[b]Note:[/b] A totally awesome friend gifted me a copy of this game. ^^
[h1]Growing plants has never been more relaxing, and there's a story! :o[/h1]
[h2]Introduction[/h2]
[i]Astra's Garden[/i] is a cozy, idling game with visual novel elements developed and published by NomnomNami. You're Astragalus (Astra, for short), the owner of an apothecary who grows plants used for magical, medicinal purposes. As Astra studied medicine, it only seems fitting that she'd run a shop to grow plants and distribute medicine to magical customers. Even though Astra just wants to operate her business quietly, she keeps getting visits from her brother, Cassava (Cass, for short), and a couple of interesting customers with their own sets of problems. Also, Astra keeps getting calls from her mom to come home. What's Astra to do? lol
With the gameplay, you grow plants in Astra's shop, making sure to water them. Each unique plant has a certain amount of time before it fully blooms, but you can use charms to make growing plants more convenient. You earn money as you click on fully grown flowers as well as click on random customers who come into the shop. To progress the story, you have to grow a certain number of particular flowers. There's the main story as well as an epilogue. Steam achievements are included, but they won't count towards a user's global total until the game is out of "Steam is learning about this game".
[h2]Review[/h2]
NomnomNami's games have a lovely charm that warms my heart. Ever since I played and reviewed [i]her tears were my light[/i], I just had a feeling that I would want to play more of this developer's game. (I have quite a bit of catching up to do on that. XD) Anyway, I noticed this latest release, and thanks to a wonderful friend, I got the chance to play it and share my thoughts. ^^
[h3]Story and Gameplay[/h3]
The story gives off a relaxed, laidback atmosphere, which is perfect for this game. I adore Astra as the main character. She just wants to run her business and not worry about family drama. However, the frequent calls from her mom and visits from Cass don't help. Without going too much into spoiler territory, I'll just say that there's quite a big twist in regards to Cass, which blew me away when I found out but it ended up making sense. As I mentioned earlier, there are a couple of noticeable customers, such as Periwinkle, who's constantly trying to find ways to stay awake, and Vinegar, who has the undeath virus. I should note that parts of the story deal with terminal illness and death, so it's understandable to be sensitive of such topics. Personally, I feel like these topics were handled well without forcing certain beliefs on anyone. (Some people could learn from this.) I like how the main story ends and the epilogue feels like a fitting conclusion. It gives off warmth and sweetness, making me feel happy that Astra resolved all her problems.
With the gameplay, it's very fun and engaging. Despite it being an idle game, you have to tend to the flowers fairly frequently since the growth time isn't too long. Although flowers need to be watered, you don't get penalized if you're late in doing so. The charms that you can place on flower pots help a lot to speed up the growth and such although they'll require the currency that you earn from growing plants to do so. You can grow flowers without ever using charms, but the charms are very helpful. (Also, a particular Steam achievement requires the use of charms.) As for achievements, they're all obtainable in one playthrough. It took me over an hour to 100% complete the game, but I could have sped up the time if I had used charms more often.
[h3]Art and Music[/h3]
The art style is very cutesy, which is pretty much a signature in all of NomnomNami's games. It feels very appropriate for this game, and I like how cute the sprites are and how beautiful the flowers are. There's just the right combination of colors, and I love the whole magical shop theme that's going on.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3735940366
In regards to the music, a couple of tracks are present, one for when you're growing flowers and another for the story parts. They're very relaxing and soothing to listen to, perfect for a cozy game. Also, they're all instrumental in nature. The music volume can be a bit on the slightly quieter side, but you can increase the volume.
[h2]Conclusion[/h2]
Would I recommend [i]Astra's Garden[/i]? If you're looing for a cozy, idling game with a heartwarming, emotional story, you're ok with delving into sensitive topics, you enjoy relaxing gameplay, and/or you just like getting those Steam achievements, then this is totally worth a try. The game is on the short side but very enjoyable. I enjoy NomnomNami's works a lot, so I feel like they're worth the price, but you can choose to wait for a sale. ^^
[quote]For more detailed, fully complete, high quality reviews like this, please follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44702020/]The Introverted Gamer[/url], prioritizing heart and soul always. ^^[/quote]
