Strange Horticulture

Who doesn't want to be an occult plant seller in a fictionalised Lake District?

I first played Strange Horticulture two years ago after it was gifted to me by a friend, and I was so enchanted that I wrote about it for my (extremely sporadic) blog. On Saturday I wasn’t feeling my best and was a bit wound up and defeated after the Hotline Miami debacle so I decided to replay Strange Horticulture and get the achievements I missed last time around. It’s truly a joy and as a playthrough takes around five to six hours I decided it would be a shame not to tell y’all about it so here’s a re-write of my review. I’ve only edited and added a little bit, but I think it’s worth reading because Strange Horticulture is worth playing!

Strange Horticulture is a puzzle game about plants with a story about the occult. Naturally, as the local provider of strange botanicals, you find yourself becoming intertwined in the mysteries as they unfold. The game is told over 16 days plus an epilogue, and though you start out selling remedies for stomach aches, you and your cat Hellebore start to get some peculiar customers.

The core gameplay loop consists of someone asking you for a plant, and then using the information you have at your disposal to provide them with the correct plant. You start with an encyclopaedia, The Strange Book of Plants, which includes some information about some plants, and a microscope to examine plants more closely. Your job is to use context clues to solve the puzzles, and in so doing you get more pages to add to your encyclopaedia. You can also explore the local area to find more plants – you get clues about this too, letters telling you that there was a strange mushroom 3 miles west of a local village, business cards of people who might be willing to trade, and more.

The map available to explore in Strange Horticulture. Image credit: Bad Viking/Iceberg Interactive

Speaking of the local area, the game is set in a fictional town called Undermere, which is nestled on the side of a lake in Cumbria. Real towns mingle with made-up ritual sites and create a strange sense of the familiarly different. Even if you’re not at all acquainted with the Lake District, you’ll experience the same sense of wonder and curiosity that the game is so expert in creating. Is there really an antique shop in Arnside (a real town I’ve been to) that will sell recipes for strange elixirs created with just the right plants to quell fear or prolong life? Perhaps not, but there’s something so immersive about this beautiful hand-drawn 2D game that you’ll find yourself wondering.

And really that’s what this game manages, with its small selection of mechanics and mob of unusual, beautifully drawn and cleverly described plants, a real feeling of immersion. The audio lends itself to this too, with gently unsettling music and the familiar pattering of rain on the roof. Am I a North England shopkeeper, selling Eyebright to a man with dark business, only my cat Hellebore for company, or am I a goblin in Scotland with too much to do and insufficient energy?

The story is really gripping, and the game does a great job of showing that you as the player have agency. Will you choose to soothe the annoying barrister’s rash or present him with a plant that is a little more sinister? Can you figure out the plants necessary to protect the Sisterhood? These decision points throughout the game make the endings feel weighty. There are several, and they each involve your choices. Did you discover the plants needed for the banishing ritual or is Undermere doomed to live in fear of the Dendrew?

Hellebore sleeps peacefully on the counter as you contemplate plants and mysterious letters. Image credit: Bad Viking/Iceberg Interactive

I really loved how the game built up over time. You didn’t have all the plants or all the information to start with, you built them up by following leads, serving customers, and exploring. That means that although 77 plants seem like a lot to take in, the game is kind about it. You also don’t really ever “lose” – if you try and provide the wrong plant you will build up dread, and if you hit a threshold your mind will break, but you have the option of putting it back together. The first time my mind broke, I solved the minigame to recover partially by eye and partially by brute force, and the game was happy for me to do so. I was back to trying to figure out what plant the customer wanted in just a few minutes.

I also thoroughly enjoyed being able to label and arrange my plants as needed. There were three colours of label, so I colour-coded and then alphabetised my plants. It was very pleasing.

If you are a fan of puzzles, of the occult and esoteric mysteries, of games where your choices matter, or simply of small artistic experiences that do not outstay their welcome and have a cat you can pet, I highly recommend Strange Horticulture. I’m glad I was able to experience it.

• Game: Strange Horticulture

• Developer: Bad Viking

• Publisher: Iceberg Interactive

• Platforms: PC, Switch, Xbox