Strange Horticulture
Strange Horticulture
Game
Game2025
Strange Antiquities
Developer Bad Viking
Strange Antiquities is a 2025 adventure video game developed by Bad Viking and published by Iceberg Interactive. It is a followup to Bad Viking's previous game, Strange Horticulture. Players run an occult shop and assist customers by solving puzzles. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
488 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
88
LovedLoved
278 positive · 39 negative
95% range 84–91%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 278 | 39 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 57 | 1 | 99 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Mastodon * | 2 | 0 | 3 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Overwhelmingly Positive
2,446 of 2,559 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
87% recommend · 240 yes, 36 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 276 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Overwhelmingly Positive (3,428 of 3,603 positive).
Players widely praise Strange Antiquities as a worthy and improved successor to Strange Horticulture. [1][2][3] Many reviewers note the puzzles are more complex and challenging than in the first game. [4][5][6] Some players find the later puzzles frustrating due to vague clues or interface issues. [5][7][8]
Liked
Representative posts
- [7]
Had fun until I didn't. The idea is good, and it's mostly well developed, but the puzzle design has flaws. Games like this rely on satisfaction of a clever solve, and the puzzles got less and less satisfying as it went on. The number of details you’re expected to either remember or reference is too high in the late game, it becomes tedious to mouse over dozens of objects multiple times to reference information. QOL …
- [1]
Strange Antiquities is the long-awaited "sequel" to Strange Horticulture and it does not disappoint! If you enjoyed Strange Horticulture you will undoubtedly enjoy Strange Antiquities. So go on, stop reading the reviews and immerse yourself once again in the gloomy world of Undermere! Even if you liked the concept of Strange Horticulture but felt a few things were lacking, there's a good chance you will like Strange …
- [10]
tldr: definite improvement over the previous game, tho it's still frustraiting sometimes If you played Strange Horticulture and found some of its game mechanics frustraiting and the puzzles a bit too easy -- Strange Antiquities actually addresses all of these issues! Instead of one big map which you need to scan for several minutes any time you need to find something, you have several smaller maps which are easy to …
- [3]
A thrilling return to Undermere. This sequel improves on Strange Horticulture in basically every way. The art style is similar, but cleaner. The pace of the narrative is improved and the story at the heart of this strange little game is thoroughly compelling. The puzzling is tight and clever, without being too gnomic or impenetrable - every item I identified, every clue to a hidden treasure I successfully followed, …
- [2]
Strange Antiquities is a worthy successor of Strange Horticulture. The identifying mechanics now work for a slew of occult items and have become a bit more complicated. Other than that, the two games share a similar vibe, where you have to identify items and help people around, making choices that matter for the ending at some points. Also, there is an exploration mechanic where you solve riddles as to where to go …
Summarised from 34 of the 410 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 12, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
87% of the 276 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Strange Antiquities. The complaint that keeps coming up: some puzzles are too vague or frustrating. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Strange Antiquities received positive reviews on Metacritic. PC Gamer said Strange Horticulture felt more fresh and had a better story, but they still enjoyed Strange Antiquities. In particular, they praised the puzzle solving, which they said made them feel like a detective. They concluded that it is a "great cozy yet creepy puzzle adventure". Rock Paper Shotgun found the midgame to be the most fun. Although they said the quests outside the shop were well-written, they said they had difficulty keeping track of plot elements that were constantly interrupted by the main shop-running game mechanic. Regardless, they said the puzzles were so much fun it was one of their favorite puzzle games of…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 488 · most liked firstJust finished Strange Antiquities. Fantastic game, just what I wanted after Strange Horticulture. Fricken TOUGH puzzles though!
positive · AI labelView post →I damn near exploded. I loved Strange Horticulture. (Review here: youtu.be/HVmi6nH3XIY?...) I don’t often try to get codes but for Strange Antiquities I would offer my right arm.
neutral · AI labelView post →I need some cozy, fun, easy game recommendations to play on my Switch 1 while I recover and have the mental faculties of a turnip! My favorites in this genre are Strange Horticulture/Strange Antiquities, Cult of the Lamb, Cozy Grove, Stardew Valley, Spiritfarer, and Rune Factory 4.
