Forget Me Not: My Organic Garden

[Note: Purchased and played the Playism version, which buying it there will net you a Steam Key as well as the DRM-free version.]

When it comes to the indie game front, Japanese doujin titles are probably my most favorite to observe. Usually known for putting together some harebrained ideas (like any creator) that should never seem to work out, I’m glad that they oddly do and really remind me why I like and play games in the first place. So why not make a game about growing plants? In an oversimplified nutshell that is the premise of Forget Me Not: My Organic Garden, a tale that follows a girl named Organa, that is working as an apprentice at her master Irene’s shop that specializes in growing plants...that produce organs instead of fruit? Yeah, told you it would be out there, but that is apart of its charm.

From kidneys and hearts that grow on trees to whatever grows on vines are just some of the oddities you will have to cultivate and all you have to do is simply click on a water can, click on the plant in question, and watch the growth happen. Sounds simple, right? Well, that is because it is, but don’t let the simplicity fool you. As you progress through the game and unlock other plants, items, and even animals that can assist you with everything from quicker growth for organs to refilling your watering can at a faster rate, things can become somewhat difficult to manage. However, with no penalties or strict time limit on your actions, you are free to take your time and once you get the hang of micromanaging your resources, it becomes a very zen and relaxing experience. Of course, you won’t be growing organs without some kind of purpose and where the quest system comes into play. Like most fetch quest in RPG’s or item collection task in other genres, from time to time you will have different objectives you will be ask to accomplish. All of them are pretty simple and require you to either grow a certain number of organs or level up your animals, equipment, or plants to a specific value which will happen as you go. While only a handful of quest are needed to move the story along to the next chapter, there are various others that will help you accrue funds to buy more resources as well as provide extra vignettes that help flesh the world and what Organa and Irene’s day-to-day lives deal with.

Speaking of the story, there is one to My Organic Garden, with Irene trying to train up Organa so she can go traveling knowing that her business will be in good hands, but it is definitely nuanced to some degree - which isn’t a bad thing for a game of this nature. As aforementioned, as you complete quest to move the story forward, scenes will play out in a visual novel type fashion that reveal the nature of Irene’s business as well as the customers that come to her. Some the scenes are pretty short and straightforward, yet there are a few that border on a reflective and even deeply contemplative bent, but the writing is very simple and easygoing that it never feels stuffy or imposing (putting it nicely). It adds a lot of character to the otherwise simple and addictive gameplay that can stand on its own just fine.

The avant-garde artwork adds to the character as it features a very seemingly monochromatic palate for the background on top of an optical artstyle that doesn’t play the viewer eyeballs, but does look extremely pleasant. As simple as the character designs are, they also look very nice and give off a very haunting ambiance to what seems like a cheerful and relaxing title. The game does have some animation work, yet nothing horribly too interesting to note except for visual cues when organs are ready to harvest or animals scurrying in a stop motion style when they are doing a task or resting. Music is also something that isn’t much to write home about, but works for what the game is.

All-in-all, Forget Me Not: My Organic Garden is a very different and pleasant game, and do think that is worth checking out if you like the concept and gameplay style. Even though I'm only a few steps into playing (Chapter 2) and still feel that I have more of the game to see, the simple and addictive clicking gameplay coupled with story bits is managing to keep me satisfied, and can't wait to I get my hands on the next introduced resource. I would be remiss if I didn't say that it seems like this type of play can become repetitive, but with so much to do and events staving off that monotony, I don't feel it sitting in now or see it happening any time soon. I do believe fans of anime and visual novels will definitely find this up their alley, but even if you're not, still a neat and crazy idea you will want to look into.

Forget Me Not is very simple and calm game. There are no time limits, no rush, you can't even fail, at least I don't see how, but also it's a very strange game. Nothing is conventional or standard about it. It just takes you in and keeps you there until you are done with all what's to know and grow. I'm not sure it works well as a main game, but something as played inbetween other more involving games it is great. It is a very relaxing game too.

Introduction

The first thing that should catch your eye upon viewing the game’s store page is its extraordinary graphics/art style. Or its absurd premise: pick one. But is the game truly absurd, or is it just a beautiful, tender story wrapped in total weirdness? I’m not sure either to be honest, not yet, but maybe we can find out together? I’m almost sure we will know the answer by the end of this review, so... shall we begin?

Gameplay

I thought I knew what the game would be about, roughly, but I was surprised to see that I was actually completely wrong this time. I expected a casual time management game, but what I got was actually a clicker game. You know, clicker games… like Clicker Heroes and Sakura Clicker. Where you just use the mouse to complete objectives. Except My Organic Garden has a story to tell, and unlike most of the other clicker games (I haven’t played them all) you can actually complete it given enough time.

