Cloud Gardens is a Calming, Zen Experience on the Switch

The Nintendo Switch is a pretty great system for indie games. Something small and manageable. It’d be good on a PC or kind of console that demands a TV. But there’s something extra convenient and soothing about the portable opportunity. The Cloud Gardens Switch port is perfectly suited for that sort of experience.

For those who missed it on other platforms, Cloud Gardens is both a puzzle game and sandbox experience. In the campaign, you go through different post-apocalyptic scenes. In each one, the world is dilapidated and filled with remnants of those who came before. It is up to the player to plant seeds. You then place more debris and items around to encourage the plants to grow. As they do, you can collect their flowers and trimmings to eventually earn more seeds.

Your goal is to fill a certain percentage of each area with greenery. Once you do, you unlock the next. You’ll also earn any items or seeds found in the previous stage for the custom, freeform gardens you can tend. Eventually, you’ll also get tools to make sucking up parts of plants to get more seeds easier. There is also a chainsaw for pruning. Not to mention you can call back some placed items to readjust the scene.

So, as for why this is so great on the Switch, it is because everything in Cloud Gardens’ nature is suited to it. Its aesthetic doesn’t focus on highly detailed visuals. This means there aren’t any compromises. It isn’t like the Xbox or PC versions look much better than the Switch one. It’s comparable. It also works well in terms of the controls. It’s easy to tap, place, and adjust to get things set up the way you’d like. The nature of it makes it easy to pick up and go. Creating and sharing screenshots is simple. Also, the port runs well on the system.

It also fits in well with some of its contemporaries already on the platform. For example, anyone who has Townscaper on their Switch would likely enjoy Cloud Gardens too. It’s the same sort of vibe. Yes, there can be more of a point and objective here. But it all comes down to building something up at your leisure and often going more for aesthetics than any sort of goal.

Cloud Gardens is simply a good fit for the Nintendo Switch. It isn’t demanding. This means it runs well on the system. It also means it doesn’t take up too much of your time and can be played at someone’s leisure. It’s just a relaxing oasis.

Cloud Gardens will come to the Nintendo Switch on June 16, 2022. It is immediately available on the Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.