Botany Manor Review
Botany Manor is a botanical puzzle game by Balloon Studios, set in England in 1890. While growing flowers, we also learn about the historical building.
Botany Manor is home to retired botanist Arabella Greene. Over a long career, she has amassed a collection of rare, long-forgotten plants that require some research to help them live again. Playing as Arabella, you will search for clues in her notes, books, posters and belongings scattered around the residence to determine the right conditions to help the flora flourish. This game also explores the stunning historic mansion and, as the name suggests, includes a wealth of information about botany.
Botany Manor: A Botanical Puzzle Adventure from Balloon Studios
Narrated by creative director Laure De Mey of Balloon Studios, Botany Manor is a first-person botanical puzzle game that takes you to 1890s Somerset, England. The game features a variety of features, including growing flowers and producing byproducts like apple juice, planting at the right time, and communicating via Morse code. The goal is to discover and grow the mysterious flowers found in the book Forgotten Flora.Of course, it's not all that simple. Over time, we unlock new seeds and grow plants from them. Interactive elements that can be rotated and turned around the property provide information to help you solve each garden puzzle, grow plants and discover their mysterious qualities.
Botany Manor is more than just a game about growing plants, it also provides players with deep insight into the biology of plants. You can examine seeds under a microscope, learn how various plants grow, and scientific concepts, especially how chloroplasts work. You must gather all the information you need to grow flowers; this process involves detailed planning to meet the specific conditions required for the flowers to grow.
Laure De Mey and her team designed Botany Manor’s gameplay so that players can apply their real-life botanical knowledge to growing flowers and other plants. The game is inspired by Lara Croft’s home development in Tomb Raider, and aims to provide a calmer, more productive experience instead of combat scenes.
Basic Features of Botanical Mayor
- Explore the peaceful grounds and many calming rooms of this beautifully crafted, historically accurate 19th-century manor house.
- Pick up and learn how to use the many items found around the mansion to piece together clues to solve each plant-based puzzle.
- Learn about Arabella's life, career, and the challenges she faced as a female scientist in the 19th century.
- Fall in love with the calming music that perfectly complements the atmosphere and the flowers you make bloom.
Botany Manor launches on April 9, 2024 for Game Pass, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.