Pros:

+ marvelous sound effects
+ music
+ unique graphic style
+ atmosphere
+ bizarre characters & world
+ collectible cards system (in game)
+ simple interface

Cons:

- too easy
- sometimes too bizarre
- weak plot & ending

One word review: Cute

7/10

I've thought about writing a review for Botanicula for a few weeks now. Aside from the fact that there are numerous apt (and more briefly stated) praises already posted here, the game has been out for a few years now.

It's an Indie, point-and-click, puzzle adventure; brought to us by the Czech creators of Samorost 1&2 and Machinarium, Amanita Design – if you enjoy either of those games, you will take delight in this. The thoroughly organic world and its inhabitants are highly imaginative, some even bizarre-looking and -sounding. Some players may consider it too succinct, or even more attuned toward children. The simple story, though solid and sweet, does not require heavy ruminations – this is a game of the senses, pure and simple. You control a group of four friends on a mission to plant a seed. The main goal on each level progresses you to the next level; the puzzles are intuitive. The price of the game, whether regular or on sale, is appropriate. Yes, it is a Flash game. (Interesting to note that I cannot enjoy tBoI or Windosill on my current PC setup without gameplay becoming bogged down almost instantly; but with Botanicula, never any bogging or catching.) Summed up: the graphics, gameplay, sound and music - all superb, A+++. What more can I say to get you to try out this lovely gem?...

There was a tremendous amount of heart put into this game, truly.

Botanicula is a visual and (emphasis on) auditory indulgence: you may think you're just going to ease into it, test the waters with your big toe; but you will be swept away and never realise it till the ride comes to its satisfyingly, cyclical conclusion. It offers a kind of cleansing and respite, whether from the mundane of the outside world, or to just step away from frenetic and adrenaline-packed L4D2 runs.

The sounds are sheer ear candy – you want to touch everything. The world is strange and wondrous: during first-time gameplay, you never know what manner of creature or environment alteration will manifest itself from your curiosity-driven touching; subsequent gameplays (for myself, anyway) do not fail to continually instill such positive feelings because the graphics, music, creatures and environment (plus their corresponding sounds) are just that sublime.

While there are, sadly, no cards to obtain from playing this game toward earning badges, the 47 in-game, animated cards more than make up for it; and count toward the game's 53 achievements. It is rewarding to collect them all (and yes, you will aspire to collect each and every one of them in every gameplay you attempt, even the time-spent Svolavac. (Though, I think there should be a card for the 3 jingle-y leaves that tumble out around your feet - other gamers like myself may know what I'm alluding to.) The names of the creatures achievements are in Czech, and punching them up into Google translate will not only add to your enjoyment, but enlighten it, as well.

The music steals you off from the word go, setting a pace perfectly harmonised to what is happening in the game, at that time. A previous reviewer here made mention of the burst of cheery song that erupts when you achieve a goal – it really does fill you with sheer happiness, no kidding... and lately, when playing L4D2, I've been thinking how cool (if a bit bizarre) it would be, hearing that tune after everyone's made it alive to the saferoom...

Definitely give it a try, if only to experience the eye and ear candy... if it doesn't turn out to be your kind of game - or you can only enjoy one gameplay - you will know someone who'll love it...

11/10

Surrealistic voyage of point and click tripping, in which irrational becomes logical. Five friends, each with his own unique traits, are on quest to save their world. It reminds me friendship of rectangles in "Thomas was alone", where each one's weakness can find it's strenght in certain situation, along their journey. Another wonderful trip from Amanita Design!

Charming, delightful, and at times breathtakingly beautiful, Botanicula is a great point and click adventure for anyone of any age who appreciates an imaginitive world full of endearing characters. All the communication among the characters consists of emotive noises and gestures, so anyone can understand what's going on, regardless of their native language(s). Unique hand-drawn artwork and a wonderful music score and overall sound design. A game children, parents and grandparents might enjoy, alone or together.

I will note that the puzzles sometimes seem arbitrary rather than logical - sometimes getting ahead in the story involves just clicking on everything until something happens, but that didn't detract too much from my enjoyment of the game. Indeed it often lead to discovering whimsical little moments in the game that might otherwise have been missed.

