Botanicula may look like your average point-and-click adventure game on the surface, but the outstanding artistic design, the fantastic music and the heartwarming story and its mere charm make it a gem amongst its genre.

In an industry increasingly saturated with derivative, soulless clones engineered only for profit, experiments like Botanicula shine like a beacon of light in the dark. A pleasure for the senses, and a journey very much worth experiencing at a very humble price without ads or insulting the player intelligence.

first off. i would call my self a full time gamer. i play stuff like hardcore shooter 5 and boring 50 copies sold simulator 3. the last thing i would have expected to enjoy is this game. Or is it Art?
IT truly looks beautiful, it sounds perfect (the creature sounds are blatantly a guy making noises, but thats adds to charm) and the actuual gameplay is rarther solid.

it constantly keeps you on your toes, building great memory skills. while it may have no spoken word or any subtitles, anyone can instantly understand the story and get reeled in.

i found it extremely enjoyable, and dear enthusiast1973. by all means, let your toddler play this game if you want them evermore to have nightmares. this game takes a sudden turn, and even i was freaked out slightly (not that thats too hard (my sister making me fight a boss in silent hill freaked me out so much i had to squint and turn the sound off. urgh))… Expand

This game is great! when I bought it I did expect an artistic experience, filled to the brim with great graphics, music, atmosphere and art. This I got with the addition of a great and truly unique game to boot! An absolute purchase

Samorost 1 and 2 were fun puzzle games but the puzzles themselves were a bit shallow then they released Machinarium which I found extremely entertaining with puzzles that made you think rather than know what to do right when you see it. Finally comes Botanicula, which I feel has regressed back to the shallow gameplay of their earlier titles. The puzzles were boring, if you can even call them puzzles considering for half of them all you have to do is click on the different party members til you find the right one. I also personally liked the art of all the previous titles more than Botanicula's as well. Each location in Machinarium felt as if I were standing in a painting whereas with Botanicula all I see is green. Overall not very impressive, I hope they plan on making another samorost or Machinarium title next.… Expand

Best point and click game since Monkey Island in my opinion, all the details are amazing, best game for 10 dollars ever. Another Masterpiece from Amanita design, perfect game from adults, childrens everyone. totally worth it.

Another masterpiece from Amanita Design. Great visuals and stylization with breathtaking sounds and music from DVA band and funny puzzles. I am glad for preordering.

There is more joy per line of code in Botanicula than just about any other game ive played. Its truly wonderful. Already one of my favorite games of the year. Im a big Machinarium fan.... and i think Botanicula might be better. Its more accessible, and even more charming (a feat which i thought was not possible). Everybody should buy it.

Endless joy and a micro world full of wonders awaits you on an adorable adventure to save mother nature's life. Do not even think about missing this outstanding piece of art! Well done, amanita and thank you so much.

I found Botanicula's whimsical take on biology absolutely enchanting. Five unlikely heroes wander through the forest attempting to banish the evil parasites, and meet many fantastical and adorable creatures along the way. Learn enough about a new creature and you will receive a collectible card. This adds a lot of replayability as it's fun to try to collect all the cards.

The visuals and sound are superb and fit perfectly with the overall feel of the game.… Expand

This game, more than any other one I've played in the recent years, has reminded me that people are supposed to have fun while playing. If your idea of fun does not consist mainly of headshotting virtual avatars, getting somewhere in the shortest time possible or butchering hordes of evil minions, consider giving this game a try. If you like to think, make sense of things or solve puzzles/mysteries/whatever needs to be solved and if you enjoy weird humour, trippy sounds and visuals or absurd surprises, you'll love this game. If you like easter eggs or just clicking on things to see what happens, this is a MUST for you. I've spent maybe half the time clicking on the environment to see what happens and deliberately not progressing through the game and I got not only quite a lot of good laughs out of it, but the game even rewarded me for having fun by a few fun surprises at the end. Which is telling, because the developes themselves clearly had a lot of fun making this game. From the quaint yet charming story and weird yet gorgeous visuals to the wonderfully trippy sound effects, all of which consist of either voices or musical instruments. From the introductory animation the game invites you to have FUN. Which I certainly did.… Expand

Everything about this game was perfect. The graphics are well drawn, the sound effects (probably made by someone's mouth) are astonishingly cute, and the story was really moving. I liked this better than the already perfect Machinarium.

