Grunn Review: A "Very Normal" Gardening Game That's Anything But

Grunn lures you in with the promise of a simple gardening game, but trust me, it’s anything but normal. Beneath the charming hedges and cozy tool shed lies a weird, unsettling world where every gardening task turns into an eerie adventure. Sure, it’ll murder you a few times, but at least you’ll leave behind a pristine lawn.

Gardening With a Twist (And a Trumpet?)

The game starts innocently enough. You’re given a pair of shears—standard gardening equipment, right? But then you get a trumpet. And it doesn’t play music the way you’d expect. In fact, nothing in Grunn works the way you’d expect. A simple trowel seems ordinary, until you start digging up… peculiar objects. It's unsettling, but you've got a job to do: trim the hedges, water the plants, and clean up the yard before the weekend ends. Just don’t think too hard about the bizarre things you keep unearthing.

Mirrors That Lie and Bridges That Don’t Exist

Things get weird fast. For example, in one of the early moments, you try to interact with a mirror, and the game tells you, “You do not see anything in the mirror.” Try again. Still nothing. Is it a broken mirror, or something more sinister? That’s just the beginning of the delightful oddities that Grunn throws your way. The game is like drifting off into a peaceful nap, only to wake up to an impossible creature thrashing behind your walls.

You start off with a to-do list of normal tasks: cut the grass, water the plants, clean up the trash. But from the very first step, it’s clear things are off. A plank falls off the bridge you crossed, just a bit too perfectly timed. It’s fine, you tell yourself, and soldier on, grabbing your shears and getting to work. But as you tear through the overgrown grass with alarming speed (and surprisingly satisfying sound design), you start noticing other strange things—a Polaroid photo here, a mysterious note there. The further you go, the more Grunn reveals its unsettling secrets.

A Whimsical Nightmare in Your Backyard

The mysteries in Grunn don’t follow traditional logic. It’s not about solving puzzles, but more about peeling back layers of strange encounters, like unwrapping a surreal pass-the-parcel where some of the prizes are hands. Severed hands. The game has a way of toying with your expectations, blending whimsy and creepiness into an irresistible package.

What sets Grunn apart is its evolving world. The game changes subtly, hour by hour, and day by day. The layout shifts, new areas open up, and before long, you’re developing strategies on how to approach each section to avoid a gruesome death. There’s a constant tug-of-war between curiosity and dread as you try to survive long enough to see what lies beyond that next gnome statue (yes, there are gnomes—and more of them than you’d expect).

A Garden of Folklore and Dark Humor

Grunn taps into a delightful mix of folklore and garden aesthetics. It’s like a celebration of all the odd, whimsical things you might find in a well-loved garden—gnomes, fairies, and gargoyles. The game plays on this comforting weirdness, making you feel like you’re wandering through a storybook landscape that’s part domestic haven, part miniature wilderness. It’s both familiar and otherworldly, like peering into a world just on the edge of your backyard.

But underneath all the whimsy, there’s a dark, silly humor at play. You’ll spend a lot of time picking up trash, cleaning up the street, and even tidying up a gas station, all while wondering why you’re so obsessed with cleanliness when survival should be the top priority. The game is constantly winking at you, letting you know it’s in on the joke, even as it throws another bizarre death your way.

Is Grunn For You?

So, is Grunn the game for you? Well, that depends. Do you enjoy games that pull the rug out from under you at every turn? Do you like the satisfaction of solving puzzles, only to realize the solution opens up even more questions? Do you love a good mix of weird, whimsical, and unsettling, all bundled up in a charming, toytown aesthetic? If the answer to any of these is “yes,” then Grunn is right up your alley. Sure, it might frustrate you at times, especially with its cryptic coin-counting system (seriously, Grunn, just tell me how many coins I have). But beyond those quirks, it’s a brilliantly bizarre game that’s both fun and fascinating.