neutral · AI labelView post →ICYMI: Strange Antiquities is finally out on PC and Switch! We’re so excited for you to dive in and play the game. If you haven’t yet, maybe these shiny laurels and kind words will help convince you.❤️ #indiegame #indiedev #cozygames #cozy
neutral · AI labelView post →PCGamer have got their hands on a demo build of Strange Antiquities and have published a lovely write up - www.pcgamer.com/games/puzzle... #cozygame #detectivegame #indiegame
neutral · AI labelView post →The puzzles are much improved from the Horticulture (on account of not just the plants) + managing and sorting collection is much more convenient. The next game should be about a library.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Strange Antiquities is finally out! Yesterday was a lot to take in, and we're still processing it all. While the core team making the game is just the two of us, we want to acknowledge and thank the wonderful people who contributed behind the scenes in all sorts of ways. [1/12]
neutral · AI labelView post →🛎️1 week to launch 🛎️ Our game, Strange Antiquities, releases next week. We thought we’d share some artefact porn with you - Here's a list of 10 of our favourite strange antiquities from the real world!🧵 #indiegame #indiedev #indie #cozygames #artefactporn #occult
neutral · AI labelView post →Both critics and players have said some incredibly nice things about Strange Antiquities. We've put together some of our favourite quotes for a short accolades trailer. If you haven’t picked up the game yet, hopefully this will help stir your curiosity. #indiegame #indiedev
neutral · AI labelView post →Looking for the perfect game to settle down to this Sunday evening. Check out Strange Antiquities for: 🔍 Occult detective puzzle game 🛎️ Odd Curiosity shop sim 🕯️ Cozy but atmospheric vibes. 🌗 Dark narrative undertones 🐈 Cute cat 📚 Relaxed pace 🏷️ Multiple endings #gamedev #indiegame #cozygame
neutral · AI labelView post →It's the weekend. The nights are drawing in, getting colder. It's cosy blanket and cup of tea time. Here's the perfect game to play: Strange Antiquities OUT NOW #indiegame #indiedev #cozygames
neutral · AI labelView post →Getting a free key for a game I've been very much looking forward to and then receiving a kind email from the publisher to say they enjoyed the stream and check in to see if I needed anything else is just really lovely. 🥹 (PS the game was Strange Antiquities, play Strange Horticulture too it's FAB)
neutral · AI labelView post →The one non-Silksong game I'm excited for next month isn't delaying their release date because of Silksong whooo (Strange Antiquities)
neutral · AI labelView post →Strange Antiquities, from developer @badvikinggames.bsky.social, is an excellent follow-up to Strange Horticulture and a quietly charming puzzle game in its own right. Check out @prettygrimgames.bsky.social's latest Bytesized here -- www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRfB...
neutral · AI labelView post →I adored Strange Horticulture, so I was so excited to play this game as well and it did not disappoint. It was definitely a little more difficult than Strange Horticulture so be prepared for that going in. It has a lot of the same mechanics and vibes as the first game without just feeling like more of the same, unique enough to be fresh but also similar enough to feel right at home. I overall really enjoyed myself and found myself sad when I got to the end because I wasn't ready to be done, I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Strange Antiquities is the long-awaited "sequel" to Strange Horticulture and it does not disappoint! If you enjoyed Strange Horticulture you will undoubtedly enjoy Strange Antiquities. So go on, stop reading the reviews and immerse yourself once again in the gloomy world of Undermere! Even if you liked the concept of Strange Horticulture but felt a few things were lacking, there's a good chance you will like Strange Antiquities, as it has improved upon the concept. But no worries if you haven't…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →🛎️ Strange Antiquities is 33% off! 🛎️ Our dark-cosy detective puzzle game is a daily deal on Steam. The perfect way to wind down a weekend. Offer runs until June 7th. Tell everybody! Thank you. store.steampowered.com/app/2885870/...
