Nukezilla Review: The UnderGarden (PC)

The UnderGarden is, effectively, Flower underwater. At least, that’s what it’s trying to be. The underlying idea of meditation and transformation are present in both, as well as the general theme of altering and creating the surrounding environment. The player controls a tiny water sprite, who must travel from stage to stage, collecting underwater pollen in order to encourage plant life to grow and blossom on the rocky underwater terrain once again.

That’s not to say that once you’ve sprouted the plants that you’re done. Scattered amongst the stages are little musicians who, when picked up, cause the plants to change color and shape, creating an entirely new entity for your underwater garden. Each musician has a little tune of their own which serves to alter the plants and flowers, and the musicians can be combined for more results, creating what is effectively a unique playing experience every time the stage is played. In addition, as the game moves on, more and more puzzles are introduced, such as those which utilize the surrounding environment (e.g. heavy, floating, or exploding fruits) in order to open new pathways.

There’s a certain amount of charm and whimsy to the game — the sprite is rather cute, but kind of creepy close up, and the visuals are stunning, if overly electric — but I can’t forgive the underlying problems of the game. The control scheme for the PC is incredibly awkward, especially if someone is playing with a touch pad mouse (which I was), and often the sprite had a delayed response to commands, if he decided to respond at all. The most unforgivable aspect, however, was either the combination of keyboard and mouse commands (a no-no in a game attempting to be minimalistic) or the fact that the game did not allow me to remap the command keys to suit my own playing style.

I wish I could say that was the pinnacle of The UnderGarden’s problems, but I would be lying: the stages are repetitive, especially in the first half of the game (no new puzzle types are introduced until near the end of the game). Additionally, nothing much comes of the zen/meditative feel the game tries so desperately to get the player to feel. At the end of the day, The UnderGarden seems rather pointless: even Flower had some sort of narrative and presented a reason why the game was being played; The UnderGarden doesn’t even try to provide incentive or motive beyond “it’s zen” — the game is effectively an interactive screensaver, and I don’t much see the point of it.

I am sure there’s an audience for this game. Perhaps hardcore Flower fans might like to try The UnderGarden, but I personally was unable to get over how inherently boring I found the game. Yes, it’s pretty to look at, and yes, it is to a point relaxing, but at the same time, there’s zen, and then there’s exhausting. While I wanted to like it, for me, The UnderGarden definitely sunk into the latter category.

Disclosure: We were provided with a review code by the developer.

This review is Day 18 of the December Review Nukestravaganza.