We described Botanicula in our 2012 review as "the result of Monkey Island and Terry Gilliam falling into a vegan's blender: A gorgeous-looking mix of point-and-clicking surrealism, whipped together out of nature, discovery and adorable humour." And yup, that about nails it: It's weird, funny, heartwarming, and—this is why we're talking about it right now—free for the week on the Epic Games Store.
Botanicula is an Amanita Design game, and if you're familiar with any of the studio's other work then you have a pretty good idea of what to expect. It follows the bizarre adventures of five insectoid weirdos living in a tree that's come under attack by parasitic spiders. That might sound grim, and the spiders are definitely a little creepy, but it's really a lighthearted, upbeat experience overall.
It also bears more than a passing similarity to Amanita's 2018 slapstick adventure Chuchel: Solving puzzles is technically the name of the game, but the real fun is in the aftermath of getting it wrong. As we said in the Botanicula review, "Getting the right answer first time is rubbish: it means you miss out on seeing the failed attempts."
Anyway, Botanicula is a great game, one of Amanita's best (although truth be told, I could point to pretty much any Amanita game and say that), well worth its regular price, and now it's free, which means we really don't need to be talking about it at all—just go grab it.
And yes, for the record, this is the first time Botanicula has been free on the Epic Store—here's our running list of everything that is and has been free from Epic over the years, if you're curious about that sort of thing. This being our first crack at Botanicula makes it an even more notable addition to the freebie lineup.
Botanicula is free on the Epic Games Store until April 24. We'll have this conversation again on that day, because the next Epic freebie is Chuchel. Trust me, you don't want to miss that one either.
