Urban Jungle Review: No One Gets Between Me and My Ficus
In real life, I hate having to pack and unpack my things. I don’t do well with starting from scratch and simply end up with lots of uncontrollable piles and disorganized corners. Thankfully, games like Urban Jungle from Kylyk Games exist that allow me to unwind and unpack someone else’s life in any way that I choose, without having to worry about the aftermath myself.
Urban Jungle is a casual and relaxing where you play as Ayta Borisova, a young woman working in Business Development who has a real passion for plants and gardening. The game starts early in Ayta’s childhood where she bonds with her grandmother over plants, learning that plants have different needs. Eventually in adulthood, after realizing how unhappy she is with her current job, Ayta decides to completely change her career and start a plant shop.
The game plays similarly to titles like Unpacking where you will start each new chapter with a handful of items packed up in boxes that players can unpack and place around the room wherever they’d like. Many of the items that are already placed can also be moved around if things aren’t feng shui for you. You’re given a handful of quests to complete each chapter like throwing away trash or petting your precious cat Rufus (don’t have to tell me twice!). Completing quests helps you earn coins which you can then use to purchase plants.
When you purchase plants, you’re given a few options to choose from and you’ll see what each plant needs in order to thrive. You’ll be able to see if a plant requires sunlight or humidity (or if it doesn’t) and which plants it loves or hates to be around. The more of these requirements you fulfill the more experience you’ll earn towards progressing the story and the more money you’ll earn to get more plants (naturally).
The biggest challenge you’ll come across in Urban Jungle is configuring your plants in a way that makes them happy enough for you to progress to the next chapter. I’m not the most organized person in life, or in video games, so I often would pile a bunch of succulents together in a corner (actually this does sound like me in real life) in order to get a high enough score. Does it look aesthetic? No. But it gets the job done. And that’s something that I really loved about the game. At the end of the day, it honestly doesn’t matter how many plants you’ve shoved on the TV stand, directly in front of the TV, if you do it efficiently enough, you’ll get a pat on the back. That being said, those that love games like Unpacking and love organizing rooms with cute plants are sure to have a good time moving things around into the perfect configuration.
In between each chapter, and sometimes in the middle of a chapter, you’ll be introduced to a few of the people in Ayta’s life like her mother, brother, college roommate and more. The more you progress the more you’ll learn about each character and honestly, I really loved them by the end of the game. It’s a short game with only about three to four hours in the main story, but it tells a really lovely story in that time.
Urban Jungle was such a relaxing game to play, I couldn’t put it down. I finished the entire thing in two short sittings and would love to get back into it to try out the game’s creative mode and have free reign with my plants. Not to mention, Rufus the orange cat who you can pet at any time, is the cutest little guy ever. If you’re looking for something to wind down with or something to just give you a break from the stress of our regular work days, Urban Jungle is certainly one to pick up.
Breakdown
Game: Urban Jungle
Developer: Kylyk Games
Publisher: Assemble Entertainment
Availability: PC
Accessibility Options: N/A
Game Length: 3-5 Hours (for story mode)
Reviewed on PC
Final Thoughts
Urban Jungle is the perfect game for someone looking for a soothing and simple title to relax with at the end of a long day. While placing plants and petting animals is really fun, the game’s story is also incredibly relatable and beautifully done. Controls can get a little weird, and you might find yourself accidentally placing plants outside of the play area from time to time, but for a short little game, this one is nice and sweet.