I was not going to talk about a demo this week because I could not find one I wanted to play. Then, in one day, three games I wish-listed released a demo on Steam. I was elated; I saved this week’s post. This week I grow plants in what looks like a Polly Pocket toy.

This week is Tiny Garden

Tiny Garden is a cozy, farm sim puzzle game from AO Norte and Super Rare Originals. The game is slated to release in early April for the Nintendo Switch and PC.

I remember being a kid when the Pokémon version of Polly Pocket came out, and my parents bought me the Viridian Forest one. When I pressed play on Tiny Garden, my mind immediately rushed back to the moments I had spent playing with that toy. Open up your little farming Polly Pocket and begin farming.

Tiny Garden‘s demo starts with a small plot of land and a few veggies to plant, grow, and use as currency to buy the next veggie. Veggies each have a set day of growth and the type of landscape they can be planted in. A few prefer dry, some mud, and a couple strictly water, and remarkably one or two of them require some thinking to obtain the correct landscape. This slight puzzle component makes for some fun experimenting without the possibility of failure as there is no real consequence to losing a piece of produce

Once you get those suckers planted, it is time to crank that lever on the side of your Polly Pocket and watch the Day/Night cycle take its course.

After a few turns the player will start to notice how the plants grow and when they are ready they SPRING from the ground and can be picked. Right into the inventory and off you go to the store to buy more stuff for your little farm toy. Things like stickers and furniture for the top part of the Polly Pocket and unlocking new veggies and, if when you have a surplus, then it is off to buy the newest collection for more plants and veggies. The demo unlocks the first section of the “home” to furnish; it’s fun to place tiny furniture into a tiny house.

The combination of repetitive gameplay and instant gratification makes for an addictive game.

Tiny Garden nails the look. Everything has the plastic aesthetic to really hit home that you are in fact playing with a toy. The veggies, furniture, and the capsule that houses them all have that new plastic sheen on them amplifying the fun little aesthetic. The UI has an entirely different style of design; the menus that house everything the player can purchase with their veggie money have a cute cartoonish look to them but still maintain the plastic look.

A nice ambient soundtrack plays while you focus solely on putting veggies on the table to expand your off-brand Polly Pocket farm. It is a nice “get lost in” kind of vibe that just makes Tiny Gardens even more fun to play.

If you have ever wanted a more relaxed and cozy farm sim then Tiny Gardens is probably for you. Hop right in, plant the veggies you want to grow, and use the money to buy more veggies or furniture for your little plastic home. Tiny Gardens is addicting with how it is so easy to play; turn the lever and watch the veggies grow. The minor puzzling factor, with the limited space, adds a welcomed depth that makes you feel pretty smart when you are able to have all types of landscapes to grow all the veggies

Tiny Garden’s demo was a blast and it did not even feel like thirty minutes had passed.