In fact, there are several stories to follow. You have a main story, which involves you (Organa, an apprentice) learning the profession of organ harvesting, which I will get to in a minute. And then there are several side quests that contain shorter stories.
All of the stories are told in a style similar to visual novels, but the conversations are always kept to a minimum. The stories are also broken up, so every now and then you get to see a new part of it. A wise choice, because it keeps the game more interesting and makes you want to continue playing. Usually you play these sorts of games for 30 minutes or so – sure, there are exceptions – and then close them and open them a day or two later to see if ‘you’ have made some progress. Not in this case. Because of the story you might want to return to it faster than normal. In reality it still remains a clicker game, though, so this means that if you have little or no interest in these sorts of games this most likely doesn’t apply to you. Another reason to return to it sooner is the fact that the game doesn’t continue harvesting whenever you close the game. All harvesting has to be done by the player him- or herself (and with the help of your animals).

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=535049695
The gameplay consists of first having to manage one tree. Give it enough water and kidneys will grow on it. Give the tree even more water and the kidneys will grow until they’re finally ripe for harvesting. Harvesting levels up the tree and giving it water levels up the water can. Each time you level up you can do more. The water can, for example, allows you to have more water in it, while the tree allows you to plant even more kidneys. Later on you will also be able to grow even higher quality kidneys, as well as hearts and meat, for example. Since there’s a lot of micromanaging involved you ultimately have to purchase some animals from the (a different?) shop. There are frogs and birds, among a few other animals. Frogs will fill up the water can faster and birds allow you to produce more meat. These animals can all also be leveled up. In fact, I haven’t yet seen one thing that I wasn’t able to level up. Everything levels up, it’s crazy. Crazy, but necessary if you want to make good progress, though. There is no time limit, or any limit whatsoever, so you can take your sweet time growing organs and clicking things. The story does progress once you have completed enough or the right quest(s), though.

The quests themselves are simplistic and easy. They can just take a lot of time to complete. Invest enough of your time into the game and you’ll be able to finish all of the available quests. The goal is to always level up more, buy more and harvest more. There’s no real depth to them and the stories aren’t interesting enough (thus far) to make me care about any of the involved characters. I really want to see the complete story, including the side quests, but I don’t want to spend hours of my time just mindlessly (a keyword in case you want to argue!) and frantically clicking things.

Ultimately I guess it can be either a soothing experience if you really take your time, or it can be a really stressful experience if you’re the OCD kind of person or if you just fail to see the logic behind it. I fall into that last category I think. I don’t see the logic behind clicker games, although this game does have more to offer, but I also don’t find these games soothing or relaxing. And unlike the other clicker games Forget Me Not My Organic Garden isn’t free. Would the game be that much more enjoyable if it was free? Probably not, but I would rate it differently I think.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=535049712

Audio & Visuals

The music is kind of cheerful. To be honest I expected a sad, dramatic game, but it’s actually the opposite. It’s a strange feeling, hearing happy music during more serious moments. But it’s a feeling I seemed to enjoy nevertheless. There’s no voice acting at all: the animals do make some noises, however, and there are some sound effects to indicate you’re making progress (completing quests, and leveling up items and animals). Other than that, the music seems to be the main focus here.

Forget Me Not My Organic Garden uses a lot of fade-in and fade-out techniques. These techniques are accompanied by beautifully shaded and colored – sometimes (very) blurry - graphics, but except for a few animations most of the art is static. The few animations are shown in a way that it looks like stop-motion, but I thought it was a bit messy, because animals were moving to all sorts of places. It’s certainly unique, I’ll give it that, but it doesn’t help you when you have to keep track of so many things at the same time. I wish this was done a bit differently.

Length/Replay Value

I’m not sure what the total length of the game is - I might get there eventually – but apparently the game is about 15-30 hours long from what I’ve read and seen. That’s impressive, but also understandable, given the mechanics. I personally consider it lengthy, but if we compare it to other clicker games it clearly isn’t, of course. Despite that, you can still get more than enough gameplay out of it. Just don’t expect as much.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=535049677

Conclusion

Forget Me Not My Organic Garden is a well-made game all things considered. However, it isn’t what I expected it to be. I personally expected something a little… deeper, purely based on the screenshots. But if you enjoy frantically clicking your mouse then there’s plenty of fun to be had here, no doubt about it. I wouldn’t say it’s a case of style over substance (the stories might just give the game more substance in the end) but in the first few hours it will definitely feel like that.

Too long, didn’t read

Pros:
+ Excellent art style
+ Cheerful music
+ Multiple stories
+ Easy to learn and play

Mixed:
+/- Can be soothing if you take your time, or just plain stressful

Cons:
- Repetitive gameplay
- Too much micromanaging
- ‘Stop motion’-like animations make you lose track of things

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Rating: 6.3 (out of 10)

(Ratings aren’t calculated based on a formula, but on my personal feelings)


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