Botany Manor is a must-play addition to the PlayStation 5

Botany Manor is a true delight. I’ll admit, I had a feeling I’d enjoy it as it’s exactly my type of game on paper. Gardening-centric? Check. Cosy? Check. A puzzler? Check. Botany Manor couldn’t be any more Kate-coded if it tried. Add in the fact that it was recommended to me by two trusted colleagues and you can understand why I was pretty certain that Botany Manor and I would be a match made in heaven. It’s a testament to the game then, and developer Balloon Studios, that Botany Manor still somehow managed to totally exceed my expectations. This is, by far, the most charming and joyful game I have played in a long time.

Set in the year 1890, you’ll assume the role of Arabella Greene, a retired botanist who, at her enormous manor house in Somerset, is undertaking research on rare plants in preparation for the publication of her upcoming book, Forgotten Flora. It’s your task to collect clues from around the manor that’ll help you successfully grow 12 fiddly specimens.

This is a bite-sized experience, but I’d argue that’s part of its charm. It took me around three hours to roll credits on Botany Manor which I did so in a single sitting. You see, Botany Manor transported me elsewhere. In reality, I was sitting on my bed in my cosy pajamas drinking a cup of tea on a cold February night. In my mind though, I was wandering the halls of my extensive country pile on a warm summer’s day, stopping on the rose terrace to admire the rolling hills of Somerset. Botany Manor is a quintessentially English form of escapism that’s so inviting and idealistic that even those of us who reside in England yearn to experience such picturesque, lavish luxury.

Marvel at the wonders of Botany Manor below.

I totally lost myself in Arabella’s world and I’ll admit, a pang of sadness hit me when the rolling of the credits brought me back to reality. But Botany Manor’s charm extends far beyond its cottagecore setting. Perhaps my favourite aspect of the game was the sense of achievement I felt whilst solving its puzzles, because Botany Manor really doesn’t hold your hand. Well, it does, for the first plant at least and then once you’ve got the hang of things, you’re pretty much thrown in at the deep end.

You’ll need to scour the manor for all kinds of artifacts and tools, from pamphlets and children's stories, to a camera and morse code machine. In each chapter, Arabella will grow two to three plants and before long, you’ll start to notice a pattern emerging linking certain clues together. For example, perhaps several clues all mention wind or light levels. You’ll then have to figure out which plant they’re referencing before using the clues to establish the perfect conditions for the respective plant to grow. This may sound simple on paper but you can, later in the game, be dealing with over 25 clues simultaneously split across three plants. You have to have a keen eye for detail.

That’s why it’s so incredibly rewarding when you get it right. I imagine almost everybody who picks up this game succeeds in solving its puzzles, but that didn’t stop me from feeling like a genius when I did so myself. Botany Manor is subtle enough that you’ll really want to pat yourself on the back.

Credit / Whitethorn Games

As my colleague Emma Flint summed up in her original review of the game on Steam, “To be a part of Arabella’s green thumbed world is a gift. Sadly, it isn’t a gift we can keep enjoying once it's complete, due to the way in which the puzzles are solved; their rigidity makes the game more of a one hit wonder. However, despite its short longevity, Botany Manor is everything you want from a plant-based puzzle game. In fact, I’d argue it exceeds expectations. No, I can’t easily return to re-do the puzzles, at least not if I want a fresh challenge, but simply to bask in the glow of the sun-lit grounds? Oh, I’ll return to Botany Manor in a heartbeat.”

It’s a sentiment I echo myself with regards to the recently released PlayStation 5 port. Botany Manor runs flawlessly on the console and if you’ve spent the last couple of months forlornly watching your friends over on PC, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch having all the fun, now you can join in yourself - and I heartily recommend you do so. Botany Manor is a scrumptious treat regardless of which platform you pick it up on, but if you are tempted by the new PlayStation port, I can attest that it’s a stellar way to kick off the year. I only hope Arabella is busy working on a second book …

Botany Manor is out now on PlayStation 5 (version tested), Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. A review code was provided by the publisher.