Though I would rarely ever give myself the title, I could—technically—be considered a “gamer.” I am not very good at them, but I have played many different games throughout the years and though some have left me unimpressed, others have stuck with me and I recommend them to everyone I can.

I am often partial to puzzle and mystery-based games rather than the combat-based games that tend to be popular. One such game that I adore and return to regularly is the indie game “Strange Horticulture.”

“Strange Horticulture” is a puzzle game developed by Bad Viking and published by Iceberg Interactive in which you play as the new owner of an inherited, local plant shop in the fictional, seemingly English countryside-inspired town of Undermere. 

Various residents of Undermere and other nearby towns patronize the shop with various requests. As you search the surrounding lands and fill your shop with more and more poisonous, healing or simply odd plants (and give pets to the shop cat Hellebore), these customers slowly reveal an increasing amount of clues of the mysteries of Undermere that are unraveling around you.

Between investigating the murder of a local coven leader, being recruited by a rival cult and attempting to appease the townspeople and wheedle information out of them, there are many different avenues to explore and decisions to make to discover the different endings. 

I tend to prefer games with specific, clear and interesting storylines—and I appreciate it even more when there are distinct, multiple endings which allow for a lot of replayability. This is one of those games.

However, as someone who went into the game with absolutely no context because I stumbled upon it on my own, there are some tips and warnings that I will give. The main warning I will give is that clues for finding plants on the map and traveling around the surrounding lands are INCREDIBLY vague and there is NOTHING wrong with looking up the answers because the game often cannot progress until the clue is solved. Additionally, the book for identifying the plants can be annoying to use at first, but once you have gained some familiarity with it, it is easier to navigate. Overall, “Strange Horticulture” is a very fun puzzle game themed around the occult and has hours worth of playability. It is available on Steam, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One for $15.99.