Like the rest of the internet, I am confused as to where Garten of Banban 5 is.
The first four games in the series released all at once on Xbox, and muggins over here agreed to review them. Now that I am invested however, I want to know where it’s gone. Especially considering that Garten of Banban 6 is on Xbox, and that this one even follows directly on from Garten of Banban 4.Â
So, what’s going on?! Answers will not be found here…
The next episode of the Garten of Banban series arrives on Xbox. These first-person puzzle horror games adopt the recent trend of mascot horror games: fun looking cartoonish characters with sinister intentions to scare the life out of you. The Garten of Banban series is one of the more popular series, but it has so far been lacking in quality and polish compared to some of the others.
You play as a parent of a child that has gone missing in the Garten of Banban, and decide to investigate. Through four previous games you learn that there have been some very dark things happening in the depths of the kindergarten involving surgeries, mutations and some horrible mascots now roaming around the place. And to top it all off, there’s so much infighting between the mascots that it is impossible to please them all.
You and Sheriff Toadster find yourselves in the next level of the kindergarten after escaping Bittergiggle and the Queen. There is another freakishly wide area to explore, but this time it is mainly covered in darkness. Hiding away are the Naughty Ones, who will get you if you step out of the light. Thankfully, your drone can be upgraded to include a light this time, and you can use this to navigate around the darkened room.
The larger room has smaller rooms coming off it where you will need to complete various puzzles to unlock switches that will open the sceptre room, to be able to return this to the Queen. These puzzles are traditional Garten of Banban, in that they make very little sense in the wider context, but can be fun in a gameplay way. The first one for example involves different colours of chairs, whilst the second one has you frantically moving lights to keep the Naughty Ones at bay. It echoes the Whack-A-Wuggy section from Poppy Playtime: Chapter 2, but I am not making another comparison; honestly at this point, even I am tired of comparing the two against each other.
Bittergiggle isn’t far behind you, but this time wants to be your friend and atone for his past mistakes. If you can remember, he told a really bad joke that made the Queen lose it and put you in this situation. But when Sheriff Toadster and now Banbaleena – the demonic teacher from Garten of Banban 2 – see you with Bittergiggle, they decide they want nothing more to do with you and run off. Well, that, and they are chased by one of the Naughty Ones.
It is impossible to keep track of who is on your side or who wants to kill you in Garten of Banban, but that works in its favour. It keeps you on your toes, and every encounter feels like you are walking on eggshells with the creatures. I thought Sheriff Toadster and I were BFFs but he turned coat faster than some of the others. I just want to be friends with them all, as that would be much better than the cheesy jumpscares they are all capable of.
If all that makes little sense, then welcome to the Garten of Banban. Even though there have been five games now on Xbox, and I have slogged through them all, I am still struggling to piece it all together with Garten of Banban 6. There are flashbacks, no characters introduced at will, allegiances flipped at the drop of a hat and much more weird stuff that makes playing them more like a fever dream. A very creepy fever dream.
The jumpscares remain terrible, and it is inadvertently creepy when the creatures talk and their mouths don’t move. Most of the time, it is obvious at least which character is talking, but there is one occasion where two creatures are having a conversation about joining up together a la the two halves of Bittergiggle. (Their names are unknown because they appear for a brief moment and disappear). It isn’t obvious which one is talking at which time until one half drop kicks the other off a suspended beam and they both plummet to their depths. Seriously, even as I am writing this review it is making little sense to me; this game is wild.
That said, Garten of Banban 6 is easily the best in the series so far. By quite some distance, in fact. There appears to be a resolution somewhere far off in the distance, and the overarching narrative is finally forming. It feels like the developers Euphoric Brothers have finally decided to put a complete narrative together, rather than just very loosely connected games with no real direction. But with two games yet to release on Xbox, a prequel in development, and spin-off titles (including a Mario Kart inspired game which I am genuinely excited about) that conclusion will be someway off just yet.
Garten of Banban 6 does have all the same issues as the previous games – all the aforementioned foibles along with the fact that pressing the pause button doesn’t actually pause the game, the sub-par graphics and a general lack of polish. These games are hastily pushed out and it does show.
Right now though, the series is in a good place. This fifth entry, despite being called Garten of Banban 6, is the best by far. But it is not a good starting point. Unfortunately, to get the most out of it, you will need to sit through some bad games to fully appreciate this one. Garten of Banban 6 is not exactly great, but it is a whole lot better than what has come before.
Garten of Banban 6 Creeps onto Xbox – https://www.thexboxhub.com/garten-of-banban-6-creeps-onto-xbox/
Buy Garten of Banban 6 on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/garten-of-banban-6/9P1CNFPQ0B5V
