I was minding my business, cutting down dead shrubs, planting seeds, and singing tranquil songs so the trees would grow. On the way, I come across a pair of solid white eyes — yes, that’s right, eyes. A ‘gift’ supposedly. I handed them over to a woman called Eleanor who runs the local inn, and she immediately slotted her new eyes in and thanked me, staring blankly into my soul. I haven’t been back since.
Grow: Song of the Evertree is like Animal Crossing. You have a bunch of tools and are tasked with clearing rubble, planting trees and flowers, taming animals, gathering materials, and more. Each ‘world’ you fix up grows and transforms from an arid desert to a luscious landscape and you can use the treasure and essence you find to build up the main town where you’ll house villagers and build stores — just like Animal Crossing.
However, instead of a small getaway island, you have a giant tree with a bunch of branches. You fly up and plant seeds along these, creating miniature islands. The main goal is to get rid of all the purple goo that’s killing the world which requires that essence I mentioned, hence all the little worlds you create and cultivate. Aside from that, you’re completely free to tackle things at your own pace. The world has a fairy tale edge — it’s immediately on display as you’re introduced to a talking cauldron and book, both of which bicker like they’re your grandparents. They give you your first seed, so you hop on your griffin and fly to a suitable spot. You plant it, but what sprouts isn’t exactly a walk down Queen’s Park — it’s all dusty and decrepit. The bushes are dead and there’s no sign of greenery. Naturally, you plop some plants down, smash some boulders, get rid of the rubble that’s appeared, and clean up. Then you sleep, go back, find it’s grown, and do it all again. Rinse and repeat. It’s repetitive yet cathartic. Sometimes you grow tired of story-based games that demand your concentration at every waking moment. There’s that incessant need to glue yourself to the screen to become completely immersed in the experience. I love that, but too much of it is draining. So it’s nice to unwind and have something simple I can keep chipping away at, seeing my progress slowly develop over time. All the while, I gather resources to build up my town, adding new buildings like the haunted inn — I’m not going back there. Eleanor might try to talk to me. You even have little quests to complete and stamps to gather which are essentially Animal Crossing’s Nook Mile Rewards, but don’t tell Tom Nook — he’s liable to sue. You’re at peace just dotting about the place, cleaning up the scenery while completing regular tasks. I wish I could find that kind of serenity in tidying up at home because my room wouldn’t be in such a state, but it hits different here. What’s more, you can sleep to progress time. There’s no need for time travel or waiting for hours, so you can go at your own pace. That’s what gives Grow an edge and sets it apart. It’s Animal Crossing with an added level of freedom, doubly so since I’m free of the self-consciousness that comes with seeing everyone else’s better islands. However, it starts too fast. You’re given your tools immediately so there’s no sense of ascending to greater heights — right off the bat, you have an axe, a shovel, a watering can, and all the other essentials. You don’t earn any of that. It’s handed to you on a silver platter. Minecraft has you work your way up, crafting tools with resources you find in the wild; Stardew Valley is similar, unlocking new ways to farm and fend off enemies in caves; Animal Crossing gradually gives you new equipment that lets you catch bugs, fish, hop over lakes, or climb up cliff sides — Grow lacks that initial momentum, so the start feels a little stunted in comparison. Once you’re in the thick of it, there’s a lot to admire. But what really caught my eye were the animals — there are loads, and they’re adorable. The first you come across is a fuzzy purple critter. They’re covered in gunk, rolling around and panicking like a stray cat caught in the bins. You’re inclined to help because they’re so cute, even if there’s a risk of being nipped. So you clean it off, pet them, play with them, and befriend them. Petting the dog is a trope that’s getting cheaper and cheaper, but helping nurture stray animals in a pickle is an exception to the rule — it’s nice to help out, and it feels tied to that idea of cleansing the world of its corruption, only it’s less literal. You could easily abscond this feature from the game and it wouldn’t change much at all, but they make the world feel that much warmer — they make it less lonely. Once you get going, it’s hard to put Grow down. Animal Crossing tends to have a firm cut off point each day where you know you’re best leaving it until the island replenishes, but in Grow, you can sleep and keep going. It’s therapeutic in a way that even its inspirations aren’t. Often games like this can get overwhelming fast as new features pile on. Grow doesn’t — it’s simple and to the point, so that relaxing sensation never wanes. Score: 4/5. A PC code was provided by the publisher. Next: Getting GTA 4 Running Smoothly On A Modern Gaming PC Is A Pain, But It Can Be Done
When I was a kid I was addicted to any game I could get my hands on, especially if they were puzzle types of games that I could play in our school’s computer lab while the teacher wasn’t looking. Among the many flash games that I loved such as Stick RPG and Defend Your Castle, I found the wonderful world of GROW and the developers at Eyemaze. The first version of the GROW enterprise I played was Grow Island. Others include Grow RPG. Grow Island is a logic puzzle game that requires players to select between 8 different faculties to empower and level up. While there is technically no “correct solution” when playing Grow Island, there are two solutions that will max out all of the faculties provided to players. If players do not manage to max out all of the faculties they will receive “alternate endings” that provide them with various tableaus that are sometimes as unique as the “best outcomes.” The following guide will take you through the two “best possible outcomes” players can discover while playing Grow Island. I would still recommend messing around with the various combinations, though I won’t spoil those for you!

