Garten of Banban just released on January 6th, 2023 and let us just say that it has had a highly mixed reception so far. Currently sitting at a 6/10 on Steam, this new episodic horror game has a lot of work to do to catch up to the likes of Poppy Playtime. But here in lies its problem. For this new free-to-play Horror Game has hopped on the bandwagon of children’s toys turned horror. A bandwagon that has been rolling for the last 8 years.
Where the Horror Started
Scott Cawthon’s Five Nights at Freddy’s point-and-click horror was an experience to last its 9 games as its main entries. This child’s toy horror game reached heights on the internet only previously seen with the likes of Slenderman in 2012. Whilst I massively respect Cawthon for the lore of his games and in finding a USP that could work for minors and adults to play and enjoy. Five Nights inspired many future developers into hopping onto the bandwagon of the new craze: child toys turned horror.
Indie Horror games have come so far since the original Five Nights, released in 2014. No longer is point-and-click and viable option for the Fazbear universe. Which brought on Security Breach in 2021. Again, this was incredible to see Cawthon move his work onto a new genre, a horror game adding character and development to the mascots of Five Nights. However, its flaws lie within the AI and repetitive gameplay. Nothing was particularly scary about the game, in fact the scariest character of the series was made a loveable bear.
What Five Nights brought was lore which went further and further into depth and fleshing out the world of Fazbear with every game. This was unique in its release because it was the main reason people were coming back to the game. Meaning that Cawthon could keep releasing the same product over and over but added more lore which would keep the viewers happy. This is one of those games that would not have thrived if it was not for YouTube.
The Biggest Child’s Toy Horror Games
Five Nights brought on two new household names within the Indie child’s toy horror universe. With Joey Drew Studio’s Bendy and the Ink Machine and MOB Entertainment’s Poppy Playtime. These were new and inventive ways of bringing children’s horror to life. However, there are still flaws within both of these games.
Bendy and the Ink Machine recently released its sequel, the Dark Revival. Its art style is what makes this game incredibly unique and sets it apart from everyone else. However, it remains in the realm of Indie for its limited gameplay. As previously seen in the first installment, whilst its storytelling is above average (unlike Poppy Playtime), the fault lies within its repetitive gameplay. I will commend it on its excellence in Easter eggs and replayability factor. But its main gameplay can get incredibly boring with its usual fetch quests and easy-to-complete boss fights.
Poppy Playtime is one of the most recent child’s toy Horror games to come out. This game truly took the internet by storm. With many big content creators reacting to Episode 1. The developers, MOB Games have received a ton of backlash in 2021 for allegations of bullying and plagiarism. Not only this but there latest entry of PROJECT:PLAYTIME which is a multiplayer free-to-play version of Poppy Playtime has its problems too. Making this free-to-play like following what makes Fortnite, Apex Legends and Warzone work, does not work for a horror game. The reasoning for this is the ask of their fans (for a developer with very little time in the big leagues of the gaming world) to spend a bunch of money on things that do not matter.
Related: Why PROJECT: PLAYTIME Does Not Work as a Multiplayer Horror Game.
Other games such as My Friendly Neighborhood is another child’s toy Horror Game planning on coming soon on Steam. There are so many child’s toy Horror Games jumping on the bandwagon that you have got to wonder, who is this really for? The free-to-play aspect, the microtransactions and merch stores seen in Garten of Banban. Could it be solely targeted for minors and even children?
Who is the Target Audience?
To bring up Five Nights and Poppy Playtime once more, these games are everywhere. Not just in game form. From plushies and action figures of the characters to pointless miscellaneous items like slime, pins and much more. These developers sold out, or perhaps the goal in the beginning was to sell these products for children. What these games started out as were child’s toys made horror but what it became were horror toys made for children. The target audience moves away from scaring adults with nostalgic and childhood toys made to ruin their favorites from adolescence. Now only the goal is to take as much money off the children’s parents into buying them a toy that the game should not even be played by its supposed demographic.
The Problem with Garten of Banban
So how does this all related to Garten of Banban? Well you can see just by looking at the Steam page that this game is a blatant Poppy Playtime rip-off. With plushie characters made to scary what you would think are adults but are actually children through their favourite content creators playing it. The gameplay of Garten is nothing special but you cannot be surprised with its half hour gameplay and the promise of a sequel arriving soon in 2023. As soon as you get to the main menu, Garten is promoting Banban 2 and its merch store. The game has only been out since January 6th, 2023.
Why is this a problem? Because you can see where the intentions of the developers lie without searching very far. The game is not polished and every mechanic is half-assed. Ignoring the level design and overall appearance of the game, episode 1 has you control a drone to push buttons. Then you must complete fetch quests (like we do not see enough of fetch quests). The goal is to get to the underground area of the Kindergarten and by that point the game abruptly ends. The only pro I will give it is the horror with Opila (the bird) who had interesting AI and a good scare when it first appears. But that is it. There is nothing that implies that this project took time or any polish added before its release.
It seems like you can make any horror game making children’s toys scary now and it will pick up online. Just because of its concept and not the game itself. With the likes of Baldi’s Basics which has some of the most horrifying art behind it (not a compliment) which blew up online too for reasons I do not even understand. It looks like good Indie Horrors have officially left the chat and all we have left to consume are empty children’s Horror Games catered towards children and only for children. It is a bizarre change of events and one that should have never happened.
Should You Play Garten of Banban?
Simple answer? No. This game has taking the USP of Poppy Playtime and not even executing it well. It has truly hopped on the bandwagon. I put a lot of Poppy Playtime’s success on its incredibly beautiful appearance. But just because it is pretty does not make it good. These games will continue to succeed in the gaming industry. Just as free-to-play games are. We are losing great Indie Horror Games as most that make it viral online are selling-out to cash in as much as they can until its relevancy dies out. Specifically towards taking parents money because their child wants an expensive hoodie with a cheap graphic or a $50 plushie of a character so creepy it would have kept me up at night as a child.
Why are we trying to scare kids instead of scaring adults by ruining childhood memories of toys? Horror Games are slowly going to place of no return and it is a shame to see as a consumer who adores Horror Games. You can partially put the blame on the content creators who fake reactions on these games, pretending like they are good. But whatever happened to the likes of the old Resident Evil and Silent Hill? It appears that truly horrifying experiences are left behind with Fatal Frame, Outlast and Alien Isolation. For Indie developers, I will put my trust in Chilla’s Art, Puppet Combo and Rayll to create great Horror Games because devs like Euphoric Brothers are not cutting it.
What are your thoughts of Euphoric Brothers’ Garten of Banban? Do you agree with my opinion or do you think free-to-play Horror Games are the way to go? Let us know via Gamer Journalist on Facebook. If you are interested in other discussions or articles on Indie horror such as Poppy Playtime, feel free to take a look at our related articles. With How to Solve All Puzzles in PROJECT: PLAYTIME and The Best Perks to Use in PROJECT: PLAYTIME.