neutral · AI labelView post →✨This Week!✨ 📝Mon - CoWork/Silksong ⚔️ 🔥Wed - Hades 2 💀Thurs - Strange Antiquities 🌱Fri - Greenhearth Necromancer by @silverstringmedia.bsky.social ✨ Special Sponsored Preview!!✨ 🧟 Bonus Friday Night - Baby's First RE w/ @silver-streak.games @intelligame.us & @mattcaulder.com Twitch.tv/FaunAndGames
neutral · AI labelView post →I'm playing Strange Antiquities and have to ask: how do only 42% of players have the achievement for petting the cat 30 times? HOW? This happened in Strange Horticulture too! More people saw the ending than pet the cat repeatedly, and there you only had to do it 13 times! You people are monsters!
positive · AI labelView post →I've written a little review of Strange Antiquities, a sequel to Strange Horticulture that improves on the already amazing original in every way. kotaku.com/strange-anti...
neutral · AI labelView post →Had fun until I didn't. The idea is good, and it's mostly well developed, but the puzzle design has flaws. Games like this rely on satisfaction of a clever solve, and the puzzles got less and less satisfying as it went on. The number of details you’re expected to either remember or reference is too high in the late game, it becomes tedious to mouse over dozens of objects multiple times to reference information. QOL issues: Takes too long to page through books, which is most of the game. Can't…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's #PitchYaGame day! Strange Antiquities is a detective puzzle game about collecting, identifying and curating occult artefacts, running a shop and helping the townsfolk. It's also a game about vibes and atmosphere. Dark and cozy. Demo out now! store.steampowered.com/app/2885870/...
neutral · AI labelView post →Neutral for me. It doesn’t deserve a thumbs down, but I didn’t feel right giving it a thumbs up either. I’m only marking it positive so I can leave this review. If you’re reading this, you probably already know whether this game is for you. I’m not going to tell you to skip it. I enjoyed it enough, but by the time I reached the final puzzle, I just couldn’t be bothered to finish. I walked away feeling mostly apathetic, for three main reasons. First, the game does a poor job of communicating…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nice follow up to Strange Horticulture ! The gameplay loop is similar, a bit more in deep (you have more things to look for when identifying something), but if you enjoyed Horticulture, there's no reason you wouldn't like this one. I'm looking forward whatever the dev team is gonna do next. (Strange Bookshop ?)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Strange Antiquities is nominated in the Thinky Awards later today ('Best approachable game'). An honour to be included in such great company. 2025 was an amazing year for Thinky games!
neutral · AI labelView post →I guess this is my new home now since Twitter deleted my account 😔 I'm a game developer, working on a game called Strange Antiquities about running a shop that specialises in arcane artefacts. It's the follow-up to a game called Strange Horticulture. #gamedev #indiedev
neutral · AI labelView post →Strange Antiquities is out! It's the sequel to Strange Horticulture, which is a fantastically atmospheric puzzle / mystery / plant game. Big recommend from me:
positive · AI labelView post →Happy #WishlistWednesday 🎉 Strange Antiquities by @badvikinggames.bsky.social comes out in just a week! Return to Undermere in this cozy detective game about managing a store filled with occult antiquities!
neutral · AI labelView post →The demo for Strange Antiquities by @badvikinggames.bsky.social is out today! Manage a store filled with occult antiquities in the same gloomy town that Strange Horticulture takes place in. thinkygames.com/game...
neutral · AI labelView post →I really liked Strange Antiquities! I want more people to play it! So I wrote this! www.nintendolife.com/features/opi...
positive · AI labelView post →🎉It's one of the last days before I take a winter holiday break so it's time to try to play a bunch of games! 🎉 Checking out: ❄️Moomintroll: Winter Warmth ✨Arcane Eats 🍳Pandemonium Merge and then maybe finally finishing Strange Antiquities? 💀👀 Twitch.tv/FaunAndGames
neutral · AI labelView post →Strange Antiquities is a worthy successor of Strange Horticulture. The identifying mechanics now work for a slew of occult items and have become a bit more complicated. Other than that, the two games share a similar vibe, where you have to identify items and help people around, making choices that matter for the ending at some points. Also, there is an exploration mechanic where you solve riddles as to where to go in order to find more items. I am, again, pleasantly surprised by how much I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →How many new games can I play today? I'm going to be streaming Beacon Patrol, My Card Is Better Than Your Card!, and Strange Antiquities. Twitch.tv/FaunAndGames Thanks to @assembleteam.bsky.social, @utustudios.com, and @badvikinggames.bsky.social for the keys!!