And the idea of collecting cards about anything you see was really nice although I won't play it again just to collect them all. But if you are the kind of guy who tries to get all the "achievements" then this is for you.… Expand

Rarely does a game hold any type of facination, Botanicula is simply amazing, its so original and so unique its hard to put into words, the sound effects are excellent, the visuals are inspiring to say the least, the gameplay is point and click (some may or may not like this). I was just in awe the whole way through this game, never knowing whats comming next, never really understanding what im doing, but i dont think the 5 friends knew either, its a journey of uncertainty...its all so strange, but intrigueing at the same time....10 bucks for this game is a steal, if you like point and click games this is a MUST!… Expand

just beautiful! the ambientation, the living creatures, the sounds, the colors, the story... its a dream, as usual with Amanita games, i liked the animation too and the interaction with the environment, very creative. machinarium-like game style, but fresh and original, its a must have for any fan of this genre, and for me its one of the best games of 2012.

A beautiful world with a soul, where the group of several adorable friends are trying to do something good together. We can learn from them. Giving it 10/10, because I can not find a single reason to take even one point from it's score. Personally, I would be glad to have more of such games.

Machinarium sucks you in its world and story. Your goal is clear in every scene, but not in Botanicula. You know you have to collect 5 keys, save 3 kids, whatever, but you don't know how do those relate to your final goal. Music was a great part of it, but I'd like to see more variations on the same theme, or better yet, make other themes.

I would have given it a 7, but 9 bucks for 2.5 hours of gameplay just isn't good enough.… Expand

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 puzzle. 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

One of the best indie games to come out this year. I recommend playing with headphones in order to drown out all other sound and get completely immersed in Botanicula's masterfully created world. The music is perfect for the game, as are the sound effects. A joy to play for sure!

From the Quirky sounds to the fun gameplay to the fun puzzles that didn't make you sit there for hours, this game was a delight to play. The visuals are just awesome and proves that you don't have to use Unreal 3 to make a good game.

One slight quirk was some puzzles and aspects of the game got repetitive, but that while it was SLIGHTLY annoying, in no way hindered the overal fun of the game.

My verdict?

Great game. One of the best Point and Clicks ever made.

Oh, one more thing. @rainbow19 WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING?? THIS GAME IS A POINT AND CLICK. YOU POINT. AND YOU CLICK. WHAT ELSE MUST YOU GUYS WANT? AN FPS?… Expand

I'm feeling sorprised, this year is the year of the PC, have much excellent games this year (Tribes: Ascend, Legend of Grimrock for example), and Botanicula is no exception, is excellent, funny, addictive, nice, colorful, etc. The gameplay is simple but addictive, tha graphics yeah again simple but beautiful. Amanita Desing create other excellent game.

What is this beauty, these colors, this world, these creatures, everything in this game is incredibly amazing. Botanicula is full of surprises. You will never expect what will happen next to be shocked by something beautiful that you have not seen before.

Really fun and super cute. The scenes are less diverse than in other Amanita games, but the characters visuals, and music are as charming as ever.

Amanita Desing, se caracteriza en proponer una experiencia nueva en cuanto a juegos de computadora se trata, lo que hace que es pieza se escape a lo que comúnmente se entiende como un juego de vídeo y lo sitúa más cerca a lo que una obra de arte se refiere, inspiradora para todo creador y aquel que no sintió las ganas de participar en el desarrollo de una obra de arte como esta, pues no entendió lo que Amanita Desing propuso con este impecable juego. Su mayor logro es superarse después de Machinarium… Expand

Im not sure what i expected going into this game, when i picked it up on the HiB, it reminded me of Limbo, and i wasnt overly impressed with that either. It was pretty but i would have appreciated an idea of what i was supposed to do ingame, i clicked around and dropped a few bugs in a hole and then i gave up. I just didnt click with it.

