Garden Ink feels like one of those older god games that use to be very popular in the Flash-era of gaming, but brought to a whole new life. Often you combine different materials together and it makes something new, slowly evolving and changing the world around you.
In Garden Ink, you start off with this blank slate, in black and white, with not very many flowers or things within it. You can start combining rocks, trees, bushes, etc to create all sorts of new items. Sometimes, little forest creatures appear and want specific combinations – which can then add new items to the world. You could also drag over the items, if you’ve previously created them, and the creatures will be delighted.
The world does grow over time, with larger items appearing, that change and transform the world. It’s stunning! You can also start adding in color by selecting a color wheel and changing them, once you have unlocked these colors. The world starts to feel hand-panted and connected together, building and growing with you. Sometimes there are little mini-games that also can be unlocked, giving you something different to do.
There are lots of neat ways to unlock more decorations for your world, adding to the world full of music. Nothing feels under pressure and many of the creatures will just vibe while they hang out in whatever you have created so far. Garden Ink just feels wholesome, cozy, and like a little creation game where you can slowly build out your own world and color it in as you go.
I got the chance to play Garden Ink at Gamescom, where I very much enjoyed tinkering around! This game is currently out now on Steam.