With the next big gardening sim just on the horizon (hah), you may be wondering what to expect for its grand release. Well, dear reader, I’m keenly excited for Garden Horizons, as a former huge fan of Grow a Garden and simulators in general.
So, stick with me as I rummage through the trailer for any clues as to what this game does differently, and how I feel about it all.
What To Expect in Garden Horizons
The best place to start is with…
What We Know So Far
Two days ago, Garden Horizons on YouTube dropped the first official game trailer:
From this, we learn so much about the pacing of this game. This includes the gameplay loop and how it’s done differently compared to other farming simulators.
The beginning of the trailer shows an NPC approaching a dense island via a speedboat, which is where this game seems to take place. Already this looks so cosy and full of life, thanks to the immersive scenery and rich animations.
The boat may even foreshadow players taking trips to different islands to discover new seeds for cultivation! (Theory)
The trailer then moves on to show different NPC interactions with a player, including a Seed Shop, Selling Shop, Gear Shop, and Appraisal NPC. From this, we learn that Garden Horizons will likely keep the classic timed stock rotations.
After this, the player plants and waters crops, as well as receives game pings on their fruits’ development in size and mutations.
And, in the final scene, a right-side hotbar is visible too, showing that the game will have Codes.
During the trailer’s entirety, my main takeaway was that Garden Horizons is incredibly atmospheric and cosy. It also feels like a love letter to Grow a Garden, showing a striking resemblance to how GaG used to play. I see this in the Seed Shop, Gear Shop, Visuals, and Crop Mutations.
The Gameplay Loop
Taking inspiration from Grow a Garden, this similar game will include a lot of what players already know and feel familiar with.
This means starting with the humble carrot seed, and gradually growing and earning cash to afford higher-tier crops, all whilst discovering new mutations and Gears.
One thing that stuck out to me was the Appraisal NPC, who seems to accept currency in exchange for changing the weight and mutation status of given crops. If you played Fisch, you may understand what I’m talking about.
The goal of Garden Horizons is to fill your plot and your profits with idle growing crops, and to discover all the ways to increase farming efficiency via growth speeds and Gears.
Frequently Asked Questions
Dawn Digital, a Studio ran by Ymir, who also created the Dawn Bot for the Grow a Garden Discord servers.
No. This game is inspired, but not owned by the same creator.
Please note that Ymir is NOT the original creator of Grow a Garden. However, Jandel (GaG) creator and Ymir seem to be familiar with one another due to Ymir creating the Dawn Bot (GaG Leaks and Info via Discord)
Ymir stated that with GaG on the decline, they decided to move on to other projects, thus creating Garden Horizons.
Ymir also stated in the Garden Horizons Discord channel that Jandel is not involved with this game, nor is anyone from Splitting Point Studios or DoBig Studios.
A tale as old as time.
As soon as Do Big Studios acquired Grow a Garden, they implemented changes which the playerbase weren’t keen on. This began a gradual decline in game update quality and the playerbase itself. A similar thing happened to Fisch, which was re-bought by its original creator back in 2025, but struggled to regain its former popularity.
This decline inspired Ymir to create a game that retains the core values that players love and remember from the early days of GaG.
This Sunday, on February 22nd, 2026.
