Garden Trills: Preview

birds, flowers, games, gaming, garden trills, gardening, indie, Indie games, PC, preview, Tomi, video-games

After a busy week, there’s nothing like taking the weekend to relax with some good video games. For some people that’s playing a tough souls-like, or jumping in a lobby with some friends for some hectic PvP action; for me and many others, it’s a chance to play some low stakes, cosy games. I wasn’t always into these more relaxed gaming experiences. Over the last few years, as the subgenre has evolved and diversified, I have found my type of cosy game, and Garden Trills is it.

Currently being solo developed by Alexandre Perot "˜Yukim', You play as a young sparrow called Tomi who has recently moved house with her parents to a new neighbourhood. The family of little birds have moved to one of many floating islands amongst the clouds, blue skies as far as the eye can see. While their new abode appears to nestled in a perfect floating paradise, Tomi must help her parents with the move and meet their new neighbours. Tasked with getting the automatic sprinkler system back up and running, it’s up to the little bird to bring these islands to full bloom.

While Garden Trills has you high up in the sky, the stakes couldn’t be lower. As Tomi, you hop and fly about these picturesque islands, delivering treats to your neighbours (got to make a good first impression), meeting cute characters and helping them with tasks, all the while growing an assortment of flowers adding more colour to an already vibrant world.

But these beautiful flowers are not just there to look good; each type of plant has a magical ability to help Tomi as she explores and helps her new neighbours. Bouncing on a patch of pansies, launching straight upwards out of a tall tulip, or lining up your aim and firing the small sparrow from a lily are just a few of the powers to be used in Garden trills. With flying limited by a stamina bar, these plant powers are essential for traversing these island gardens.

There are dozens of flowers already planted throughout the world, but Tomi can collect seeds of the different types and plant them herself. So, if there is something up high but my little bird couldn’t get up, I looked for a clear patch of fertile ground and planted my own solution to the problem. Bur flowers won’t grown on sun alone, they need water! Green watering cans can be found dotted around each area, but Tomi will need assistance to carry one and give the seeds their much needed H20.

Speaking of assistance, with her parents busy unpacking Tomi needs to make some friends to help her out. As I explored the islands, I met a cute cast of other birds who all could use a hand (or a wing). At the first little island I met a sunhat wearing sweetie called Chantal who wanted a strawberry, clearly low on sugar and needing a sweet treat. After plucking one from a nearby bush and bringing it to the old bird, she was happy to assist me anytime I sang (how Tomi calls for help, and just a delight to do).

Chantal also offered to trade customisation rewards for Tomi in exchange for marbles I found hidden on each island. Each island also has a number of birdhouses, Tomi’s neighbours, and by delivering a gift to each one I received more rewards and seeds. Everybody is happy to help and welcoming to the young sparrow, and the dialogue had me smiling with it’s charm and optimism.

The relaxing and empathetic nature of Garden Trills is such a joy to experience, and though I got to the end of the demo in under an hour, I nearly doubled my playtime just exploring and enjoying the ambience. With a soft but rich pastel palette and a soothing, almost lullaby like soundtrack, it is a feelgood game through and through

It’s also the two-fold nature of the gameplay that really piques my interest in Garden Trills. The combined creativity of planting flowers to change the landscape (and acting as a visual representation of your progress), and use their abilities to solve environmental puzzles is a pleasure to see in action. While I figured out the solutions in the demo pretty quickly, my only hope is that the puzzle elements keep growing along with the rest of the game.

Regardless, what I experienced of Garden Trills is enough to get me excited for the full release. With fun, easy-going gameplay, a heart-warming atmosphere, finished with delightful visuals and sound design, Garden Trills could bloom into a high flying hit.