Relaxing gardening simulator The Garden Path is the breath of fresh air I've been in desperate need of
On its surface The Garden Path is a very sweet gardening simulator. Rather than a farming sim time sink that takes you hours to get stuck into, it's designed to be played in short bursts. As someone who feels a little burnt out with slice-of-life simulators at the moment, I really appreciate that. Between foraging, fishing, and gardening, there's a surprising amount of depth to The Garden Path. Pair that with its stunning visuals and it's a hard game not to fall in love with from the get-go. But once you start to delve deeper, it quickly becomes a valuable lesson in slowing down and recognising the importance of patience.
Around the map, characters sporting vegetables as heads will help you on your way. But, it takes a while to unlock every character available. By completing tasks like pitching your tent or picking ten flowers you unlock stars. Those stars form constellations, and when these constellations are complete you'll welcome a new character to the gardens. It sounds like a lengthy process, but once you get exploring it really doesn't take too long before you're meeting new friends. Plus, they are a great way to get some direction if you're a bit stuck on what to do.
Whenever I was at a loss for what to do, I headed to these characters for some guidance. Each interaction gave me a new quest to complete, but they're never too tough. Your pals give you tasks like investigating a statue or playing a game of conkers, which means The Garden Path is in no way a difficult game to complete. Different characters appear in the garden each day, which is another incentive to keep checking in.
But despite the changing seasons and the drive to unlock new characters, there are no time challenges. You're just expected to do what you can. Because of this, I found it much easier to relax into the game and find my own groove, rather than feeling obliged to follow a routine. Some days I wanted to spend more time exploring the map to find new foragable items, while others I wanted to spend more time working on my garden. Being able to take things at my own pace slowed down the process and helped me appreciate the gorgeous environmental design and soundscape instead.
One of my favourite elements of The Garden Path is its fishing mechanic. I'm a sucker for a fishing minigame, but I find a lot of them in simulators start to feel the same. This makes it all the more exciting when you're met with an entirely new mechanic, which The Garden Paths offers. Rather than reeling in your catch and trying to keep your rod steady—like fishing in Stardew Valley—you have to whistle a tune to lure in fish. In a small 4x4 grid, you'll have to find the sweet spot (represented by a big red circle) by moving your musical note around which is your key to getting a fish. Once you've held the note, fish will chomp on the line and you'll be able to reel one in.
The game's seasons keep to a real-world clock, with a whole year in the gardens spanning 28 real-world days. During this time, four seasons interchange and expose new foragables to record and collect. I really loved that seasons were limited to a handful of real-world days, since I struggle with enjoying winter in games like this due to how barren it feels. Having the option to play very little or wait until winter has passed is a fantastic way to keep me excited to play, since I have to physically wait until spring again. There's no way to jump ahead by time skipping or sleeping through the season, I'd have to find real-world alternatives to fill my time until the game is ready.
To help the experience, The Garden Path is absolutely stunning. The gardens are designed in a way that looks hand-crafted. Brush strokes can be seen in tree leaves, and characters look like watercolour craft paper. It has an impressive amount of details for a game with such a simple premise, but this detail makes it even easier to sink into. A lot of the time, The Garden Path gave me the feeling of being wrapped in a warm blanket on a rainy evening, which is exactly what I want when playing something so relaxing.
As a person who is constantly working at a thousand miles an hour and struggling to ever find time to stop and smell the roses, The Garden Path is a necessary practice of patience. It forces my hand to slow down regardless of how hard I've tried to make things go quicker at times. It really is the dictionary definition of a peaceful game, and for once I think I'll listen to its lessons and take things one step at a time rather than getting overwhelmed at the bigger picture.