I was a big fan, whilst the reward for beating them was always worthwhile. They demand a bit more strategy than typical enemies, with the player having to navigate through a myriad of incoming attacks whilst picking the moment to strike their foe’s weak spot. It makes for a decent combat system, but only decent Garden Story’s combat doesn’t have a lot of depth and keeps things fairly simple, so battles are never too exciting. This can be overwhelming at times given that a lot of enemies can pursue you at once, but it’s something that gets easier the more experienced at the game you get. The need to maintain stamina means you can’t just mash attacks though, so you’ve got to keep your distance from enemies and pick the right moment to strike. “Concord’s actions are all tied to a stamina meter, which is used up when performing attacks, avoiding danger, sprinting across each area, and so forth.”Ĭombat itself fairly straightforward, with Concord using different tools to perform different attacks in an action-based battle system – think of the old-school Zelda titles and you’ll be on the right track. It might look a cute game, but combat can be tricky if you aren’t careful. This means you’ve got to be careful when managing your attacks, otherwise you can leave yourself vulnerable – something which might happen a lot early on, especially since you’ll have low stamina and health (these build up as you progress). Concord’s actions are all tied to a stamina meter, which is used up when performing attacks, avoiding danger, sprinting across each area, and so forth. Whilst things like gathering resources or helping fix up different parts of each town are simple enough, the combat mechanics do spice things up a little. Be warned though: you can expect to have to do a lot of the same tasks over and over again as you move between towns, so some of these can grow a little repetitive with time. It’s a simple system, but it gives the player plenty of different things to do on their journey that helps mark the progress that they’re making. There are main quests to complete that progress the story and see players move between seasons, but these tasks help improve the different aspects of each town in order to hit that higher point of progress as well as open up new tools for the player to use. The core of Garden Story’s gameplay revolves around completing tasks for the townsfolk, with quests on offer that see the player having to gather resources, vanquish enemies, or help rebuild different aspects of each town. “Yes, you’ll be gathering resources to contribute to each town (which can involve farming) and you’ll even have a hand in helping re-build certain aspects of them too, but it’s more ‘slice of life’ than a bona fide farming sim.” There’s room for customisation though, so you will be able to give each of the four towns that you’re working at your own personal touch, whilst you’ll also spend some time growing crops to vegetation. Yes, you’ll be gathering resources to contribute to each town (which can involve farming) and you’ll even have a hand in helping re-build certain aspects of them too, but it’s more ‘slice of life’ than a bona fide farming sim. I made a comparison to Stardew Valley earlier in this review, but it’s worth mentioning that Garden Story isn’t a farming sim. With four towns based upon the seasons to help restore, Concord’s journey takes them across a variety of colourful locales that each need a touch of tender loving care in order to be reinvigorated. Garden Story sees players take on the role of the lovable grape Concord as they become the ‘Guardian of the Grove’, meaning they’re tasked with vanquishing the invasive Rot that has savaged the land in order to restore it to its former glory.
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