I have always thought the best way to relax is to take care of something small. It's been over a year since I moved into my apartment, and before I put up my couch, pots, and bed frame, I made sure to cover every inch of every room with flowers, vines, houseplants, and herbs.

However, my apartment has limited space for flowers. So, instead of spending time in a flowerpot garden, I looked for some cozy games to fill the plant void.

At the Xbox ID showcase, Laure De May, founder of Balloon Studios and lead developer of Botany Manor, talked about this cozy puzzle game and its focus on not stressing the player I breathed a sigh of relief when she told me. I too love solving puzzles, but I'm not a fan of puzzles that cause mental damage .......

"We put a lot of thought into this game because it has such a wonderful peaceful setting," May explains.

"The puzzles aren't too hard, but they aren't too simple either. I think the challenge in this game comes from the sheer number of clues to find, the number of steps to take, the number of things to pay attention to, and the spread of things"

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Rest assured, you can discover everything within Botany Manor at a pace that suits you. There are no time limits on quests, no tricky interactions that keep you pressing buttons for too long. You don't need to know anything about plants to complete Arabella Green's Botanical Atlas." Everything is very clear. So there is not much burden on the player," May says.

In a short video, we got to see what a typical session at Botany Manor looks like. In an attempt to grow a flower called Pixie Tears, Lore took us to an apple orchard to try to find clues that would help the plant grow. There are small specimen slides with sketches of chloroplasts and an apple press for making apple juice and cider.

After reading that the Pixie Tears absorb sugar from their roots for energy, Lore explains that by pressing the right kind of apples, the Pixie Tears can be made to grow and complete the puzzle.

I can't wait to explore the vibrant beauty of Botany Manor and slowly fill in the botanical research books. While the plants I find in this cozy game will never replace my love for the real plants I keep in my apartment, I look forward to learning about new species and new ways to care for the plants I keep.