The Undergarden Review

Some games are so adorable that it is distracting when playing. Filled with vibrant colors, abundant life, and cute characters, The Undergarden fits that description pretty nicely. If you enjoyed aesthetically-pleasing games like Braid, Everyday Shooter and Flow, then The Undergarden is right up your alley.

You play as a fairy-like creature that floats around bringing plants back to life. In an otherwise dark and dead world, your character is responsible for reinvigorating the environment. The plants begin to sprout as soon as you come near them, but you need pollen in order to do so. A pollen bar shows how much you have and once it runs low, you will need to collect more from these green sacks before you can continue reviving the world.

Aside from the visual display, The Undergarden also throws some fairly basic puzzles at you. Most of them involve the manipulation of the environment and the use of physics. For instance, you may need to gather “fruit” from plants that you revive and use them as weights to open a door or passage. Other objects will need to be turned using your character’s weight or blown up with explosive “fruit”.

The Undergarden is more about the sensory experience than it is about the merits of exciting gameplay. This is the type of game that you would want to play after a long and stressful day just to wind down. Not only is it kid-friendly, it is a game that is the antithesis of blood and gore shooters. The Undergarden stands out for its peaceful and relaxing qualities alone in an industry that has become dominated by gritty and often quite disturbing violence.

I wish that there was more meat on the bones. I really wanted to give The Undergarden a higher score, but it is so light on substance that it is basically more of an interactive and highly polished screensaver than an actual game. Thankfully, the price is only $9.99, so even people with a tight budget can probably overlook the lack of depth and revel in the artistic pleasure that is The Undergarden.