Ubisoft has unveiled Grow Home for PC, a "quirky, experiential climbing game" that is set to launch on 4th February. The climbing adventure title is developed by the company's Reflection studios. Ubisoft's new initiative saw the compact team continue to experiment and create smaller and more personal titles to follow between Ubisoft's big triple-A projects.
"It started as an experiment – a fun "toy" for a tiny group of developers. But as the intimate eight-person team at Ubisoft Reflections continued to fiddle with their creation, they started to see a unique charm and personality blossoming," explains Ubisoft communications specialist Anne Lewis on the UbiBlog. She adds that the game was initially launched internally for Ubisoft staff to enjoy, though it grew from there and is set to appear on Steam in just two weeks time.
"Inspired by the likes of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the adorable animated film Wall-E," Grow Home follows the success of recent releases including Child of Light, Valiant Hearts: The Great War and Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. Players will be given control of a cute robot named BUD (Botanical Utility Droid), who is tasked with a mission to save his home planet by scouring the galaxy for new plant life. You will be given various tools and devices such as parachutes and teleport pads to enliven the task in growing, shaping and harvesting the seeds of a giant plant in order to oxygenate BUD's world.
BUD's arms will be controlled separately to allow freeform climbing, and Ubisoft suggests that the PC game is best experienced using a game pad. Grow Home isn't just about climbing, and will include a good deal of vertical exploration on nearby floating islands (platforms) to allow players to search for new locations, power ups and encounter strange plants and animals.
"Whether it's BUD's charming, procedurally-generated animation, the awesome structure of the Star Plant players create or the beautiful landscapes, there is a peaceful, innocent vibe about Grow Home that makes the game utterly unique," Pete Young, producer at Reflections, said in a press release.
The official Grow Home teaser trailer is embedded below.
