a unique entry that stands out in a genre which may not entirely be for me
i'll keep this short. grow home does a lot of unique things. the control scheme is unconventional but easily stands out as the takeaway from this game that makes it stand out from the rest of the crop. i love the aesthetic it develops. the low poly environments work well hand in hand when B.U.D and M.O.M are seemingly floating amalgamations of cubes and lighting effects. i understand the praise the game receives and would like to see more developers make entries in this style of game.
here's where i take some issue.
regardless of whether or not the design of the game was intentional in giving B.U.D floaty momentous controls in order to enhance the feeling of controlling a robot infant doesn't provide much comfort when you're trying to land after a couple thousand meter drop, hit a platform and roll off only to lose another few thousand feet and float back to the beginning of the game. checkpoints were designed for this purpose in the form of the teleportation pads, however, there are just enough to make it frustrating. if the team would have decided to add one or two more in the stratosphere, the game would be much more forgiving to people such as myself who don't play as many platformers as they feel they should.
this is on top of some frustrating technical glitches i've experienced falling through vines and B.U.D disappearing in the middle of climbing after i've made some significant progress on the star vine.
i know this sounds like i'm tearing this game apart but there are a lot of aspects that succeed in providing an entertaining albeit cathartic experience like i previously stated shortly at the beginning of my review. connecting vines to the glowing rocks floating on the edge of space provides a relaxing and atmospheric experience one can easily vibe out too. B.U.D's quirky chirps provide just enough characterization to project a personality onto, especially when paired with the supportive and optimistic lines provided from M.O.M.
i'll close this out by saying platformers have never really been my bag. like one mr. austin walker, i respect the genre from a distance and have played and loved a few heavy hitters (super mario brothers 3, psychonauts) enough to understand their appeal. however, grow home just never clicked with me in the same way.
on a larger scale, i'd give it a 6/10.
