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Ghost Of A Chance: Beetling About In Garden

Ghost run

Today is all about insects and gardens, it seems. First I revisited Morphopolis, now I'm onto a game by Daniel Linssen, Tak and Martin Kvale which is actually called Garden [official site].

In my role as a ghost I must dash hither and yon through the overgrown paths, popping large flower buds and reactivating fountains. BUT WAIT! There is also peril! Peril in the form of buzzing insects and scorpions and all manner of other creatures I've always suspected of being out there and lurking, ready for when I let my guard down in the Great Outdoors.

I'm not like Alice, you see. She genuinely believes in the Great Outdoors. She thinks it's all lovely and teeming with indifferent wildlife she can coexist with at a respectful distance. She thinks swimming in ponds won't get you killed by a six foot pike and that swimming in the sea won't cause your legs to develop gross horrible blisters the size of 2p pieces. Well, at least one of those things has happened to me. And as for "things on land and in the air", I got headbutted by a bee yesterday so don't talk to me about "things on land and in the air". Suffice to say it's no great surprise to me that you're already a ghost, what with all the natural hostility that's out there. Waiting.

But yes, you get to roam these little paved areas using a dash ability to take shortcuts across grass or dodge enemies as well as activating these flower pods which somehow fix the fountains. Little collectible orbs can be used to increase your lives or to generate ammo in case you need to deal with the garden's unruly denizens.

Dealing with my ghost business.

In short, it's a very pretty game, simple to grasp, and which embodies the vindictiveness of nature towards me. I'm sure if Alice booted it up it would become a walking simulator and the creatures would be passive but fascinating. There would probably be a pond.

Somehow I've made myself cross.

Garden is awesome and pay-what-you-want-if-you-want-to on Itch.io

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About the Author

Philippa Warr

Former Staff Writer

Pip wrote for Rock Paper Shotgun between 2014-2017, covering everything from MOBAs, hero brawlers and indie curios. She also had a keen interest in the artistry of video game creation, and was very partial to keeping us informed of the latest developments in British TV show Casualty.

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