Garden Story Hands on/Impressions

I recently received a review code from the fine folks at Picogram/Rose City Games for their game Garden Story that plays like an NES Zelda game with fruits. You play the role of Concord, the youngest grape in the land, who becomes the newest guardian of the Grove. Help take care of the Grove by helping other villagers with their everyday lives as well as fighting the rot that's slowly taking over the land. I feel that it looks and plays like a classic Legend of Zelda game with the items/weapons used. You heal yourself by using dew, or a potion, to restore health, as well as using a sword-like weapon to attack. That being said, the inventory system is not great as it's hard to tell at times what you have equipped and what you don't. There is also a hot-button system that allows you quick item/weapon access but it isn't as simple to use, as you'd like. Some games allow you to hit the hot button and have quick access but Garden Story is a little different in that the hot button doesn't use the item, it appears to give you access to it and then you need to use the appropriate button. The map isn't the greatest either as the areas are massive and thus, hard to get used to. It took me a long time to figure out where in the Grove was my new house. There were also a few typos in the text and some of the time, it felt like a word or two were missing. Garden Story is a charming game that classic Zelda fans will want to check out. The music and writing is fun and there are different items/costumes to wear and add a certain level of customization. You can check out my hands on/impressions video below and see why I'm giving the game an 8.5/10 for the Switch.

SCORE: 8.5/10