Botany Manor is an upcoming game from developer Laure De May. It’s an incredibly relaxing-looking game in which you play as a retired botanist who lives in a picturesque manor in England. There, the botanist needs to plant and cultivate some mysterious seeds she has, but their needs are all very different. These aren’t normal seeds, so players will be getting some absurd things together to cultivate and care for these fantastic plants. Needless to say, this will be the most exciting stage of this botanist’s career. While not much has been revealed about the game just yet, you can’t deny that the concept is fantastic and the game looks beautiful so far.
Added some gardening mechanics to my game 🪴 I've been working on this environment for quite some time so it's nice to finally have some gameplay in! 🌱🌳 #gamedev #madewithunity #techart pic.twitter.com/9LGeezZlxD
— Laure 🔜 WASD (@Laure_DeMey) July 14, 2020
The game is still being worked on behind the scenes, so no one can access it at the time of writing. However, with the sunny weather not starting to become a little more regular, it’s a lovely way to imagine just how we’ll all make the most of summer when it finally rolls around.
The thing I love most about this game is the fact that it’s a puzzler that looks good and has the potential for great depth. First-person puzzlers have become one of the most-engrossing genres over the last couple of years, with Firewatch and The Witness providing some of the hardest-hitting story beats. I adore games like this, but the ones that are grounded feel better for some reason. Botany Manor doesn’t put you in the shoes of a superhero, the protagonist is an accomplished individual in their own field. The only strange thing going on is the fact that these seeds are all bonkers.
I hope that the game will tell players something about the protagonist’s past, but also give us something to hold onto. Telling a story is only powerful when it’s relatable, but this setting is more than open enough for that. With so many big name names dropping this year, it can be hard to keep up with all the hours that you feel like you need to pile into them. Take a break when this game launches and relax for a while.