Botanicula
Developer(s)Amanita Design
Publisher(s)
Designer(s)Jaromír Plachý
Composer(s)DVA[2]
EngineAdobe Flash
Platform(s)Linux
Mac OS X
Microsoft Windows
iOS
Android
ReleaseLinux, Mac OS X, Windows
April 19, 2012[3]
iOS
May 1, 2014
Genre(s)Graphic adventure game
Mode(s)Single-player

Botanicula is a point-and-click adventure game developed by Amanita Design. The game was released on April 19, 2012, for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. The game was later ported to iOS and Android.[4][5][6]

Gameplay

Like the previous games from Amanita Design, in Botanicula the player controls a protagonist (or multiple protagonists) while exploring the environment, solving puzzles and collecting items that are required for the obstacles that come in their way. The player is able to interact with other creatures and find easter eggs that are present in the lush environment. Like Machinarium, the game has no spoken or written dialogue.[7]

Plot

Botanicula follows the adventure of five botanical creatures (named Mr. Lantern, Mr. Twig, Mr. Poppy Head, Mr. Feather and Mrs. Mushroom) who are trying to save the last seed of their home tree from evil parasitic creatures that have infested their home.

Characters

  • Mr. Lantern - The main protagonist of Botanicula. He is a small orange creature, and portrays a Physalis. He can absorb seeds within his body. This makes him glow and gives him power.
  • Mrs. Mushroom - The second playable character. She can create identical copies of herself. Another power that she has is to shrink.
  • Mr. Poppyhead - The most robust member of the group and the third playable character. He portrays the seed capsule of a Poppy.
  • Mr. Twig - Another playable character. He resembles a twig. He has many arms that he can expand. He also has the ability to spurt flowers.
  • Mr. Feather - The last playable character. He is very small but can fly.

Reception

The game received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics.[8][20] It was praised for its music and visuals, as well as gameplay. However, other reviews noted a lack of replay value.[21][22][23]

IGN highly recommended the game, writing, "It may not be as hilarious as adventure games of yesteryear, but it’s persistently delightful, oozing character and grabbing hold of the imagination." Destructoid praised Botanicula's world, visuals, and its ability to straddle the line between traditional adventure game and experimental art game. Eurogamer gave the game a seven out of ten and appreciated the vast variety of secrets present in the game. Game Informer noted that the game "goes wrong in a few important ways", criticizing the maze-like navigation and trial-and-error-dependent puzzles while highly recommending the game to old-school adventure gamers. PC Gamer lamented that the game could occasionally be "staggeringly vague", while praising the game's aesthetics, writing, "Avoid it like a parasitical spider if you're not willing to play on its own terms, but embrace it mightily if you're willing to give it a shot." GameSpot praised the game's visuals, puzzles, characters, and soundtrack, writing, "To play Botanicula is to peer through a microscope at hidden world and feel like you've made the greatest of discoveries: one of a place that's so overflowing with imagination and so full of wonder that only a person with a heart of stone would fail to be taken in by its charms."

Botanicula won the 14th annual award in 'Excellence in Audio' at Independent Games Festival 2012.[24] The game was also a showcased nominee and received the Story/World Design award at IndieCade (the International Festival of Independent Games) in 2012. [25] Botanicula also won a European Games Award 2012 in the category Best European Adventure Game.[26] Botanicula was elected in the Booom competition as the Best Czech video game of 2012.[27] The game also appeared on Anifilm in 2012 where it was given the Czech Video Game of the Year Award for artistic contribution to Czech video game output.[28]

References

  1. ↑ "News: Daedalic to publish Amanita's Botanicula throughout Europe". Daedalic.de. 24 November 2011. Archived from the original on 27 May 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  2. ↑ "Botanicula – Amanita Design". Amanita-design.net. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  3. ↑ "Botanicula Official Trailer and Release Date". Amanita-design.net. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  4. ↑ "IGF Factor 2012: Botanicula". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. 7 February 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  5. ↑ "Botanicula on the App Store on iTunes". itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  6. ↑ "Botanicula - Android Apps on Google Play". play.google.com. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  7. ↑ "Hands On: Botanicula". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. 6 December 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  8. 1 2 "Botanicula for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  9. ↑ "Botanicula for iPhone/iPad Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  10. ↑ Raha, Shuva (19 April 2012). "Review for Botanicula". Adventure Gamers. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  11. ↑ Duncan, Alasdair (28 April 2012). "Review: Botanicula". Destructoid. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  12. ↑ Donlan, Christian (25 April 2012). "Botanicula Review". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  13. ↑ Miller, Matt (30 April 2012). "Botanicula Brings Wonder and Weirdness". Game Informer. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  14. ↑ Walton, Mark (19 April 2012). "Botanicula Review Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  15. ↑ Gallegos, Anthony (26 April 2012). "Botanicula Review". IGN. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  16. ↑ Cobbett, Richard (12 June 2012). "Botanicula review". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  17. ↑ Slater, Harry (7 May 2014). "Botanicula". Botanicula. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  18. ↑ Ford, Eric (15 May 2014). "'Botanicula' Review – Nature's Beauty". TouchArcade. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  19. ↑ admin, VideoGamer.com (20 April 2012). "Botanicula Review". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  20. ↑ "Botanicula - recent, hodnocení". Hodnoceniher.cz. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  21. ↑ "Botanicula Review". IGN. 27 April 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  22. ↑ "Botanicula Review". GameSpot.com. 19 April 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  23. ↑ "Botanicula - recent - GAMES.cz". Games.tiscali.cz. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  24. ↑ "14th annual IGF announces winners". Independent Games Festival. March 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  25. ↑ Matulef, Jeffrey (12 October 2012). "IndieCade 2012 winners announced, Unmanned takes the top prize". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 28 February 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  26. ↑ "European Games Award". European Games Award. 13 August 2011. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  27. ↑ "– Výsledky". Booom.cz. Archived from the original on 18 July 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  28. ↑ "Česká hra roku 2012". Ceskahraroku.cz. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
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