Urban Jungle

by Aethyna May 10, 2025 | 1 Votes | 34 Played | 0 Reviews

10 rate

Genres:

Simulation

Graphics:

Labels:

Garden , Cozy , Flowers

Platforms:

Publishers:

Assemble Entertainment Place various potted plants around Ayta's living space, work off the synergistic effects of the plants and fulfill their needs, and gain as many points as you can to unlock more plants to place, turning those living spaces into actual urban jungles in this cozy gardening game! Play Now Similar Games

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Summary Plotline Gameplay Graphics/ Sound Conclusion

Summary

Urban Jungle is a cozy gardening game where you follow the story of Ayta Borisova from her childhood as she struggles to balance the demands of real life and her love for gardening. Place various potted plants around her living space, work off the synergistic effects of the plants and fulfill their needs, and gain as many points as you can so you can unlock more plants to place.

Plotline

You follow the story of Ayta Borisova from her childhood back in 1996 where she, her mother, and her brother lived with their grandparents. As you slowly progress through her life, you’ll learn more about Ayta, her aspirations, her love for gardening, and her relationships with various people in her life, including both friends and family.

Gameplay

The gameplay is both surprisingly simple and yet strategic in this game. Here, you need to place various types of potted plants, both big and small, to earn points. Plants come in different grades or qualities, with legendary plants providing the most base points. You can get two plants at the start, usually chosen out of four to five choices, with two more for every subsequent level-up.

Leveling up requires points – points that you can earn by strategically placing your plants. Each plant comes with a base point value, which you can get simply by placing it anywhere in the room. However, you can get more points per plant by fulfilling its light, humidity, and its need to be close to other plants it likes. Note that placed plants can be removed, but the points you’ve gained will be deducted as a result. The plants can be moved, too, if needed.

This kind of progression system is quite similar to many hex-based cozy city builders like ArchiHexago and Sky Settlers, where you try to optimize the placements of your plants so you can earn as many points as possible with every plant. In a way, the game lets you become a version of the “crazy cat lady” but with plants. But of course, the game is supposed to be cozy, so you also have the option to just place the plants as aesthetically as you like. After all, you just need a fairly small number of points in order to progress to the next stage, and playing either way will still allow you to unlock new scenes and follow Ayta’s story.

In addition to the plants you can get for free, there are also plants that you can only get if you have the coins required. Coins are currency that you can earn in a limited way in this game, that is, by completing specific objectives detailed in each chapter of the game. Objectives vary from helping Ayta to unpack to finding hidden items around the place, much like in a hidden object game. Note that since you can only earn a limited number of coins, since there are limited objectives per game chapter, it’s probably wise to only spend them if none of the free choices are suitable.

There’s even a Pokedex-style collection tracking system here where you can try to discover and collect all variations of each plant species. The game helpfully indicates which plant variant is “new” so you’d know which ones to opt for when trying to “collect them all”.

As a massive fan of similar cozy games, Urban Jungle really allowed me to give in to my OCD of trying to optimize plant placements to earn as many points as I can, or if I’m feeling lazy, go for a more creative and aesthetic look when I want to. This freedom of play works well with its cozy atmosphere. Of course, if you don't want to deal with the hassle of points completely and would like to do some interior decorating as well, then you'll be delighted to know that there's also a creative mode that you can play. This game mode is unlocked after you've played a few levels in the main campaign.

Graphics/ Sound

Urban Jungle features a charming isometric 3D art style that combines soft, vibrant color palettes with a slightly low-poly aesthetic. The game's visuals are designed to create a cozy and inviting atmosphere, with warm lighting and hand-drawn details that give each room a lived-in feel. The environments are thoughtfully crafted as well, allowing players to transform small, ordinary apartments into lush, green havens. In terms of sound, Urban Jungle features a selection of relaxing tunes to serenade you as you fulfill your role as the “crazy plant lady” and decorate each space with beautiful greenery.

Conclusion

All in all, Urban Jungle is the epitome of a wholesome and cozy game, giving players the freedom to play the game the way they want, whether it is by earning as many points as possible or simply helping Ayta beautify her living spaces. The family-based storyline is also very well-written and visualized, and you can’t help but empathize with Ayta, who found herself stuck, not only in a dead-end job, but also in life where she feels like she couldn’t pursue what really makes her happy.

So, if you’re a fan of cozy games and love strategic and puzzly gameplay along the lines of Islanders and Dorfromantik, this is one game you don’t want to miss out!

New Game Added: Urban Jungle

by Aethyna May 10, 2025

Place various potted plants around Ayta's living space, work off the synergistic effects of the plants and fulfill their needs, and gain as many points as you can to unlock more plants to place, turning those living spaces into actual urban jungles in this cozy gardening game!