This is a positively delightful game! I've never played a game that's simultaneously so: 1) Visually appealing; 2) Aurally appealing; 3) Relaxing; 4) Smile-provoking; and 5) Engaging ...as Botanicula is. Other games have certainly mastered one or more of these traits, but I've never seen them all in the same place like this, before. Even Amanita's other games (Machinarium, Samorost 2, etc.) haven't quite "hit the nail on the head" like this one does. (They're all quite enjoyable, though, for those who haven't yet tried them.)

Additionally, Botanicula has a killer sound track that's completely unlike anything I've ever heard before. I purchased this game from Humble Indie Bundle (humblebundle.com--April 2012 bundle), and it came with access to a DRM-free download of the complete soundtrack (plus a bunch of other great games, a feature-length indie film, Steam keys, etc.).

Finally, I had an issue with being "stuck" in a section, and having read/watched walkthroughs for the section, came to the conclusion that it was probably a bug. I contacted Amanita Design via their web page and explained the situation, and after a few days of troubleshooting, they showed me what I needed to do to keep going. (The person I talked to had to do some figuring of his own, and got back to me as soon as he solved it.) I don't quite know if it was actually a bug, or if the solution was intentionally idiosyncratic (and other people hadn't noticed), or if I just happened to screw something up; but the level of prompt, one-on-one, back-and-forth problem solving that the developers were willing to engage in definitely places them in "star customer service" territory, in my "book."

The one thing I could see people complaining about with this game is that it's only 4 hours long (the way I played, anyway). Still, this level of mastery is basically a "Shakespearean sonnet" of gaming, so I don't consider this a fault at all, as I would in lesser titles.

Bottom line: BUY THIS GAME! Even if you're not into puzzle(/adventure) games (as I'm generally not), I can pretty much guarantee you'll enjoy this one immensely; and for the price--at humblebundle.com, gog.com, or elsewhere--there's no denying that you'll be "making out like a bandit"--which is just the way I like it. :-) It even runs on Mac, Linux, and Android, too!… Expand

it was love at first sight.the cute characters,the beautiful environment,the calming music....
the puzzles are fairly simple and i like it because you don't get frustrated.plus it is cross platform and supports linux! the developers have taken a good step to sell it as a part of humble bundle,allowing the buyers to decide the price,as many of them would have pirated it if it was sold at,say, 30 dollars.though the developers should stop using adobe flash or adobe air as they are not well supported under linux.… Expand

All in All this game was a joy to play and not very expensive if you got it from the humble bundle. The art is what made it worth while. As far as a click adventure puzzler. The puzzles had no logical progression and were quite simple. Normally puzzler requires you to think critically in order to solve them, but clicking on things did completely random things and in the end gave you what you were looking for.… Expand

Extremely original and very quirky. This industry could take some notes from this simple yet satisfying game. Also very engaging for my 5 year old daughter, for her to find, explore, and solve the puzzles.

now about the game, well it's artistic and original, creative, never know what to expect, will be always wow'ed. Exploring it is awesome. However the gameplay is pure **** Literally. This isn't for a die hard gameplay guy. If you can enjoy a game masterfully pleasant to watch, this is just for you, and let me tell you, I have enjoyed this game. This game hereby earns 6 jim faces out of 10.

Lovely game. Really nicely styled graphics and excellent sound. The puzzles can be a bit simple and the game is short, but for the cheap price this really is a very good package.

What this game really succeeds is to create almost real and unique world which you will be dragged into if you just let it. The atmosphere of Botanicula is its bigges achievement.
But the game is not without its flaws. While Danaroth's review has listed many legitimate flaws in the game, and I would add that the pacing of the game in the first part is not ideal - too many times I would just wander with my characters around bewildered what to do next, I would say that these flaws do not deter from having fun with this game. At least me and my girlfriend had really fun times. Sure - Machinarium is by far better game, but this is also true gem. Warmly recommended.… Expand

