You Just HAVE To Play Botanicula
When I was reviewing Amanita Design’s Chuchel last week, I realized to my dismay that I had never actually taken the time to review that company’s very best, cutest, and most original game Botanicula. Calling Botanicula their best game is a daring thing to say. Their other titles are also beautifully well realized puzzle games like Samorost or the somewhat depressing but ultimately uplifting Machinarium. Chuchel also had one of my favorite heroes and some of my favorite puzzles. But all of these elements – beautiful environment, compelling story, and terrific heroes – really come together in Botanicula. It tells a unique and complete story about the struggle five friends face to survive in a beautiful, natural environment when evil monsters invade. It’s one of the smartest, funniest, and prettiest games you’ll ever experience. You need to go play this game right now!
Those spiders mean business! Fortunately you have your buddies watching your back.
One thing that immediate sets Botanicula apart from those other titles is the fact that you control five protagonists, not one. In the game, your five heroes are called into action when mysterious monsters start threatening their tree-dwelling community. Your heroes move as a single unit with hilarious, Monty Python-like animations from location to location. Each of your five heroes has unique abilities that play out over the course of the game; you’ll reach a puzzle, for example, and have to decide which of your heroes (the one the flies, the one that’s indestructible, etc) has the ability to solve it. While it’s fun to solve the puzzles, it’s almost more fun to guess wrong and see the often hilarious results (not unlike Bring You Home’s gameplay). The puzzles are also really innovative, stretching the limits of what point-and-click adventures can provide. Nobody is having as much fun playing with the possibilities of point-and-click as Amanita Designs is, and their innovation is on full display here.
Hey cool, it’s a play within a play. Wait, those guys look familiar.
All of Amanita Design’s games are worth playing (and, to me, worth buying). Botanicula, though, is their best game. It’s as cuter than any of their other titles. The puzzles are also as varied and intelligent as any of their other games. I found the characters’ journey to be the most interesting, too. The game feels like an interesting animated film from some foreign country with an unfamiliar language. Playing the game, you never fully understand what’s going on but the game still compels you to keep going, to see what happens next. I was more attached to these heroes than I’ve been to any character I’ve played in a long time and I found their story more satisfying than most any game I’ve played. Amanita Designs does great work; I’ve loved all of their games, but Botanicula is the one I couldn’t put down.
THE BEST PARTS
The puzzles, graphics, and story are all well done. This is one of the funniest and smartest games, and its other-worldly enough to keep you guessing about what could happen next.
THE WORST PARTS
If you don’t like cute, this is not the game for you (though those spidery invaders are creepy as hell).
OVERALL: BUY IT
Botanicula has so more creativity in its approach to its heroes, its gameplay, and its puzzle design that any other game I’ve played in a long time. Play it to remind yourself how original and heartfelt games can be.
