th century England. You play as the lady of the manor, Arabella Greene. There’s puzzles involving giving your fussy plants just the right environment to grow and thrive. Just pick a seed, get it in a pot, puzzle out the right temperature and watch the magic happen. Botany Manor is all about the plants and the cozy mood that comes with living in a huge manor with built-in ASMR. You also have to look around for bits and pieces like notes, keys and others to progress along. Everything goes at the player’s pace. There’s no time limit on relaxation after all. Nothing is too jarring to rip you out of lazy comfort, the puzzles aren’t too hard.  

My first time playing, I nearly got stuck because I over complicated the process expecting something insane to happen. All I had to do was take a dirt pot with a seed in it to a heater and bam. I’ve since learned to unclench my jaw and go with the flow of comfortable simplicity. Arabella’s handy research book easily keeps you on top of everything. The book holds notes and registers any clue you pick up on how to grow your plants. So no back and forth if you happen to forget. Just peak coziness. 

Riddle me this

Botany Manor begins with you learning how gardening works. Though, the game seems to only require you to click rather than shovel the dirt yourself. Especially helpful. The tutorial has you potting and planting your first seedling. The first puzzle solvable by a postcard and some common sense. Then you set up the area for the plant and gain a little botanical science knowledge once the bud blooms in a matter of seconds. This includes the fact that your first plant sort of handles the protection of the air quality of the grounds. The air will suddenly clear of rampant smog that’s apparently a usual sight according to a newspaper you can pick up. 

As you progress through the game, the puzzles involve other areas of the manor besides the garden and it’s many plants. For example, picking up clues and memorizing ratio combos to create flash powder for an old timey 19th century camera. Yet another clue because of course a certain flower will only bloom under these very particular instances. Clues and props around the grounds connect the story of this world as well as Arabella’s life and career.

Escapist’s Paradise

One of the highlights of Botany Manor and its puzzles is its charming and relaxing aesthetics. The game features beautiful and colorful graphics that help create a peaceful and serene atmosphere. The Greene property is a thing of majesty in its beauty. Birds singing, and solace in nature. The grounds look beautiful and the game’s visuals are crisp and vivid. At times it seems it might take a second for some plants to render. It could be a little jarring at first but that’s a minor nitpick. 

The manor and greenhouse as well are the grounds are a marvel to explore.

The detailing of the rooms and especially the plants is immaculate. Everything feels so magical. Even the little props and the animations of the plants blooming. The combination of gardening and puzzles creates a unique and engaging experience that will keep you coming back for more. And with its stunning graphics and calming music, it’s sure to capture your imagination and provide a relaxing escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. 

Botany Manor is all in all an excellent choice for cozy gamers who enjoy gardening and puzzles. It offers a smooth and relaxing gameplay experience that is sure to appeal to both veterans and newcomers alike. It’s a cozy gamers dream and reprieve from a slew of farming simulators. 

***A Nintendo Switch code was provided by the publisher***