Leafy Corner Review (PC)

Let’s take a leaf out of Leafy Corner’s book. If this was in another universe, I’d find plenty to criticize. If, say, it didn’t have a plot, a sense of wonder, or a motive that drove you to succeed, then I’d probably lose sight of the whole thing and close the book altogether. Yet, Leafy Corner proves that you don’t need a lot to work with in order to make a thoroughly enjoyable business sim. Even without a storyline, it shows that you can still find something to love about the journey and the product that you build your business on. And, it just so happens that plants, of all things, are brilliant products to line the shelves with.

I’d be lying if said that we haven’t seen our admirable share of cozy business simulation games in the past. It has become such a common theme, in fact, that Leafy Corner immediately finds itself in a rather awkward position. Though, I am grateful for one thing, at least: it doesn’t shove cats and cupcakes down your throat. Instead, it moves to the next best thing on the cozy food chain: plants. Of course, it isn’t the first game to mix cozy entrepreneurial elements with nature, but it is one that does a lot more with the seeds in its pot.

Leafy Corner is just as much about enjoying nature as it is about maintaining a good business. As the keeper of various shrubs, plants and foliage, you have a great chance to simply switch off and relish the opportunity to breathe. Working and serving guests is one thing, but learning how to nurture your plants and reap the benefits is as equally important. And that’s something that Leafy Corner wants to inform you of: that plants are highly beneficial to the environment, and that, with the right amount of tender love and care, you can aid their growth and influence on the planet.

At the heart of Fireline Games’ greenhouse-like sim is a familiar yet universally popular gameplay loop. Like those that have risen from the soil in the past, Leafy Corner centers its growth on a variety of shopkeeping techniques and simple point-and-click chores. Plants develop its natural substrate, and the player nurtures the soil in an effort to develop a healthy ecosystem that is both sustainable and profitable. It’s as simple as that. Leafy Corner doesn’t wish to monopolize the market; it just wants to give you a small pocket of soil and to allow you to embrace nature from the seat of a fledgling shopkeeper.

Sadly, there isn’t much of a plot for you to unravel in Leafy Corner. Rather, you have an elegantly green store, a plethora of customizable components, and a host of customers who each bring their own requests to the table. As the weaver of plants, you simply take the opportunity to build your storefront, fill each of its nooks and crannies with various plants, books and posters, and then tackle each request as they come. In some cases, you may find that customers have a good idea of what they want. But in others, you may find that certain customers need a helping hand with their search for the perfect plant. Regardless, your job is a simple one: to grow plants, and to sell them.

If you’re not witnessing the natural evolution of each of your potted plants in Leafy Corner, then you’re either looking for more accessories to add to your store, or using your passive income to source better products to stock the shelves with. Really, though, you aren’t doing a lot more than the bare minimum. But, that isn’t a bad thing, nor is it something that takes you away from the coziness of the process. Frankly, Leafy Corner prefers to spoon feed you than shovel the full weight of the garden down your throat. It’s a little slow, but it does reward you for the simplest of tasks.

Speaking of tasks, almost everything that you do here is neatly documented on an objective list. In other words, it’s incredibly difficult to lose track of your progress and the endgame. In the beginning, you have a simple collection of goals to accomplish, which is to source plants, pot plants, and to sell plants. As you shift more of your products, you earn more cash, and with it, additional tasks to complete on the side. That, in short, is all that Leafy Corner is. It’s clean, reliable, honest work, nothing more, nothing less.

For a game that is quite literally about plants, Leafy Corner pours a lot of heart into the process and the evolution of its ecosystem. With a generously crafted atmosphere that sheds light on the natural transition of each succulent and plant, the game allows you to not only offload your products, but cater to them and to learn more about them as they naturally flourish. It’s a neat concept, and honestly, it adds a lot of extra charm to the overall design.

As I said, you don’t need a stellar business model to change the world. Rather, you just need a good idea and a sense of what makes a niche product worth spending time with. Luckily, Leafy Corner has that second sense, as does it have a solid idea of what a cozy business simulation game looks like. It might fall short of a groundbreaking plot, though, for what it’s worth, it does make for a genuinely compelling game that manages to scratch an itch with its own seeds. Personally, I’d class that as a triumph.

Verdict

Leafy Corner adds its own two seeds to a pot that is, with all due respect, quite clearly overgrown with a lot of brambles. The thing is, it doesn’t fail to incubate a strong and healthy succulent. Even without a plot, it delivers a thoroughly enjoyable substrate that is both highly satisfying to tend to and even more rewarding to nurture and maintain. But that’s a cozy game for you, in a nutshell: simple, rewarding, and blissfully therapeutic.