The first thing that grabbed me when I heard about Grow: Song of the Evertree was just how vibrant and lush it looked in the screenshots, with a very fairy tale feeling to what I was seeing! So when I got the opportunity to finally play the game I had a lot of anticipation for it.
Developed by Primal Sloth, the makers of the very enjoyable Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles, and published by 505 Games, Grow was released on November 16th 2021 bringing its world crafting, sandbox adventure to all major platforms.
The games premise revolves around you, the last human who currently lives around the base of the Evertree, a giant tree where the many worlds of Alaria reside on its branches. Your tasked with combating the plague of giant, thorny brambles called the withering that has started to overtake the Evertree. With the help of your friends Coppertop and Book and your flying companion Kazumi, you will venture up into the Evertree to grow and nurture new worlds from the world seeds you have obtained.
As these newly planted worlds grow the withering will be slowly pushed back, opening up new areas to explore and also increasing the population with returning residents. This is where the town building simulation really kicks in, as you grow your town to accommodate these returning residents as well as ensuring you can grow even more worlds up above on the Evertree.
Because you’re given the majority of your tools at the beginning of the game, and that they don’t break after extended use, it does mean the game gives off a much more relaxing style of gameplay compared to similar games of the genre. No need to worry about something breaking mid job and having to return to craft another one, you can use them to your hearts content! There is also no combat or stamina to worry about, the game solely focuses on the enjoyment of building and nurturing of the worlds and town you oversee.
The game itself is split into 3 distinct sections. There’s the world growing section that has you clearing the areas for each of these worlds by removing rubble, weeds etc and then using the power of the Eversong to rejuvenate the Evertree and push back the withering. Then there is the town management simulation where you will be gathering resources from the worlds above to help build houses, businesses, gardens etc to grow your town and a deal with the residents who have arrived. There are a variety of sidequests to do in this area to keep you busy and you can even attempt to romance a few of them too! Once you level up your town and clear more of the withering this leads to the third section of the game where you get to roam around more with chests, song strands and more to find.
Overall Grow: Song of the Evertree is a charming Sandbox and life management game full of gorgeously colourful environments and characters to interact with at your own pace in a nice relaxing setting. The orchestral soundtrack really helps with the overall aesthetic of the game and there is so much to keep you coming back to your town time and time again. The gameplay can be slightly repetitive later in the game, with a couple of bugs now and then but the atmosphere more than makes up for it!
Total Score – 7.5/10
Grow: Song of the Evertree is currently available right now on the Xbox store HERE
Priced at £19.99 and playable on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. Grow is also available digitally on PS4, Steam and Nintendo Switch with a physical boxed edition releasing on the Switch in February 2022!
We were provided a copy of the game for free for this review from 505 Games. A big thanks for that!
Comments