In fantasy games, adventurers and common folk alike are always in need of potions and herbal remedies. In the world of Strange Horticulture, you are the supplier of strange and oftentimes magical plants. Just as the barkeep knows all the town secrets, however, you begin to learn what ails the locals and that not everything is just as it seems.
Similar to Papers, Please in its gameplay, Strange Horticulture can not only be a little difficult to pick up but also stressful. Too many wrong choices effects not only the success of the shop but of your sanity. Here are some beginner's tips for Strange Horticulture to keep you sane.
8 Use Context Clues To Identify Plants
When your uncle left you the shop, he didn't exactly leave many clues for you. Though he left his "Strange Book of Plants" to you, this alone is not enough to identify the plants in your shop. Many of the illustrations are sparse and the descriptions brief. You will need to pay close attention to context clues not only in the book itself but in descriptions revealed by placing plants under your microscope.
The microscope can confirm certain conditions, like a plant's texture or smell, that isn't readily apparent just by looking at it on the shelf. Be mindful of each plant's Latin name as well, since some customers will refer to them as such.
7 Use Your Mouse To Examine
You have a lot going on across your screen in Strange Horticulture, between plants, books, maps, letters, and customers. It can feel cluttered, but you can use your mouse's wheel to zoom in to examine anything on your screen a little closer.
From there, you can also make use of your magnifying glass to get an even closer look. Zooming in helps not only with identifying plants, but examining the map or letters.
6 Identifying Plants Correctly Increases Your Knowledge
Whenever you correctly guess the identity of a plant and give it to a customer, you will be rewarded with one – if not more – new entry to your Strange Book of Plants.
This is the main way that you will begin to expand your knowledge of the plants in your shop, making them easier to identify. You may obtain some entries before the plant has been added to your stock.
5 Misidentifying Plants Costs You Sanity
Obviously, giving your customers the wrong plant could be disastrous. Confusing one herb for another could spell someone's doom instead of a good night's sleep. But in Strange Horticulture, slip-ups cost you more than just business or your shop's reputation.
Each mistake increases your "Rising Dread" meter, located in the bottom left corner. If this bar is filled up, the day will abruptly end, and a shattered plate will appear before you with the text, "A shiver travels down my spine. My mind is broken." To recover your sanity, you must arrange the shards back together. This sequence seems to imply that there is something deeper happening within the shopkeeper's psyche that is yet to be revealed.
4 Label Plants As You Identify Them
Your late uncle might have liked running his shop by the seat of his pants, relying on his extensive memory of plants alone, but you don't have to. If you open the drawer to the right of your workstation, you will find a cluster of labels in three colors. Dragging a label on top of a plant attaches it, and allows you to write out its identity.
Labeling plants as you discover their identities will help you remember them quicker and get you through more customers in a day. Label colors can also be utilized to signify certain groupings, such as pink for remedies and purple for poisons.
3 Read Each Letter Carefully
The mail will be delivered to your house every day, containing letters that might seem innocuous at first. These are actually clues to finding new plants located out in the wilds beyond Undermere. Once you have "The Will To Explore" meter filled up, you have the ability to open your map and travel throughout the world. Some letters and secret notes can be located in your shop itself.
Using these letters and their context clues will reveal new plants which can be added to your shop. Read carefully, as just with The Book of Strange Plants, every detail matters. Being off by even one coordinate will result in hours wasted.
2 Water Your Plants To Explore More
As the day progresses, your "Will To Explore" meter will slowly generate, naturally giving you the chance to travel outside Undermere once, if not twice a day. If you have a bounty of letters or clues to explore, you can speed up the process by watering your plants.
Picking up the watering can and watering plants, even on rainy days, will boost your Will To Explore, giving you more opportunities to travel. Water your plants often, so that you are increasing your shop's stock every day.
1 Each Day You Will Draw A New Card
Completing a day successfully will reward you with a perplexing cutscene. A deck of tarot cards appears, and one is drawn. These cards are clues to new plants that can be found located on your map, just like the letters you receive in the post. Except these cards tell a greater story.
Each one pulled comes with a line of narrative that starts to reveal a little more of the underlying story of Strange Horticulture. The further you advance, the more pieces you have to fit together.
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