Garden Buddies

anti-anxiety short game. very cozy

minus the few bug crashes overall cute game. beat it in a lil under 2 hours . dialog was super adorable though at times felt very kidish but sometimes you need that lil reminder that you are enough and are valid and this game does a good job and reminding you of those things. you never know what people are going through. i wish there were more charecters too cuz i just loved all of them so much <3

froze. it was cute for a minute. maybe it's not ready for steam deck?

Story is wholesome and short enough. The pond scene was a bit weird. Works fine on steam deck aside from one loading scene crash, which seems to be a common issue. Definitely not worth full price it's barely an hour and that's mostly 90% cutscenes

It's a cute cozy little game where there are no stressors and it's just a place to work off of creativity while listening to calm music. ♥

Compre se estiver se sentindo sozinho!

An sich sehr süß und entspannend, nur andererseits gibt es einige Kritikpunkte. - Je mehr Spieltage man spielt, desto länger werden die Ladezeiten. - Manchmal führen diese langen Ladezeiten entweder zu Abstürzen, oder dass sich das Spiel komplett aufhängt und nur noch ein Neustart möglich ist. - Inhaltlich sehr kurz. Was die Kaufempfehlung angeht, sitze ich im Zwiespalt. Für die Story, die meiner Meinung nach sehr kurz gehalten ist, ist der normale Kaufpreis viel zu hoch. Dazu kommt, dass ein paar Bugs in diesem Spiel sind - bestes Beispiel lange Ladezeiten -, die (noch) nicht behoben wurden. Andererseits entspannt es sehr den Garten nach Belieben zu dekorieren und der Kreativität freien Lauf zu lassen. Auch die Musik und die Charaktere sind sehr liebevoll gemacht. Und auch die Story, auch wenn sie kurz ist, vermittelt so an sich eine berührende Botschaft. Ich werde es daher trotzdem bei einem Daumen hoch belassen.

I knew exactly what Garden Buddies was aiming to be before I bought it. After watching the trailer, looking through the screenshots and reading the store page, it was clear this wasn't trying to be a deep gardening simulator or a lengthy adventure. Instead, it's a cosy, wholesome experience designed for young children to enjoy alongside a parent, and I think it succeeds wonderfully at exactly that. The cast of characters is genuinely adorable. Whether it's Mutsy the young apple, Betty the bat, the wonderfully unusual married rock and ladybird, or the delightfully righteous acorn, every character has its own charm and personality. The game constantly encourages positive messages about kindness, helping others, staying calm, looking after yourself, drinking enough water and simply enjoying the little things. They're lovely themes that I'd happily see more games introducing to younger audiences. Across five short days you'll solve simple puzzles, meet new friends and gradually decorate your own little garden. There's also a sandbox mode if you simply want to build and decorate at your own pace. The decoration options aren't hugely extensive, but I never felt that was the point. This isn't trying to be a deep garden design simulator—it's trying to create a relaxing, shared experience for families. My only real criticism is the price. The story mode took me under an hour to complete and, while the additional play modes do add some replay value, I personally feel the full asking price is a little on the expensive side for the amount of content. I picked it up during a sale, and at that price I was perfectly happy with my purchase. If you're an adult looking for a long, challenging cosy game, this probably isn't going to be for you. But if you're a parent looking for a gentle introduction to gaming that you can enjoy alongside a young child, I honestly think Garden Buddies is a wonderful choice. I'd much rather see children discovering games like this than jumping straight into the far more violent titles that are so easily available nowadays. 💜 I happily recommend Garden Buddies for families with young children. It knows exactly who it's made for, delivers that experience with warmth and kindness, and left me feeling genuinely happy by the time the credits rolled.