Botanicula is another beautifully presented game from Amanita. They clearly employ some of the finest artists and sound designers in the industry, as they have churned out yet another immersive, gorgeous and surreal experience. My only negatives come in the gameplay department. The puzzles are varied but, whilst some are genuinely quite brilliant, others feel frustrating. Some are way too simple, not requiring much thought at all whilst others are just random click-a-thons, hoping to find the part of the environment that works. Still, Botanicula is a great experience and is definitely worth playing. I would also highly recommend Amanita's other big game, Machinarium. Whilst Botanicula feels more style over substance, Machinarium has both style and substance in spades.… Expand

This is a great game. I think it's more about art and music. Not so difficult to finish and not for all. If you love AMANITA i recommend this title but if you know them for the first time it's not the one that i should play first. Go to their website and play some free game! Botanicula is a masterpiece! And the music too! 9

This game is pure amazing. Aside from portal 1 and 2, this is the only game that has made me actually laugh out loud. I feel happy while playing this game and yearn to see whats next around the corner for the group of freinds. Amanita Design keeps one upping itself with its games from that first one (forgot name) which was a great little adventure with great art, to machinarium which is still one of my all time favorite games due to its charming story and excellent art style and the way the story is told, and now with Botanicula, its greatest game yet. The story is told perfectly through small blurbs from other creatures, the puzzles are not too challenging which is perfect for this game, there is a lot of variety in the actions you take and the options you have for a point and click game, but most of all, the MUSIC AND ART ARE SIMPLY AMAZING. Perfect color scheme, perfect x2 music and an amazing story make this game of of the most enjoyable experiences Ive ever had gaming and you should really purchase this game to support Amanita Design so they can keep one upping themselves. Awesome job.… Expand

I can honestly say, that I had high expectations for this game, and that I wasn't disappointed. Even though it's a bit short, it's still a wonderful Point-and-Click adventure game that is sure to delight. This game offers stunning visuals, with beautiful microscopic landscapes, funny, imaginative characters, and simple gameplay that makes it a great, casual gaming experience. If you ever get the chance, buy it. If you're not a big fan of Point-and-Click games, at least wait for a Steam Sale. Or, just go for it. I can guarantee that most of you will not be disappointed. I give it an 8/10.… Expand

Gorgeous game. Amazing soundtrack and artwork! The storyline was simple and cute, and the entire game was just filled with life! And it's available on Macs as well, get it on Steam and you'll be doing yourself a favour.

Major WTF! Super original, nothing you've ever played before. Just warm milk you sip and enjoy at every click. Proves that golden era of 80s video games is not dead: games that were not just based on graphics but on substance and originality. Don't copy, create. Bravo!

A real masterpiece of poetic video gaming! A great game that should be tried by every fan of great art, atmosphere and puzzles! Congratulations to Amanita Design!

I liked Botanicula a lot. It tells a very cute story all with pictures and very expressive plants (?)! There were a lot of puzzles that tended toward the easy side of the spectrum. The graphics and artwork were excellent, it was beyond what I had imagined were possible using Flash. The depth of the puzzles did not match Machinarium (the best known Amanita game) but Botanicula is comparable in terms of creativity and style. This would be an excellent game for older kids who would be put off by the difficulty of Machinarium. I played this on a PC, but I would imagine an iPad would be the perfect platform for this game.… Expand

This is one of the most imaginative, sweet, and endearing games I've ever played. It's not that much of a challenge, but the enjoyment of this game, for me, was in the exploration and interaction with the beautiful environments.

Funny game but sounds in it are too unprofessional for me and it's too short. Half day to finish it without solution is not what i expected. Puzzles are not logic enough.

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

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Botanicula is a surprisingly beautiful game. As a resident of a tree, you have the task of protecting the tree against the monstrous spiders that absorb the sap of the tree. Here you four more friends to help you in this perilous journey into the unknown. You have to solve tricky tasks with the help of your surroundings and your friends. The game has an incredibly cute graphics and great sound. Cute!… Expand

This game is strange, but it has a unique atmosphere and charm. All the characters are cute and some situations are so funny. The graphic and music are perfect and different, and all the animal sound are so amusing. The only flaw is that it's too short.