A few years ago, when I was living the last gasps of a dying relationship, my boss sent me a mysterious parcel in the mail. I say “mysterious” because A) I wasn’t home to receive it, B) Christmas had long passed, and C) she refused to tell me what it was.
As I lay there, absorbing sun on the beaches of Jamaica on a family trip, I thought back to my home in Boston, the biting winter, and that package. Curiosity got the better of me, and I asked my roommates to crack it open and quell the hoopla.
“It’s a plant,” one friend explained. “A little withered, too.”
He graciously watered the plant and put it by the window.
Over the next few days, I attempted to enjoy the warm weather, knowing frost—and heartache—awaited me back home. And though my relationship did not work out, my plant survived.
It was a monstera deliciosa. Two years later, it’s thriving alongside a colorful cast, from snake and spider plants to pothoses and palms. My current partner and I even share a love of flora. Turns out, our green thumbs have a matching hue.
I found solace in gardening—and that makes the release of Botany Manor particularly special. Though tragically short, this narrative puzzle game is a delightful look into the magic and beauty of horticulture.
Serenity Now
Published by Whitethorn Games, Botany Manor is the inaugural game from Balloon Studios—a bite-sized studio led by BAFTA Breakthrough recipient Laure De May. With a mission to “cater to underrepresented audiences” and “deliver welcoming game experiences for people who want to escape to peaceful, historical worlds,” Balloon Studios certainly lives up to its charter.
You play as Arabella Greene, a 19th-century botanist who has dedicated her life to collecting, researching, and cataloging the world’s most exotic plants. From the comforts of her Victorian home, Arabella is investigating the so-called “Forgotten Flora”: rare (fictional) specimens that have gone unnoticed by her fellows at various universities.
Over a three- to four-hour journey, you’ll explore Arabella’s gorgeous estate, finding the right soil, lighting, and temperature conditions to make the Forgotten Flora grow from seed to flower. With each new plant that flourishes, you’ll fill out an entry in your compendium—titled, fittingly, Forgotten Flora—with the goal of sending your research to a publisher.
Despite its premise, Botany Manor plays less like Garden Simulator and more like The Witness. Each plant is a carefully constructed puzzle, requiring you to investigate the environment for context clues (usually letters, posters, or diagrams) you can then use to arrive at a logical solution. The game’s marketing describes it as a first-person puzzle game, but I’d also bill it as a bona fide mystery game.
Any scientist worth their lab coat is familiar with the scientific method—the process of deducing facts by eliminating falsehoods. Botany Manor expertly plays to that sense of progression, allowing any person to channel their inner detective in search of evidence and truth. From recreating a contaminated river to simulating bird calls, each puzzle is as creative as the flora that inspired it.
Soaking in the Sights
The parallels with The Witness don’t end there. If you couldn’t tell from the screens in this review, this is a handsome game, with lush colors and rare, but beautiful, animations. Whenever you succeed at making a plant bloom, you’re treated to a swell of music and color—some truly astonishing.
It’s not all fantastic, granted. I encountered a fair bit of clipping when playing my review build (trees erratically glitching through walls, for example). I also found myself squinting to read certain clues within Arabella’s journal. Given the whole point of Botany Manor is to promote tranquility and zen, these blemishes undermined my appreciation for the game’s atmosphere.
Whitethorn Games assured the press that a day-one patch will be available for players. Hopefully, it’ll address the graphics and buff up the accessibility options. Even in its current state, though, Botany Manor is quite the marvel.
A Bittersweet Symphony
Despite its wholesome premise, Botany Manor offers more than just serenity. Its story is particularly moving, with regular glimpses into who Arabella is—a “plant lady,” as my partner might say—and what she’s had to overcome living in 19th-century England.
I’ll refrain from spoilers. After all, this is a brisk game, and you’ll spend most of its runtime reading. Ultimately, though, this is a narrative about a gifted woman who has routinely been undermined by those who dominate the field (i.e., men). She can make flowers literally bloom in a cave, yet her contemporaries barely give her the time of day.
For most of my runtime, I found the messaging striking, albeit a little underwhelming. I identified with Arabella (my partner is a woman of color, and a chemist) and lamented the adversity she—and so many others in STEM—have faced. Unfortunately, her actual correspondences (with friends, professors, etc.) often felt on-the-nose, dulling their impact.
The game’s ending, however, is anything but dull or on-the-nose. I dare not say more; you’re best to experience the details for yourself. Just know that it puts a bittersweet bow on a wonderful little adventure.
Rocks in the Soil
If there’s one area where Botany Manor wilts, it’s game length. As mentioned before, my playthrough took just a few hours. Although games like Journey and What Remains of Edith Finch are proof that brevity can be a strength, here I simply cannot say the same.
Botany Manor features 12 plants, which you’ll bring to life across five chapters. The game adds a layer of difficulty by introducing several new plants per chapter—meaning you’ll have to deduce which clues align with which plants. Still, the game only stumped me once during my playthrough, and I reached the end credits with relative ease.
That’s not to say I’d tweak the difficulty; the puzzles were challenging, yet fair. Instead, I would have loved a few more chapters to flesh out the manor, introduce new mechanics, and give Arabella some additional depth. (The lack of voiceover—a wonderful asset in Edith Finch—doesn’t help matters.)
Final Thoughts
Botany Manor is a beautiful game that caters to anyone with a love of horticulture, science, or mystery. It’s also an important game, one that tells an effective story about the resilience of women—past, present, and future.
In terms of quality, the game delivers. However, at its $24.99 asking price, the three- to four-hour experience (five if you hunt for achievements) may leave you wanting. Thankfully, the game launches day one on Game Pass—and it is the perfect way to spend an afternoon or two.
Whether you pay to play or you subscribe to vibe, Botany Manor deserves a look. Bring the brains, and it’ll bring the seeds, the planters, and the heart.
Score: 8.0/10
Botany Manor is out now for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch. It retails for $24.99, and is also currently available on Game Pass.
Disclaimer: A review code was provided by the publisher.
