#Garden story review series#

Then they go out together to the garden and feel better. These British kids spew dyspeptic gripes at each other. Mary, played by Dixie Egerickx with all the perturbed sophistication you could want, bonds gingerly with the damaged Colin, and more spiritedly with Dickon (Amir Wilson), the nature-friendly younger brother of the mansion’s housekeeper, Martha (Isis Davis). It’s like “Heidi” crossed with “Vertigo.” And in the new version, that results in the present-tense story having a glumly passive and lackluster dimension. Their mothers, both of whom died, were sisters - and their relationship, so far back in the past, flowered in that garden.īut here’s where you confront the thing that bedevils adaptations of “The Secret Garden.” So much of the story - the core of it, really - is trapped in the past.

But Mary and Colin, though they squabble a bit, are cousins who were put on earth to soothe each other. Colin (Edan Hayhurst), Lord Craven’s son, lives squirreled away in his bedroom, convinced that he’s a disabled soul he’s a pale wraith who treats his wheelchair as a totem of suffering. The horror-film atmosphere is mostly a tease, and when Mary meets the other children who are hidden away in the mansion’s nooks and crannies, the kid-to-kid dialogue is too punchy in its on-the-nose petulance. The film has two modes: eyes lit with wonder as the fairy-dust music sparkles and swells, and overly moody haunted-house trepidation.

#Garden story review series#

Munden has worked on prestigious series like “Utopia” and “National Treasure,” but the way he directs “The Secret Garden” it always feels like he’s selling you something. The walls are shabby-chic blue, with paintings of gardens on them, and even the lighting is blue when Mary strolls through the hallways, hearing cries and whispers, we seem to be trapped in some weirdly decorous and aestheticized “Conjuring” sequel. It's a unique blend of Zelda-like exploration, combat and puzzle-solving paired with the simple charm of RPGs and games like Stardew Valley that make it a unique offering in the gaming space and can help to create spaces for conversation about the natural world and our responsibility for it.The garden stands in contrast to Misselthwaite Manor, which has been filmed, by the British television director Marc Munden, as if it were the world’s most lavishly oversize and art-directed doll house. There is also little difficulty increase as you progress, so it is accessible to a wider range of players. At the end of each village's primary quest, there's a dungeon with puzzles and a boss battle. There's a deep combat system, skill tree and potions, each of which offers different advantages to you. As well as nurturing the four seasonal towns (one for each season) in The Grove by helping their residents, you need to fight against the rot invasion with the help of your friends Rana, Elderberry and Fuji.Īlthough on the surface, the game appears similar to other tend and befriend titles, where you complete side quests and daily missions for the inhabitants, the primary gameplay is actually more complex.Īs you defeat rot in each of the four towns, you discover each responds differently to attack. You play Concord, the youngest grape in The Grove, who must become the guardian of the land after the previous protector vanishes. It has prevalent themes of environmentalism and care for nature, and its unique pastel pixel-art style combined with its relaxing music and whimsical story create an aura of calm and differentiate the game from others.

You defend your garden-home from an invasion on malignant rot monsters and restore peace to the land and its inhabitants, all of which are fruit. It also features combat, dungeons and puzzles similar to the Zelda games. Garden Story is a role-playing adventure, crafting and farming game similar to Stardew Valley.