neutral · AI labelView post →Mac users: We’re excited to announce that Strange Antiquities is now available on macOS! It's rated Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam so if you're looking for an atmospheric dark-but-cosy puzzle game, look no further. Go and grab it on Steam now: store.steampowered.com/app/2885870/...
neutral · AI labelView post →Indie World Showcase Summary - August 7 2025. ### Mina the Hollower Nintendo Switch 2 - October 31, 2025, demo out now Descend into a frightful world of action-adventure in Mina the Hollower. Play as Mina, a renowned Hollower, hurtled into a desperate mission to rescue a cursed island. Burrow beneath hazards and monsters, whip foes into oblivion, and gear up with an arsenal of sidearms and trinkets. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT8suGTzYN0 ### WELL DWELLER Nintendo Switch - 2026 Deep…
neutral · AI labelView post →happy pink friday 🌷 going live to check out the new mystery game Strange Antiquities + giving away some copies! Thank you @badvikinggames.bsky.social for the keys! 🔍🩷
neutral · AI labelView post →Like its predecessor, Strange Horticulture, Strange Antiquities is another tale of a rookie thaumaturge hired by the owner of the local antiquities shop to cover the store in their absence. With strange forces yet again threatening this peculiar village, it's up to the rookie store manager to solve the mystery while helping the locals with their daily problems. Strange Antiquities features a nearly identical gameplay system to its predecessor, with plants being replaced by strange trinkets…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Strange Antiquities takes what made Strange Horticulture fun and then goes a step further with the study of occult objects and themes. This is the type of material I personally enjoy. A good mystery, a nice rainy atmosphere, a purring cat, and some spooky objects with mysterious uses and symbolism. There are some great puzzles here. I found myself clicking around and seeing what would happen. There could be some quality of life improvements such as being able to write notes, bookmark…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you found this post interesting, then check out Strange Antiquities, our dark but cosy puzzle shop sim game about collecting and identifying occult artefacts - it's out next week on Sept 17th. Thank you. store.steampowered.com/app/2885870/...
neutral · AI labelView post →My First Impressions of Strange Antiquities Demo! If you enjoyed Strange Horticulture by Bad Viking then check out their next game below. 🎮✨ youtu.be/bJTwPy8uCmo?... #indiegames
neutral · AI labelView post →i had never played Strange Horticulture but i picked Strange Antiquities up and it SLAPS. it fully consumed my brain until i finished it, at which point i immediately went and got Strange Horticulture and blew through that too. ty @marioprime.bsky.social for this! www.polygon.com/strange-anti...
positive · AI labelView post →they took what was already great in the first game and made it even BETTER!!! the whole game feels so polished and highly interactive. some parts i didnt even know can be interacted with until later in the game lol the story is mysterious and interesting, i love that there are multiple endings and outcome that seems more impactful than the first game. I really hope the studio makes a third game!!!!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First game I'm playing in 2026 is Strange Antiquities. Still early in, I'm identifying the magical items in my shop, helping customers, and giving the cat scritches. A fun follow-up to Strange Horticulture so far.
positive · AI labelView post →Solid puzzle game, good for a few hours. There's no limited timer, you've got a reasonable bit of leeway with incorrect guesses, and even if you run out of guesses there's a dice roll system to see if you recover (very likely, resumes at that exact point) or have to re-start the day (less likely, loses a few minutes at most), so even if you're making mistakes you can still progress at a reasonable pace. The "core gameplay loop" is using information from books on items, gems, symbols, and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I haven't played the predecessor yet (I'll catch up on that, I already had it in my library somehow), but somehow the antique setting appealed to me more than the plants. The game manages to captivate you, because finding the items and locations is really fun...and you can pet the cat. :3 Since I like it so much, I'll definitely play the first part right after this.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have a 3 day weekend, and the spouse is playing a show out of town, so I'm starting the game Strange Antiquities.
