Despite their nature as a AAA publisher, Ubisoft has been known to release the odd little title now and then. Last year brought us the acclaimed Valiant Hearts: The Great War, and this year, we have Grow Home.
Developed by the small team at Ubisoft Reflections (Driver: San Francisco), Grow Home originally began as an experiment for the studio. Designed as a new tool for for exploring procedural animation, the studio eventually decided to turn this experiment into a full-fledged release.
Inspired by the likes of WALL-E and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Grow Home tells the story of BUD, a Botanical Utility Droid. BUD has been sent out on a mission to cultivate a new species of flora in order to oxygenate his home planet. In order to acquire this flora, however, BUD will need to scale the Star Plant, which is basically a giant bean stalk.
Players will be able to control each of BUD’s hands, as they climb up the Star Plant and explore a procedurally generated world. As you go higher and higher, assorted tools such as teleportation devices and parachutes will become available. No one wants to see BUD plummet to his demise, so these options should come in handy.
While Ubisoft’s AAA output last year, outside of the sublime Far Cry 4, may have left a lot to be desired, their indie output fared much better. Valiant Hearts was well received, as was the RPG Child of Light. While Grow Home may not provide the same depth that those titles did, it does look rather charming.
Grow Home is scheduled to launch for the PC on February 4. We will continue to have coverage of the title in the lead-up to its release, so stay tuned.
