Garden of the Sea [Meta Quest 2]

Developed and published by Neat Corporation, Garden of the Sea is a casual farming simulator, where you wake up to find yourself on one of a cluster of mysterious islands. With little notes dotted around to give you pointers, and bubbles waiting to be filled with supplies in order to create new buildings and more, it feels very relaxed - not pushing you to progress, but instead allowing you to do things in your own time, whilst you make the most of exploring the world around you.

Being in a world where you can interact with the animals like you can in VR; feeding them produce and giving them lots of ear scritches; is equal parts bizarre and gratifying. Their cute little faces light up with joy when you bring them the food they want, and a heart meter fills to show your bond with each of the creatures. You’ve got tools to make your own little gardens for each of the plants you wish to harvest, and it’s oddly soothing to go around tilling the soil and planting seeds, making sure everything is well watered and growing as it should.

You’ll get around by pulling the trigger when pointing at wherever you want to go, which at first felt a bit jarring due to the instant warp from place to place, but I quickly got used to it, and it felt like second nature to travel in this way. The islands are a decent size, and there’s plenty of space for you to have things laid out how you like, so that you can just whizz over to the relevant areas whenever you need to grab something specific, as the various things you’ve grown will be used when crafting, as well as to trade for items at the ‘store’. To make things easier when carrying things around, you’ve got a unique glove mechanic, where a variety of items can be stored for later use, and swapped out when needed.

The world of Garden of the Sea is gorgeous, with bright colours and a very summery vibe. There’s so much to see, and wandering around, taking in the sights, is a big part of the appeal. You’ll find various little scraps of paper with crafting ideas scribbled on them, and you’ll be able to find all manner of plants scattered around that you can then use to gain seeds to grow them in your own little gardens. You can even unlock a boat that will allow you to sail off to other nearby islands, and this opens up the exploration further, with new things to discover. The soundtrack is amazing too, and is one that I instantly wanted to find, only to discover that they have described it as ‘living music’ in that it is actually reacting to the gameplay, via Reactional Music by Gestrument, a very interesting and unique tool which you can read more about here.

Priced at £18.99 on the Quest 2, Garden of the Sea is a fantastic game to relax with - and one in which you’ll uncover a lot of happiness. The tasks that are available for you to complete are never thrust upon you in an imposing way, allowing you to really relax and just take your time with everything, which makes this ideal even for slightly younger players that just want to revel in the joy of exploring. As you progress, you’ll be able to purchase various furnishings for your own little home base, and it is all very enjoyable and pleasant to do, giving you a sense of accomplishment as you see things slowly coming together. If you’re new to VR titles, or even if you’re a VR veteran looking for something a little more relaxed, then Garden of the Sea is a perfect fit that will give you hours and hours of enjoyment beyond the few hours storyline.

In the end, we decided to give Garden of the Sea the Collecting Asylum rating of 8/10.

Are you interested in Garden of the Sea? What do you think of it?
Let us know in the comments below!

- V x

Thank you to Neat Corporation for the Garden of the Sea Quest 2 review code!