Grow Home Reviews
Grow Home manages to bring something new, relaxing and polished to the table, just not nearly enough of it. Feels like an excellent demo of a bigger game.
In the end, in spite of some control and gameplay issues, it's easy to see why Ubisoft developers fell under the spell of Grow Home. The alien world is verdant and alive, the sense of progress and discovery intoxicating, and the hero B.U.D. truly lovable.
Quaint Sunday afternoon gaming, and not much else
The gaming mechanics of the title are quite fun and when mixed with these powerful vines that the player controls, it does create a sense of gaming wonder. Sure, it does lack replay value but if you want a few hours of escapism, this is definitely the answer!
Ubisoft Reflections' 3D platformer reminds the player what made the genre so great
Grow Home: a great climbing platformer. Beautiful, chunky world. But with a bit of a wonky camera.
[Y]ou'll probably never kick the stumbling habit entirely, which is fine, because you're always liable to stumble into something beautiful.
Rather clever physics-driven climbing mechanics marred by the game's lack of willingness to actually do anything with them. Still, Grow Home manages to be a cheap, pleasant surprise of exactly the sort we ought to encourage.
For those with patience to get the hang of the quirky controls, Grow Home provides a lot to like. It's a cute game with nice ideas and a somewhat relaxed atmosphere. It's certainly pleasing to see a big publisher like Ubisoft trying out fresh ideas and, in Grow Home's case, it pays off well. The title only disappoints fundamentally in terms of its length - not because it's bad value at $8/£6, but because it causes cravings for more. With any luck maybe Ubisoft will see fit to take Reflections' project's little seed and grow a more fully-fledged game from it, because the ideas and style shown deserve to be seen again.
Grow Home is fun and innovative experience that, unfortunately, gets weighed down by bugs with the climbing system, the iffy camera, and the repetitive audio effects. It's still a blast to play but it could've been much more.
You should be left feeling bubbly after playing Grow Home. It's not perfect in execution, but given it was never meant to be a commercial product, it's easy to see why Ubisoft couldn't resist turning it into one - it's a bright, charming and original little game that has an irresistable sense of happiness to it.
I can appreciate what Ubisoft Reflections was trying to attempt with Grow Home, but perhaps it should have been left as an experiment or a demo instead of as a game. Its appearance is intriguing, I'll give it that, but appearance doesn't make it any less tedious or frustrating. I noticed on Metacritic that several people have loved it, but for me, it was absolute torture.
Grow Home is a masterpiece that gives out a strong core mechanics as a platform game that can make you play the game out its charm despite its lack of narrative, replay value, and dull dialogue.
Grow Home isn't a game that I expected to fall in love with but after playing for a while and letting it wash over me, I can easily say that it's one of the most imaginative and enjoyable gaming experiences that I've played so far this year.
Grow Home is a fantastically creative game that needs to be lauded as one of the best things that has come out of Ubisoft in years. It's warm, it's fun, it has some dark humor and it's just a wonderful ride for everyone.
Grow Home is an endearing title. Throwing BUD around like a robotic rag-doll is a satisfying and heartwarming affair. For the price and duration it can’t be beat, a completely self-contained game that sets the expectations low and manages to deliver an amazing experience. It’s a cheap, silly, and quick experience that will leave your hands sweaty and MOM very proud of you.
The spirit of Grow Home lies in its unforced exploration, leisurely collecting of items, and experiencing those "oh $H#@" moments as B.U.D. loses his grip or you miss your jump at 2000 meters in the air. There is added value to the game as you unlock skins with abilities and other items. After the end credits, you also have the choice of accepting an extra mission. All of these features add to Grow Home's appeal as a special game where it pays to be curious and daring, and you are properly rewarded if you are thorough.
Grow Home offers simple but very enjoyable gameplay with the main focus being on the fun part.
Review in German | Read full review