INTRO
DISCLAIMER: This review was possible by VoodooDuck and/or Assemble Entertainment. They were generous enough to send a code over to Movies, Games, and Tech for review purposes. Thanks, everyone!
Growth. It means a measurement of one’s ability to grow as an individual or being. In this particular case, it’s also the title of a video game, surprisingly enough.
Growth, for those unaware, is a game where you acquire animals to then send out in order to acquire terrain in an attempt to reach a hidden volcano and render it dormant for the sake of the animals. At least, that’s the gist of the plot that I got from the game’s text info boxes, but I can go over it more detail during the story summary.
Regarding the release date, It was made for the PC on October 16th, 2023. It was courtesy of Developer VooDooDuck and Publisher Assemble Entertainment. It was built for PC launchers like Steam and GOG. it made its way onto the Switch eShop – at least in Europe – on December 21st, 2023.
So, does this game manage to impress with its premise and gimmicks? Let’s find out. This is my review of the Switch version of Growth.
Story – There’s room for Growth
To recap for those who skip the intro, the plot for Growth is rather basic. You are guiding an initially limited number of animals to a dormant volcano in an attempt to save the developing lands and acquire more animal types along the way. That’s kind of it without getting too deep into spoiler territory. At least the tutorial and controls work well enough.
Gameplay – Good, but room for Growth
As for the gameplay, it… works, but also has issues. You are given 1 hippo and 2 deer. The music is relaxing, but it’s more to help calm you down after you inevitably fail to make any progress towards the volcano. The more animals or “resources” you get, the more you can progress. Do expect a different map each time you play, though.
Also, there’s a high score mechanic. The highest I did get was over 2,000 points… ugh! Even when I did know what to do and how to best optimize my range, I only got into the 900 points range or so each subsequent time. This game encourages strategizing your movements due to a lack of a Bonafede time limit. You are punished for random guessing. I could understand needing to strategize at your own pace in other games like Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky. Here… not so much.
Final Thoughts
It was a good time for strategy games on PC and Switch. Despite the flaws I mentioned above, getting a high score can be addicting, and the success you feel when you make some progress – however minute it is – is immensely satisfying. It is a very relaxing game with a lot of depth to it.
