The Garden Path review: Be one with nature and take your time

Taking our time doesn’t come naturally to us. Sure, we can learn to go with the flow eventually, but we’re mostly about the hustle. We’re so busy being overwhelmed that we fail to stop and smell the flowers; it’s a problematic mindset The Garden Path attempts to deconstruct.

It’s by no means an experience that’ll dismantle society’s toxic work ethic, however, The Garden Path will teach you how to appreciate life in the slow lane. Once you’ve tuned in to its frequency, you’ll unearth a journey that only progresses when you're ready. There’s no pressure to speedrun through, nor are you expected to grind until you’re bored of the repetition – this garden is about doing what’s best for you.

Check out The Garden Path trailer below

Consequently, The Garden Path is a learning curve, even for those of us who frequent the worlds of cosy games. I found adjusting to this Mooncat Games experience difficult because it was almost too zen.

There’s no sense of urgency, which is wonderful on the one hand, but a little disconcerting on the other because of how used we are to time limits and deadlines. Removing those, while incredibly freeing, initially caused me to question whether I was enjoying the game. That’s how used to running errands in-game we are – its removal has us momentarily floundering.

Please persevere through that awkward transition, for you’ll find such a beautiful world yearning to be explored, catalogued, and enjoyed.

Little quests can still be found, but none are demanding. Nor is there any sense of danger throughout your stay in this vast garden, which further helps to emphasise the cosy vibes The Garden Path radiates. Due to its minimalistic qualities, you’ll never feel compelled to overstay your welcome, as was the developer’s plan all along.

Instead of being designed to be played for hours at a time, this adventure is best enjoyed in “short bursts”. This isn’t to say you won’t get sucked in as you traverse the map to uncover more lore and unique characters, but rather you’ll soon find your appetite sated more quickly than with other experiences. The closest comparison to this type of gameplay I can think of is Cozy Grove.

Mooncat Games

There’s a limit to how many tasks are available each day, thus the game forces you to do as it suggests: play in short increments. However, you can still forage and roam to your heart’s content long after you’ve completed said chores. I often take my character wandering through the bracken to cultivate seeds or note the location of a newly discovered plant.

What separates The Garden Path from Cozy Grove is its NPCs. Instead of always being present, they take turns visiting the garden, thus further encouraging you to stay the course over days and weeks rather than several hours in one go.

This type of gameplay isn’t suited to everyone, for there’s that risk of losing interest due to its sporadic reward system. We’ve become accustomed to instant gratification in similar games through the process of grinding to obtain a reward. That process is then repeated throughout the experience.

By attempting to eliminate this issue, it adds a level of curiosity that’s sometimes absent in cosy games. Instead of knowing who to expect and when, we have to play it by ear, as the saying goes. This doesn’t mean you’re clueless, though, as the game informs you who’s visiting the garden when you log on to play. What is more, there are some characters who will eventually stay with you in the garden, though this is by no means a quick process.

While designed to stave off the curse of predictability, if, like me, you play at the same time each day, you end up interacting with the same characters. Perhaps I’ve merely been unlucky with who appears and when. Regardless, an idea that sounded like a solid idea on paper proves to be less effective in action. Nonetheless, there are many extra flourishes of detail that keep emerging every time I return to the garden. Some of which work better than others.

With each new discovery, I find myself steadily falling in love with The Garden Path’s approach to cosy gaming; it’s more than just a genre, it’s a way of life. Take your time. Admire your surroundings. Focus on your journey. These are all life lessons we desperately need to listen to and act on, yet we rarely do. The Garden Path won’t magically transform your life, but it’ll sow the seeds of a new way of thinking. Whether they take root is up to you.

Pros: Hand-drawn, whimsical aesthetic, ideal for casual gamers, familiar cosy games format, an array of unique NPCs

Cons: Too slow paced, easy to lose interest

For fans of: Animal Crossing, Cozy Grove, Stardew Valley

Score: 7/10: Very Good

The Garden Path is available on Steam and the Nintendo Switch (version reviewed). A code for review was supplied by the publisher. Find a complete guide to GAMINGbible's review scores here.