I love a good idle game and have covered many of them. There is something about a game that just sits on the corner of your monitor and allows you to check in as you please. Never expecting too much from you or demanding too much attention. I will always be more interested in an idle game that has cute characters, animation, and easy upgrades.
BuGarden, from Plum Tree Studio and published by 3DM Games, allows you to create small and cozy garden plots on your screen, tended to by an adorable snail. The garden stays active while you work, study or browse.
Plant seeds, use water or fertilizer to help them grow faster, harvest flowers or fruit, and keep pests from infesting your plot. Special additives can also help you get mutated plants faster. As you upgrade your garden, you can open additional tools and seeds and even upgrade the look and abilities of your snail. The little snail will water and even harvest/replant the flowers and fruit for you eventually. You can also purchase upgraded decorative shells for your snail, with some extremely cute options. Lots of options to make your companion fit your style/aesthetic. There is also an option to purchase decorations for your desktop space.
5 different biomes to unlock, each with a variety of visuals to unlock for your plot design. You start with 2 seeds for each zone you unlock; further seeds require you to harvest a certain number of the previous plants. It isn’t complicated, and since they can manage themselves once you unlock sprinklers, etc., it’s nice to open it in the morning and plant new varieties that I’ve unlocked overnight. There is also a journal where you can see what you’ve unlocked. Anything harvested can be sold for extra coins.
I loved that you could hide the game with a simple click if you need an unobstructed workspace as well. It will run in the background until you’re ready to look at it again. I also loved that you could toggle off the bugs spawning so I didn’t need to see the little creepy critters walking all over my screen. It was also really nice that this didn’t block any of the achievements from being unlocked. If you choose to keep the insects active, you can unlock pest management techniques like lasers, vacuums, a zapper or even a frog.
The art style is hand-drawn, and its pastel colouring adds to the calm and cozy feeling. The music was delightful and calming, but I did have it muted most of the time since I had it primarily running while I was working.
As with most idle games, there are no time constraints and no fail states, just a lovely little garden and an adorable snail to keep you company during your day. I loved my time with it, and it’s still open on my desktop. That is an endorsement from me.
Until next time…be good to yourself and be good to each other.
**Special thanks to Future Friends Games for the review code**
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