Game: Mike’s Garden
Genre: Casual, Strategy
System: Steam (Windows)
Developers | Publishers: Unchew Studios
Controller: No
Price: US $5.99 | UK £4.99 | EU € 5,99
Release Date: Coming Soon
A review code was used, with many thanks to Unchew Studios.
Mike’s Garden is a puzzle game developed and released by Unchew Studios.
Premise and Gameplay of Mike’s Garden
Mike needs our help in his Garden. It is growing out of control, and we need to trim it down a little. At its core, Mike’s Garden is a match-three game; well, in this case, match-five. We have the Garden as a grid and plants that spring out whenever we move one of them. We have to move them in a row of five or more of the same kind for them to be eliminated from the board. The idea is to keep the board as empty as possible.
While playing, we fulfil different mini-tasks, and once we complete all of the current ones, we progress to a new level with new tasks. Meanwhile, for every cleared plant, we get points, which can be used to buy tools and unlock slots for said tools. While helpful, using a tool is also not free- after each use, the price also goes up. Tools range from shears and watering cans to seed bags. We get bonus points if we clear several plant rows one after another.
When the board is filled, and we have no more available moves, the game shows our progress, how many moves we’ve made, and how many coins we’ve earned. It also allows us to visit the greenhouse and see how many plants we’ve unlocked. Besides unlocking some of them by sheer game progression, we can also use coins to unlock plants.
We can also visit the toolshed, unlock tool slots, buy tools, or rearrange our existing tools. We have five tool slots, with the first one free and 12 tools. At least in the beginning, what to unlock is determined by level progression. Tools range from shears and water cans to more exotic ones like Trained Rats, which target a plant to clear a horizontal or vertical row through it, and Tornado – which clears the whole Garden and grows three new plants. The tools are priced differently – for example, the shears one coin, and the Tornado is the most expensive tool in the Garden, costing 350 coins for initial use.
Progressing through the levels unlocks extra plants. Once we unlock all of the plants, we get an additional plant. Clearing the levels basically teaches us the mechanics of the game. Once we master all of them, we can play as much as we want to, for as long as we can hold on.
Mike’s Garden has a board that sorts users’ results and allows you to see where you are regarding your score.
Visually, Mike’s Garden is a cozy, warm-colored cottagecore-inspired botanical puzzle. The artwork for the plants is detailed and cute yet realistic. The music is pleasant and well-fitting with the game.
Some Notes
Mike’s Garden has basic audio and video settings and language support. The main menu explains the basic gaming mechanics and offers tricks. The game has Steam achievements, and you can try the demo on Steam.
Mike’s Garden has no difficulty settings, but the game has a well-adjusted difficulty progression. It helps that you don’t have any timers, that the levels are seamlessly connected to one another, and that you can save and exit at any point in the game without a thought of losing progress. You can earn coins and purchase updates as much as you want before attempting to progress further.
Conclusion
Mike’s Garden is a modern, visually pleasing take on the classic Match-3 games. It offers a mix of new and old and tried elements to form a cozy, casual puzzle that will most definitely delight fans of the genre.
Final Verdict: Two Thumbs Up: 