Difficulty:

Easy

Time Spent:

10 Hours or Less

The Bottom Line:

"Immersive"

From one of my favorite developers, doing what they do best, Botanicula is a point and click adventure with stunning graphics, lively music and characters that come alive in your mind far beyond just images on a screen.

You, an acorn or nut type thing basically just living out your existence which seems to consist of not much at all, when you find a seed from a great tree, a seed that the very evil one eye'd black spider monster would like nothing more than to consume.

Quickly you assemble a rag tag crew of... friends? Other critters that occupy the same tree branches as you.

Together you work your way along the tree branches, into knots, and far far beyond, utilizing the unique abilities each of your companions brings to the table to solve simple puzzles to progress further into the game. After a short time you begin to see how dire the situation is and how much is truly at stake if someone doesn't act.

All of this is seamlessly conveyed without voices (not words anyway) or text at all, a sort of Amanita hallmark allowing their games to easily bridge language gaps without letting the game really lose anything at all.

Over 100 creatures are also waiting to be found in game, some are integral to the story, some are like easter eggs or mini puzzles that you need to solve to find, each gives you a card in your inventory and each is a work of art.

The imagination and creativity in Botanicula is highly infectious within moments you cant help but be drawn into its environment and story.

The game is often charmingly funny, always gorgeous and while the puzzles may be a bit simple and the overall game a bit short, you have to admit that the game has a real heart and soul of it's own.

Botanicula is a unique and stunning old school point and click adventure that anyone, not just fans of the genre should look into