Cloud Garden (Nintendo Switch) – The test

Barely out of the test devoted to the singular denunciation of the habitat in perdition of our friends the gibbons, that we are already distributed in a universe this time already totally destroyed, or almost. Only a few plant entities remain in this post chaotic world. Your mission ? To restore a little color and life to scenes where civilization only persists through the bygone vestiges of its passage.

Developed by Noio and Thomas van den Berg, and published by Noio and Coatsink, Cloud Garden is betting on making the beautiful out of the ugly. Pushing the experience to graphics that are sorely lacking in light and contrast (the game seems to be bathed in an annoying fog), the developers had fun (lost?) imagining an original concept, not devoid of hidden meaning, but which would have deserved a hell of a big boost to arouse genuine interest. Let’s dive into the prequels of a seizure of power by plants, while animals have given up their arms.

My seed, my precious

It all starts with a certain mystery… At the heart of a tiny abandoned area, the player is invited to retrieve a seed in order to place it on one of the dilapidated structures on the screen. Soon, the plant begins to flourish and give a bit of color in the (misty) gray surrounding, while we now have to arrange some road signs. The goal is simple and quick: the strategic arrangement of objects to allow plants to grow. The latter indeed require a few platforms, bottles and other signposts, in order to be able to grow again and again. The level closes while the player completes the challenge at 100%, i.e. relatively extensive vegetation on the current board.

The scene then changes while the objects evolve slightly. Soon, the panels will make room for some more imposing structures, even going as far as supermarket shopping carts, and even old cars. The cans suddenly seem more anecdotal compared to the pyramid of shopping carts that sits on the screen.

The levels closed in this way give rise to a few additional objects to work on in the creative mode. Indeed, the app has a sandbox on which it will be possible to build your own tables. The more the player advances in the adventure, the more he unlocks the objects available for his creations. This game mode gives added value to the game, without however managing to hold us back long enough… The most impatient will be happy to learn that it is possible to unlock the entire content of the software by sneaking into the options. All levels unlock… As well as content for creative mode.

Tournicoti, tournicoton!

The original idea is certainly beautiful, almost philosophical, with this return to life in scenes where industrialization finds a semblance of soul through plants. However, beyond the graphics that did not charm us, the perfect music for falling asleep, the most annoying thing lies without difficulty in the frustrating and annoying gameplay.

The successful placement of the seeds and the various objects lies in the good visualization of the whole, but also of each corner of the table. If it is of course possible to zoom in and out at leisure, the handling remains rigid, with an unpleasant camera to subtly turn the whole picture. In the end, the player can place the string of tires that arrive on him just about anywhere, it can sometimes pay off despite everything conclusive! Not always, however… This then gives rise to certain parts where we were led to remain stunned in the face of a board strewn with waste, with plants that stubbornly refused to grow. With only a very brief tutorial, the player must be patient to properly understand the software.

The game is however not very punitive and the player will simply be asked to restart the level in which the challenge was missed. Some surprises are to be discovered, in particular the arrival of some objects or new seeds. However, if these novelties give a little more pep to a game that is sorely lacking, they lack the depth to really arouse interest. Moreover, the mixture of genres continues to question us: the quasi-postapocalyptic aspect, the relaxing music, the dated graphics, the desire to convey a message… By picking from all these interesting little boxes rather than focusing on the one in depth, the result remains mixed.

Cloud Garden is available on the Nintendo Switch eshop for around 15 euros.

Did you know ?

Plants never cease to impress us. While we nurture some that adorn our gardens and homes, others arm themselves with determination to grow into every available crack. The artist Matthieu Twelve wanted to pay homage to them through a touching photographic journey during which he elegantly manages to highlight all these plants that he calls “Courageous Plants”.