I love this game so much, it's one of my favourite games. It's not very long, but sometimes that can be a positive - the game doesn't outstay its welcome and the pacing is perfect.

You can see in the screenshots that this game has a striking visual style, and personally I think it is beautiful. The creature designs are so wonderful and unique, and despite having a pretty serious phobia of insects I managed to complete the game without freaking out.

The sound design is the best I've ever heard in a game, the music is intertwined with the game mechanics and in some puzzles the background music joins in with what's going on. It's hard to describe, but if you have any itnerest in interactive audio design then it's well worth checking this out.

This is another game by Amanita Design that incorporates non-verbal story telling and they're really good at it. There isn't a single word spoken or written throughout the game, and yet you're able to follow the story through the visuals.

The puzzles were actually quite easy by adventure game standards and I don't think I had to look anything up. There is a bit of backtracking, but not too much I felt.

All in all a pretty fantastic game, I would recommend it to anyone.

I absolutely loved this game. The graphics are beautiful and very dream like. The animation and storyline is very cute especially in the way that it is recounted to you. I still need to get more of the achievements, but the game itself will keep you hooked. This not a point and click adventure game of old, this is a new Myst 2D adventure type where you have to figure out how things work and how you will be able to solve puzzles. While there may be times where you are pixel hunting, the game makes up for this with its whimsical appearance, sound and humor.

Love this games art style and music choices. This game is just the right amount of challenging puzzler. With point and click style enviroment exploration game. Had a lot of fun. Highly recommend.

Botanicula is a dreamy and colorful adventure game set in a plant's microcosm, full of stylish and particular locations and characters. You play as five different beings who live in this incredible world, with the objective to save it from a bacterial cancer that is threatening every form of life.

The game is rather easy to play and finish, but if you like puzzles and adventures I think you'll enjoy every single minute of this cheerful ride, also thanks to simple but sleek graphics and an awesome musical score. And a second playthrough could be done in order to discover all the little secrets that Amanita Design hid in almost every location.

Ultimately, after the acclaimed Machinarium, another classy hit from this gifted Czech developer. Keep up the good work!

Marvelous music.

Fabulous gameplay.

Funny, tender, interesting, mesmerising.


Fantastic!

Just "OH!"

A stunning point-and-click tale of death and rebirth, told through the eyes of 5 adorable botanical critters. A group of spiders, hell-bent on sucking every last drop of energy from Mother Tree, attack your home. Using the simple, yet innovated powers of your little band of clorophyll clansmen, you will wage war against the dangers of the changing environment by solving a variety of challenging, inquisitive puzzles, as well as solving the mysteries of the tree with the help of local prophets. A beautiful world and soundtrack will accompany you through this journey, and I hope that you, like me, will find this game to be inspiring, heart-warming, and even hilarious. Botanicula is a unique gaming experience that is worth every cent.

Awesome game! The challenges are interesting, the characters are very charismatic, the story is fun and engaging! The music and sound effects, in my opinion, are the absolute highlight, made with experimentalism - for exemple, coral voices a little "angelic" and ridiculous at the same time that give the game an air of fantasy, exploration, innocence and silly comedy. The feeling is you are listening to a track of a movie or an experimental musician - for example, the March of the Penguins (with incredible track made by Emilie Simon), or some albuns of Björk, or even a cheerful folk with life, child and funny at the same time.

pros:
- Beautiful graphics;
- Almost everything have interaction in the forest;
- Has some easter eggs;
- Humorous;
- The music and sound effects.

Cons:
- The game is delightfully short. You want to play more, devours the game, but it ends up fast before my desire to see more. HONESTLY I hope there is an expansion that give me triple playable hours. I want more, more of these characters, more from this universe that was created.

