The Garden Path review

If you’re like me, you don’t always have hours on end to kick back, boot up a game, and dive in for the long haul. Our lives are busy, and time isn’t always our friend. The Garden Path caters to those living with little free time, but it can also be its curse. It’s not meant to be played in long chunks, but rather in smaller bursts where you can check on your garden, look around to see who’s visiting, and complete small tasks that end up contributing to the growth of your little slice of home.

There’s not a lot of guidance when you first start playing The Garden Path. Instead, you wander down the map, interact with stone statues, and begin to harvest materials with no real idea about what they can be used for. Opening up your map will show you some question marks, and once you go over to them you’ll finally meet some other folks inhabiting the garden, like Augustus the Bear and Lars the Yak. You’ll learn to fish, gather new tools, and start to understand exactly what type of game this is.

Everything happens in real time. Your flowers grow a little more every day, and you won’t start to see them at full bloom for days. Seasons change throughout the course of a real month, and once you’ve done everything you can over the course of thirty minutes or so, it’s time to log out and wait for tomorrow. This won’t cater to everyone as it doesn’t feel like you’re making progress for a while. When you return day to day, you’ll meet new visitors who you can trade with or play conkers with, but it’s a slow burner.

Despite the pace being led by real-world hours, there’s a sense of satisfaction when you do start to see your hard work paying off. If you know what The Garden Path is before playing, and are aware this is something meant to be enjoyed in short goes, then there’s much joy to be garnered from it. I adored the warm feeling it gave me, attributed to the beautiful art style that feels part Studio Ghibli, part Where the Wild Things Are. It’s peaceful and relaxing once you learn what it asks of you, and that’s a feeling few games can offer.

I guess it all boils down to whether or not you want a game that will take literal weeks to see any real benefits from your labour. You aren’t sinking hours upon hours into it, but you are required to show dedication over time. I enjoyed the pace of it – the freedom – but there will be others who just don’t have that kind of attention span or willingness to return every day for seldom gains until you’ve done so for a while. For fans of slice-of-life sims, this approach feels fresh, and it’s one that gives you a reason to return to a place filled with sweet characters and delightful visuals.

The Garden Path won’t be for everyone, with a tutorial that doesn’t do a great job of explaining everything. However, if you’re willing to put in the time every day of returning to your garden and tend to your plot, wander around and meet new characters, all the while uncovering more of what is going on, there’s enough to keep you entertained if you’re only wanting something to dip your toes into for less than an hour every day. It looks beautiful, features some simple mechanics, and gives you satisfaction if you remain dedicated to it.