neutral · AI labelView post →We had a blast playing Strange Antiquities! Thank you to everyone that showed up, especially @currentlybothered.bsky.social, @tigergirltail.bsky.social and @darkmagenugget.gay. I enjoyed chatting with you while playing the cozy occult game.
positive · AI labelView post →I enjoyed the first part of *Strange Antiquities* quite a bit. The atmosphere is great, the object-identification puzzles are satisfying, and for a while it felt like the game was hitting a nice middle ground between being too easy and being annoyingly obtuse. Eventually, though, I started getting frustrated for a reason I have with a lot of puzzle games: I wasn’t always struggling with the puzzle itself, I was struggling with understanding what the game would even allow me to do. There’s…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First off, I've played Strange Horticulture and liked it. Then I jumped into the sequel and... soon had mixed feelings. It's not bad, but for me it's a typical example of overshooting in complexity and not quite pulling it off. The UX is somehow worse? It's probably an edge case but on a laptop with a touchscreen (splus touchpad) it was less responsive and more difficult to control than Horti, for example drag-and-drop of items using the screen was unreliable, had to use the touchpad, while…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The community selected Strange Antiquities for our next game!
neutral · AI labelView post →Strange Antiquities: I want to love it, but I’m actually losing my mind. I absolutely loved Strange Horticulture. That game was the perfect "cozy-creepy" logic puzzle. This sequel? It’s a beautiful, atmospheric disaster that feels like it was designed to make you feel stupid. The Good: The vibes are 10/10. The art is gorgeous, the music is perfect, and the story of Undermere is even better than the first game. Being an occult shopkeeper is such a cool concept, and meeting the weirdos…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Eh. I'll say it, this doesn't feel as good to play as the original. It...really just doesn't. I still recommend it, sure, because if you want just MORE of Strange Horticulture, this isn't...not, that. I got...some of what I hoped for, there. It's the rest that's the issue. Having to click through multiple books is frankly just annoying. The magic spectrogram thing is INCREDIBLY annoying to use as a mechanic. The nature of artifact lending makes less sense than the original, as a plant, you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"A good game is like a good book. You can’t put it down and that’s exactly how I felt after I started playing Strange Antiquities."
neutral · AI labelView post →It's pretty good, way harder then Strange Horticulture, definitely think some of the descriptions for the items in the book were way too vague tho to the point it made identifying antiques more frustrating then fun
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Strange Horticulture is my favourite game to play when the weather is hot, and I’m really hoping to pick up Strange Antiquities in the sale this week! Rainy rainy rain 🌧️
neutral · AI labelView post →I rarely play games, because I do not have the patience when I could be doing something else. But Spiritfarer, a gentle cozy dark game about shepherding the dead to peace, is exactly my kind of game. That & Strange Horticulture/Strange Antiquities. I love them.
neutral · AI labelView post →tldr: definite improvement over the previous game, tho it's still frustraiting sometimes If you played Strange Horticulture and found some of its game mechanics frustraiting and the puzzles a bit too easy -- Strange Antiquities actually addresses all of these issues! Instead of one big map which you need to scan for several minutes any time you need to find something, you have several smaller maps which are easy to navigate! Your main reference book has an INDEX which allows you to find…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →1 hour to go! I got one second under WR earlier Strange Antiquities is such a cool game and I love it so much See you here: twitch.tv/gamesdonequick Donate here: gdq.gg/donate
positive · AI labelView post →I’ve posted about this somewhere else too, maybe a different account idk. But for games to play with people that aren’t really “gamers” I actually prefer single player games with light amounts of fast paced action or none at all. The “coop” comes from taking turns with the controller. This works well with puzzle or logic games with generous reaction time requirements (again, or none at all), as well as story based games with light action. A lot of these games also come with natural pauses in…
neutral · AI labelView post →This game is so much harder than Strange Horticulture that it's not fun for the casual gamer. I was looking for a relaxing puzzle game. This is too complex and deep to be relaxing. I'm sure it's fine for a more experienced puzzle gamer, but that's not me. I was really looking forward to this one being similar to Strange Horticulture. But I'm disappointed in it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
Posts are quoted from public profiles with links to the original. Want yours removed? Contact us.