Botanicula PC
User Score
8.2 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 217 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 189 out of 217
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 217
  3. Negative: 14 out of 217

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  1. Danaroth
    Apr 20, 2012
    4
    This game definitely doesn't hold any of the magic of Machinarium. The scenery is way more repetitive, the world in general has less details and the map is confusing.

    The puzzles are basically pixel hunting taken to the extreme consequences, you'll just look for your hotspot and pray that is the right sequence. There also some basic drag and drop events and some basic environmental puzzl    e. The inventory management is close to non existent and you are never explicitly told where to go if you have missed an item; that is pretty annoying since later levels are pretty vast. The minor arcade sequences are also unpolished, but what annoyed me the most is that you can't interact with anything while a cutscene relative to another interaction is ongoing. The uniqueness of the 5 playing characters is basically unuseful since, in the scenes where you need them to act alone, you'll basically select them randomly until you find the correct one.

    On the good side, it's likely you'd enjoy the soundtrack and enjoy this game if you are a fan of hidden object games or of Samorost series, which also had a similar bare-bones structure. The game has also a length that justifies the pricetag and some extra beast catalogue that collects all the creatures you've run into; some require going back to some places so that may hold a minor replay value.

    Personally, a huge disappointment, especially knowing what this studio would be capable of.    … Expand
  2. strav
    Feb 13, 2013
    4
    Since the release of the Samorost series and Machinarium, Amanita Design held a special place in my hear for being able to convey a profoundly sensible experience without relying on dialogue. This made their game appealing on a totally different level. Like many, my expectations for Botanicula were consequently very high and all that big tree idea was very compelling until... I actually played the game. To give credit where credit is due: you can feel that there's been an incredible effort to make the game look alive; literally, every pixel seems to be animated by a life of it's own and all of which is enclosed in a rich sonic ambiance that soothes the mind. But the greatness ends there. Your interactions with this rich and beautiful world are as tantalizing as they are passive. There is a reason why games have puzzles or challenging opponents for when you try to defeat them, you are engaged with the game and sadly, this is where Botanicula fails completely. The "puzzles" are so simplistic and naive that you could have solved them by clicking at random on anything that moves or shines (in no way can they be compared to what Machinarium had to offer). Not only the puzzles are simplistic and naive, there's not even enough content to the game to keep you occupied more than 2 or 3 hours. One could argue that a game does not need to have a challenging game-play to be fun; citing The Walking Dead for instance but The Walking Dead is a whole different story for, to the point, it has an amazing story and a very peculiar way to drag you into it while Botanicula simply has no story, nada. Aside from the ever changing animations, I really can't see what is this game's appeal. Fortunately, Amanita makes no false claim about this game as they call it a "toy-game" (what more unfortunate though, is that they intend to make Samorost 3 a toy-game too!). To be fair, perhaps I'm not the right audience for this game; I like a lot of stuff that's somewhat intended for children (any Hayao Miyazaki's movies for instance) but perhaps this is a game that really is for children. In brief, if you're the kind of person that deeply enjoyed the Myst series, or something like Portal, run away like hell. If on the other hand you loved Samorost I and II, maybe you'll like this game and if you loved Machinarium, just know that this is NO Machinarium at all.… Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
82 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 38 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 38
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 38
  3. Negative: 0 out of 38
  1. PC Master (Greece)
    Aug 31, 2012
    78
    Botanicula can't hide its shortcomings, mostly the short duration (about three hours for completion), the non-existent replay value and the tiresome transitions between riddles in the hub. However, its magic atmosphere, the surrealistic portrayal of nature and the happy disposition that sips through from this strange world, compile a unique title, true to the standards of its Czech developers. [July 2012]
  2. Gameblog.fr
    Jun 29, 2012
    100
    Botanicula is a wonderful tale in which one loves getting lost; a real puzzler to have fun with; and a genuine visual and sound art piece.
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  3. PC Gamer
    Jun 12, 2012
    82
    A different kind of adventure, in a very different kind of world that wastes no time before growing on you.
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