In short: I recommend this game!
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Jogo incrível! Os desafios são interessantes, a jogabilidade é extremamente fácil, os personagens são muito carismáticos, a história é divertida e envolvente! As músicas e efeitos sonoros, na minha opinião, são o destaque absoluto! Tudo com experimentalismos, coral de vozes ao mesmo tempo angelicais e ridículas que dão ao jogo um ar de fantasia, exploração, inocência e humor bobo. A sensação é que você está ouvindo trilha de algum filme ou um musicista experimental - me lembrei, por exemplo, do Marcha dos Pinguins, com a trilha da incrível Emilie Simon, de alguns trabalhos da Björk, de um folk meio alegre com a vida, infantil e ao mesmo tempo engraçado.

Prós:
- Gráficos muito bonitos;
- Praticamente tudo possui interação na floresta;
- Possui alguns easter eggs;
- Bem humorado;
- As músicas e efeitos sonoros.

Contras:
- O jogo é deliciosamente curto. Você quer jogar mais, devora o jogo, mas ele acaba rápido perante a minha vontade de ver mais. Espero HONESTAMENTE que haja uma expansão, que me dê o triplo de horas jogáveis. Quero mais, muito mais destes personagens, deste universo que foi criado.

Resumindo: Recomendo, como aquele amor delicioso que se vive nas férias, mas que termina rapidamente no fim do verão.

This is a cleaver game! It's very challenging at first until you figure out the little critters and then you can enjoy their personalities as you try to beat the bad spiders who are killing everything!

Botanicula is a very charming puzzle game about a group of unlikely hero's going on a quest to save the tree of life. It's simplistic in nature, a game you play more for the story interaction than out of any difficulty. I not once found myself lost at what to do next, so the pace of the game was never thrown off by puzzle-induced frustration.

This is a gorgeous game. Everything about it is lovely, from the cute characters, the great music and design, to the overall story.

After playing, I introduced it to my almost 5 year old, and they absolutely love it. (And can solve the first level and a half without much difficulty), so I would recommend it for children, too. It has an ecological message beneath it, there are very clear goodies and baddies, and while it does get a little more complex and tricky for youngsters as it goes on, mine was still entranced by the scenarios and characters, as we played together.

Truly delightful. If you like games like Machinarium, Tiny Bang Story, or any point-and-click puzzle-solving games this is charming beyond words and the focus is more on discovery and the characters, rather than it being *too* tricky in the puzzles (it can still be challenging at times, but not frustratingly so). Highly, highly recommended.

Relaxing. Fun. Charming. Beautiful.
This is a great point and click adventure with some puzzles. It takes place on a big tree. You control a group of 5 different characters. Each on of them is special. Your group is on a quest to save the world from evil invader. You have to use them individually to overcome obstacles.
On your journey you meet various denizens. Many of them are strange looking, sounding and behaving. They are all unique and worth discovering.
Solving puzzles and making progess is one thing. The other is meeting and experiencing all those unique creatures.

The game is fantastic. It's truly a pleasant experience. It has interesting story, simple mechanics and breathtaking setting. You visit new places, meet new creatures (collect their cards) and keep the story going forward. The game looks great, they style is fantastic, it sounds well and the music adds to the atmosphere.

Great game with unique world. Definitely worth visiting :D

I have probably played this game at least five times. Whenever I have a bad day, I start up the game and get lost in the story. Botanicula is so cute with a great soundtrack. I do not see any faults with this game and I would love to find another game just like this. All I wish is that there could be a sequel to this great game.

Machinarium and Botanicula are both innovative and great games to play. The puzzles are easy and creatively constructed. The animation is very unique and distinct with the artist and is very adorable. The music in the game is amazing and I could see myself putting it on loop at work.

Fantastic! Great graphics, music, level design, puzzles, and concept. I found myself chuckling several times at the hillarity of the environment and the sounds/expressions of the majical world of Botanicula.

From the creators of Machinarium and Samarost - comes a genuinely unique and clever world that these talented developers brought to life.

Loved it!

An unforgettable journey. The sound effects are particulary endearing. Unlike most adventure games, there are no obscure puzzles between where you are and where you need to be.

Absolutely adorable, this game combines ingenuity and humour to entertain and, above all, amuse. It is pretty strictly scripted though, with at best two or three right ways to do something. Play this for a break from killing. It's more a game that makes you smile than anything else.