Cloud Gardens

Cloud Gardens is a competent, unique puzzle game and a contemplative, relaxing dreamscape, all rolled into one small package.

Cloud Gardens is a gentle-looking, gentle-sounding toy in the “chill” genre. It has a pretty good game hung on top, participation in which is largely optional. Noio’s stated aim “to fill you with satisfaction without the frustration” is a motto that’s been observed. Your mileage will vary based on what you find satisfying and what you find frustrating, but the gameplay, the themes, the music, the sound, and the graphics are all of a piece, admirably on-message, and contribute to a unique, bittersweet atmosphere.

On a clear crisp Summer’s day, I like to be outside pottering around in the garden. Tending to plants and weeding brings a sense of tranquillity to what might have been a long week at work. When I saw Cloud Gardens was available to review, I was keen to extend my green fingers to the gaming world. Let’s dive straight in.

Cloud Gardens is a casual, laid-back, puzzle-solving experience. That being said, it’s not the type of game that you will want to play for hours on end, but it’s entertaining in short spurts. It offers over one hundred levels, which sounds impressive, but bear in mind that many of the assets are constantly reused, making levels feel tedious after a while. This makes it ideal for a system like the Switch, where you can pick it up and play here and there on-the-go.

All in all, Cloud Gardens is definitely a title that leans more towards experience than game, but its classification matters much less than how it feels to play around with its tools or the positive message it espouses. By focusing on creating and elevating green spaces, we can return our world to one where nature is in harmony and a balance is struck between humanity's footprint and mother nature's embrace. Spending a few minutes or even a few hours experimenting with Cloud Gardens feels like a worthwhile endeavor.

Cloud Garden is a peaceful puzzle game with plenty of levels on offer and a sandbox mode also in tow. It's a simple and joyous experience for everyone.

With a creative essence, Cloud Gardens carries many feats through the incredible art of gardening in dystopian terrain. While its aesthetic is quite cozy, its farming concepts make for a relaxing and fun puzzle game, presenting a significant extension that can become even greater for those who are interested in the Creative Mode proposals. Thus, there is a detail that cannot be denied: as well as the soils made available in the abandoned structures of its stages, the title is also very fertile in ideas and is full of fruitful qualities.

Cloud Gardens becomes a hallmark of a genre, a liminal adventure that fights a visual style with a simple and appropriate gameplay. A perfect and magnificent proposal that we can hardly complain about.

Cloud Gardens is the perfect break you need if what you're looking for is an escape from the frenetic paced games or stressful environment of your everyday life. Without any story, enter this relaxing sandbox adventure and challenge yourself to create beautiful gardens in post-apocalyptic settings. In short, this is what the game is all about and it is an absolutely therapeutic journey.

Cloud Gardens is a lovely relaxing game and beautiful to look at, but it gets repetitive rather quickly.