I love genre mashups but this is probably a first. What does gardening have to do with dungeon crawling? Well in Grimoire Groves you won’t be fighting things per se, instead, you’ll be growing your own plant creatures and restoring magic to the forest.

Grimoire Groves by Stardust is a colourful roguelite dungeon crawler where you play as Primrose, a witch. She and her coven of witches are about to move into Grimoire Groves forest. Which is fabled to be the home of magical creatures and plants. But when they arrived only a few plant creatures were still around, and the forest spirits were missing. It’s up to you to use your magic and investigate what’s happening and Grimoire Groves to the lush forest it once was!

So if you love roguelite and farming games like Cult of the Lamb but love a cozy aesthetic, then this game is for you. Grimoire Groves is currently being funded on Kickstarter and you can play a demo of their game here.

 

Grimoire Groves Story

The forest has fallen into disarray because the forest spirits who are supposed to look after Grimoire Groves are currently fighting with one another. This is due to the fact that a pair of rainbow socks have gone missing. And now everything in the forest is terrible.

You’ll need to heal the forest and restore the magical balance by helping the forest spirits. But the spirits and the plants aren’t the only ones that need help. Grimoire Groves is also home to a host of other mythical creatures. Along your journey, you’ll be able to befriend them, give them gifts and get useful items from them.

 

Some of the creatures you’ll be able to befriend are Basil the Basilisk who loves old objects. Or Irene the Siren that loves to play music in the water dome. Sami the Satyr runs a tavern in the forest and Dendron the Dryad runs a tree nursery.

 

Combat – Growing Plants

In Grimoire Groves combat doesn’t involve killing any enemies, instead, you’ll need to throw elements at the plants of the forest until they’re happy and you can go harvest them. In order to ‘grow’ them you’ll need to use a mix of elements and spells to harvest the plants. Each witch can control four elements earth, fire, wind, and air. Use these elements to feed the forest’s vegetable inhabitants by looking at the colours it displays. Every plant will require a specific element and will disappear if you don’t use it on them quickly enough. 

You’ll be able to unlock more magical witch spells to complete your grimoire, the more plants you grow. Mix and match different spells to find your own brand of witch magic and master the balance between all four elements.

 

As a roguelite dungeon crawler, Grimoire Groves offers procedurally-generated levels, randomized treasures, and a lot of surprises. You’ll need to be resourceful and adapt to your environment as you navigate the forest, grow plants, and gather powerful items and spells to aid you on your journey.

 

Your Cottage In The Woods

What’s life in the forest without a cozy home of your own? In this game, you’ll be able to decorate your own little cottage and farm the land outside.

Whenever you successfully grow a plant creature in the forest you can harvest a fruit from them. With these fruits, you can do some magical gardening at your home. Grow plant creatures with your spells and set up totems for their growth. With all this material you’ll be able to craft gifts for your mythical creature friends, boons or decorations for your house.

 

Indie Developer Stardust

Stardust is a small indie game studio from Zurich, Switzerland that focuses on creating meaningful entertainment with non-violent content. Their mission is to use the medium of games to explore meaningful themes, tell stories that matter, and provide a platform for underrepresented voices to be heard.

We are a team of passionate and dedicated game developers who share a common goal of creating games that make a difference. Our team is diverse, with members from all walks of life, backgrounds, and identities, united in our love for games and our commitment to making a positive impact on the world.

According to their roadmap, we can expect Grimoire Groves to be released in 2024 for PC and Nintendo Switch. You can wishlist their game on Steam here.