THE FACULTIES ON GROW ISLAND

As mentioned there are 8 faculties on Grow Island which include:

Electrical Engineering (Battery)

The study of electricity, how to produce it cheaply and efficiently. Also the study of magnetism, electrical current, voltage and signal.

Computer Science (Computer Chip)

The study of computer hardware and programming language software. Studying a new computer calculation system and encryption.

Civil Engineering (Pickaxe)

Building mass structures of society like roads, bridges, railways, embankments, dams, water, sewerage. Various studies in this stream require further research for structural design, building materials, construction methods and natural disaster prevention such as landslides, floods, and earthquakes. This field also focusses on water conservation, economic efficiency and environmental protection.

Applied Chemistry (Bunsen Burner)

The design of new molecules, developing chemical synthetics and chemical reactions. The study of human and earth-friendly developments like dissolvable plastics and fuel cells, batteries that use a chemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen.

Aeronautics, Marine, Automotive Engineering (Wheel)

Vehicle design such as aviation, rockets, ships and cars. The study of how air and water currents affect vehicles and motion controls and materials required to build said vehicles.

Architecture (Logs)

The study of safe, comfortable and economic structures. Planning on how to build structurally sound houses and buildings. Research into materials, plumbing and air conditioning equipment as well as the methods required to build the equipment.

Environmental Engineering (Chimney)

The study of protecting the global environment while still advancing technologically. The goal is to create an urban environment with less carbon dioxide with the technology of garbage and water disposal. A focus is also put on energy conservation, recycling methods, urban renewal, transportation systems, and water and sewage planning.

Mechanical Engineering (Bolt)

The study of machines and devices at all levels. Topics that this faculty study are very diverse, from things like heat and air, water and oil, design and production of machines, and controls of electricity and computers.

THE ENDING WITH ALL FACULTIES AT MAXIMUM

Song: Theme Song from Basically Average: Adventure Mode If players are interested in completing GROW Island with all of their faculties maxed out they will have to follow the following build order:

Mechanical Engineering

Select the Bolt, which will place the Bolt on the ground.

Civil Engineering

Select the Pickaxe, which will cause the main character to chisel the ground and create a dirt road.

Architecture

Select the Logs, which will level up the Bolt and allow the character to pave out the road.

Aeronautics, Marine, Automotive Engineering

Select the Wheel, which will place a landing pad and continue to level up the character’s technology. The character will then chisel out an area for a boat to dock and a house will appear with a special someone.

Environmental

Select the Chimney, which will place a garbage disposal unit and continue to level up the vehicle, though the main character will change his gaze on that special someone. The character will then put his focus towards the special someone, carving a river and providing her with flowers, ultimately levelling up their home together and providing the players with a car.

Electrical Engineering

Select the Battery, which will place the battery in the center of the field and will continue to level up the field. The main character will head back down and begin tunnelling into the island and the island will spawn a boat and will continue levelling up the character’s home. At this time players will receive their first “potion” and the volcano will begin to rumble.

Computer Science

Select the Chip, which will spawn in a computer and continue to upgrade the island. The character will build a train track, will upgrade their home, will spawn a rocket ship and various other great upgrades.

Applied Chemistry

Select the Bunsen Burner to complete the map.

THE ALIEN ALTERNATE ENDING

Song: Seaborne Coast from Basically Average: Adventure Mode As a hidden easter egg, players may notice an alien while completing Grow Island “correctly.” Make no mistake, this alien was placed there to let you know that there’s a hidden alternate ending that you can strive to discover. Upon inputting your selection with another order, players will no longer max out all of their faculties, however, will obtain a secret “UFO level.” The following is how you unlock the Alien Alternate Ending

Aeronautics, Marine, Automotive Engineering

Begin by selecting the Wheel which will place a landing pad on your island.

Civil Engineering

Select the Pickaxe which will cause your character to pickaxe a road for your island.

Architecture

Select the Logs which will place a pyramid of logs on the ground.

Computer Science

Select the Chip which will cause a house to appear and a special someone to emerge.

Electrical Engineering

Select the Battery, which places a battery on the ground. At this point, the main character will run to the special someone and surprise her with flowers.

Mechanical engineering

Select the Bolt, which will cause their home to grow and the island will continue to level up. The characters will be joined by a child once the main character exits the home to throw out his trash and will place the trash by the river. The character will then chop down the nearby forest and a few more elements will level up on the map.

Applied Chemistry

Select the Bunsen Burner, which will continue to cause the island to grow. At this point, an alien will come abduct the main character until he is turned into an alien, heading home and upgrading it into a super galaxy home. The spaceship will stop the volcano from erupting.

Environmental Engineering

Select the Chimney, which will place a smokestack and cause the aliens to come out of their home. The aliens will dance as the world continues to place extraterrestrial versions of some of the elements that are placed in the original ending of the game.

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