[b]mike's garden[/b] is an excellent take on the classic [b]color lines[/b] from 1992, where the goal is to line up 5 or more of the same thing (plants in this case) by moving them around on a grid, as long as the path is clear. if no match is made, a few more plants will appear randomly in the next turn. once the board is filled, it's game over, man. a recent example I played and enjoyed was [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/dohi64/recommended/2163890]magic bubbles[/url] but this one is more involved.
it's [b]endless score attack with a leaderboard[/b] and an isometric view. thankfully, no need to mess with the camera. [b]no undo[/b] either, but due to the nature of the game it wasn't a dealbreaker. if it had hand-crafted puzzles, it'd be a different case. still wouldn't hurt, of course.
simple mouse controls, left click to select, right click to cancel. [b]no hotkeys[/b], might happen at some point. the [b]learn to play[/b] section explains the basics and provides some hints and other useful info. missing [b]mid-run saving was patched in before release[/b], so you can quit anytime and continue or start a new one next time. [b]a point calculator would be very useful[/b], to see how many you'd get by placing that thing there, but I was told it's not possible, as score is calculated [i]after[/i] placement.
so far so 1992 but there are a few things increasing longevity. bully for me, as normally I'd play something like this 2 or 3 times and move on after an hour or so. the [b]difficulty level increases after every 50 turns[/b] in the form of a new plant appearing on the scene, making it harder and harder to create matches but also awarding more points than lower level greens. more plants can be unlocked and brought to the game from the greenhouse but it's only cosmetic, they're all equal and can be put into any level slot.
[b]quests[/b] are a thing too. they start out easy, more of a tutorial, then get trickier and lead to a single bonus plant (there are 30 total). they can also be checked while playing, the window always opens on top, not the current quest. there are 9, each with 4 goals and the next quest only unlocks after doing them all. I found it doable but still a bit restrictive, grinding that elusive target while I could be aiming for other things at the same time. still, kept at it and managed them all, much to my surprise. one of the final goals was bugged and none of the credited testers noticed it, great job, enjoy your free game, I guess. it's fixed now for the general public, too late for me but it's only an achievement (the way the bug behaved, I still got the plant reward, just as useless).
and finally, [b]tools[/b]. 12 different ones, not unlike power-ups in other matching games. some more imaginative than usual and can mix things up quite a bit once unlocked with cash, plus [b]finding an efficient loadout can be satisfying in itself[/b]. the toolbox holds up to 5 of them with 3 slots locked at the beginning. once bought, tools have an energy cost, rewarded after matches, and increasing with each use. be careful, as [b]most of them end the turn on use[/b], potentially breaking streaks. or creating or maintaining them, of course.
[b]fantastic presentation all around[/b], spiffy ui with tooltips. there are separate volume settings, windowed mode, resolutions, gfx quality and a few languages, all available anytime. the [b]lack of player profiles or save slots[/b] is a problem and sadly isn't gonna change. progress is tied to your steam profile, so mom playing through family sharing should work. a [b]reset progress option should be available[/b], especially without profiles, to let players re-do quests and unlocks if they want. [b]text/ui scale settings would go a long way[/b] too, as some of it is pretty small. and there are a few grammatical oversights as a bonus, not a big deal.
seeing a properly developed game is always a joy, and a rare one these days. this had and still has its fair share of issues but it's a [b]really impressive first effort[/b] nonetheless. even more so when devs with 10-15 years of experience are still clueless and can't do anything right. it [b]works both as a casual matching thing and as a challenge[/b] if you want to do and unlock everything, with that gift/curse 'just one more run' feel. [b]try the demo[/b] if any of the above piqued your interest, progress carries over to the full game, which you should buy asap.
