Forget Me Not: My Organic Garden (PC) Review

This cute and curvy mistress called Irene is our main heroine's (aptly named Organa) employer, or… Master, as she tends to call her, for some strange reason. The job requirement? Tending of her precious, and very special organic garden. Oh, and by the way, in here 'organic' doesn't mean fresh vegetables free of chemicals, but a garden where it's possible to cultivate actual organs - kidneys, hearts, stomachs and all!

The gameplay goes something like this. Click on the watering can to select it, click on the tree to water it, wait for the "fruits" to ripen, and click on them to do the gathering. Yes, it's one of those no-thought-process video games. Prepare some hot chocolate, sit comfortably, and get lost for an hour or so, collecting organs while the ambient Zen tunes calm you down.

The missions that Irene will provide are all the incentive you'll need to carry on, with the rewards ranging from money and additional trees, or even tools that do some things much faster, like for example a gadget that lets you instantly water a plant by clicking on it only once, instead of holding the mouse button and waiting for the can to empty. As for the money collected, it can be used to buy small animals and insects that help in various ways, like, for instance, by making organs ripen a little bit faster.

Isn't it all a bit repetitive? Oh, you have no idea! This is nothing more than a monotonous, and loooooong grind… and yet, it manages to be quite addicting for about eight hours, which is pretty much the amount of time needed to reach the end of the "story." Of course, this isn't some sort of a deep and complex RPG. The few story bits available are nothing more than tiny, visual novel-like scenes that only form a semblance of a plot.

The purpose of these scenes is to reward the player for reaching them, but, unfortunately, they never feel as rewarding as they should. Forget Me Not tries - and almost manages - to be cute, funny, sad, and even very dark and mysterious, but it sort of never goes the distance, and thus disappoints more than it excites. One story arc, in particular, comes very close to being interesting, but it mainly feels like a character introduction, rather than a tale with a beginning, a middle, and an end.

In conclusion, this is a strange mix of enjoyment and annoyance, but, without a single doubt, only for one play-through, and only if you don't have anything better to do… or just want something to relax with, as most video games, even the simplest ones, require from the player to be slightly awake in order to make any kind of progress. Note, however, that reaching the "True" ending is a wholly different deal…

The first eight hours will pass very fast - the additional eight hours required for doing everything that can be done and see the true ending (a boring scene of no importance) will give you hell. Gameplay-wise it will be the same: water, gather, water, gather, and so on. The thing is, though, that, instead of the calm clicker this started as, these final hours will have you clicking like a maniac, as you'll be in possession of a fully-equipped garden that produces organs like crazy.

Apart from losing its original charm, this endless grind never feels as enjoyable as in the first couple of hours, because you never feel rewarded. While the first half of the game would offer you a "story" portion every now and then, this will do so every hour or so, and that only if you are lucky. Completionists will push on, as the only way to lose in here is to stop playing… but is it worth your time?