Urban Jungle

Very fun puzzle game.

Очень миленькая игра! Самое то для людей, которые хотят расслабиться, если любят растения и визуальные новеллы. Ненавязчивый сюжет, который погружает тебя в историю главной героини и её семьи, что добавляет душу в эту игру, помимо милого геймплея. Да, в некоторых местах нужно подумать, ведь у цветов есть свои характеристики, которые нужно соблюсти. Но честно, оно происходит скорее само собой, чем ты сидишь и забиваешь голову ненужными мыслями. Отчасти это тоже плюс, поскольку игра заставляет таким образом тебя вовлечься и отпустить реальные проблемы. Можно пройти за один день, но я проходила понемногу, заходила по вечерам разгрузиться. Помимо этого, DLC про брата героини мне тоже невероятно понравилось, атмосфера главы невероятно чудесная!

In Urban Jungle you play as Ayta as she grows up with one constant: the absolute love of plants. Ayta populates every one of her living spaces with a TON of plants. You will have to learn about each kind of plant in order to know where to place them for them to thrive. Some of the main things to look at are: Sun, Shade, Water, Dry, Companion, or Enemy. Some plants love a mix of different things so you will have to arrange Ayta's living/working spaces so that the plants are happy. As you play the game the story will be revealed during different conversations or level changes. I enjoyed the brief insights into her family and her life as I was trying to figure out the exact parameter around a watering can I could get plants to grow, it added to the ambiance. You can pet the pets in this game! A bonus. It took me a while to get all of the plants and the varieties but it was fun to try to maximize the amount of plants in each space. I would recommend Urban Jungle to people who enjoy games about caring for and carefully arranging whiny little digital plants. Give Urban Jungle a try! Bring nature to all flat surfaces of your home or office today!

Urban Jungle is a cute, cozy little puzzle game about plants, growing up, and figuring out what actually makes you happy. The gameplay is pretty simple: you move plants around different rooms in your home and try to give them the right combination of sunlight, humidity, and plant neighbors. Some plants like being near certain other plants, while others need a specific combination of sun and humidity. It's easy to pick up and doesn't require a ton of brainpower, which makes it a great game to play while you have a show or something else going on on the other screen. My one real complaint with the gameplay is that sometimes playing for points conflicts with making the room actually look nice. For example, if a plant needs both sunlight and humidity, but there's only one window and one humidifier available, suddenly you've got half your plants crammed onto the windowsill or a table around those two sources. Technically, you've solved the puzzle and your plants are happy... but the room looks like someone became a plant hoarder overnight. Most levels give you enough sources of light and humidity that this isn't a huge issue, but there were definitely a couple where I found myself prioritizing the perfect plant placement for points rather than arranging the room in a way that looked natural or aesthetically pleasing. I would have loved a little more freedom to make the rooms feel like someone's actual home rather than optimizing them like a botanical spreadsheet. That said, I really enjoyed the gameplay. Now, for the story. It's not an incredibly deep or groundbreaking narrative, but I don't think it needs to be. The story follows the main character as she reflects on childhood dreams, the realities of adulthood, and eventually starts figuring out how to course-correct and find her own happiness. It touches on the idea that life doesn't have to be an endless grind for money and success, and that sometimes you need to stop and ask yourself what you actually want and go for it. The story unfolds through dialogue and little text scenes involving her family and friends, and it's all very cute and wholesome. It's less about delivering some profound philosophical revelation and more about giving you a warm, fuzzy feeling while you play a game about putting plants in rooms. And honestly? That's exactly what I wanted from it. Urban Jungle is relatively short, relaxing, cute, and doesn't take itself too seriously. The puzzles aren't particularly difficult, so it's a great choice if you're looking for something low-stress to unwind with for a few hours. Root yourself in this game and see where it grows.

Die Pflanzen müssen weder gegossen noch gepflegt werden. Genau wie meine echten Zimmerpflanzen – nur dass diese hier mich nicht nach zwei Wochen still und heimlich verlassen. Und man kann Tiere streicheln.

Some fun concepts but a bit short on all aspects. The plant synergies reminded me of Reus 2 but only skimming the surface. In the end plant placement didn't matter that much, and the unpacking side made me wish for a kind of hidden objects game where moving stuff around interacts for goals. The story flash forwarded too fast to see the meaningful developments, in a way this felt like experiencing King Crimson. You could see threads being hinted at, and after blinking the knot is already tied. Some minor placement jankiness. The game doesn't have really breaking issues, but it's just a bit lacking. A good point is the variety of plants being proposed, the research was done.

Die Hintergrundgeschichte ist sehr liebevoll gestaltet und auch die Gegenständen in den Zimmern zeugen von sehr viel Liebe zum Detail. Deswegen kam ich nicht (wie viele andere Rezensionen) umhin das Spiel ein wenig mit "Unpacking" zu vergleichen. Leider hinkt dieses Spiel aber sehr dem Original hinterher... 1) Gegenstände glitchen plötzlich durch Betten/Schränke/Wände etc. und man kann dann Missionen nicht mehr erfüllen, die Münzen für die Pflanzen generieren. 2) Man hat sehr wenig Freiheit bezgl. des Einrichtens der Pflanzen und nach einer gewissen Zeit war meine Frustgrenze erreicht und ich habe nur noch Sukkulenten/Kakteen/Wüstenrosen auf einen kleinen Bereich platziert.. Hauptsache es generiert Levelaufstiege, damit ich ins nächste Kapitel kann. Die Zimmer sahen selten realitätsnah, sondern eher wahllos zusammengewürfelt aus, Hauptsache ich konnte die Story beenden. 3) Die Missionen (ausser Münzen zu generieren) stellen kein elementares Element für das Spiel dar. Man kann sie auch ignorieren, was sehr komisch erscheint. Es presst den Spieler/die Spielerin eher dazu das zu machen, was ich oben beschrieben habe (gratis Pflanzen auf einen Haufen zu platzieren, Hauptsache man macht progress. 4) Die Missionen müssen in der richtigen Reihenfolge erledigt werden, in der sie erscheinen, ansonsten riskiert man keine Münzen zu erhalten, weil man bspw. zu früh die Kartons weggeräumt hat. Ein weiterer Punkt der Gestaltungsfreiheit und Autonomie wegnimmt. Schlussendlich ist meine Stimmung nach dem Spiel lediglich frustriert, weil man sehr wenig Einrichtungsoption erhält, weil irgendwie möchte man ja das Kapitel beenden.