Kingdom: New Lands Developer Announces Cloud Gardens

Cloud Gardens is a game about cultivating seeds to overgrow a post-industrial wasteland. It was announced today by Thomas van den Berg and his small studio Noio, known for developing the IGF-nominated Kingdom: New Lands.

"In Cloud Gardens players must harness the power of nature to overgrow lo-fi scenes of urban decay and manufactured landscapes," explains the game's newly launched Steam page. "By planting seeds in the right places, they’re able to create small overgrown dioramas of brutalism and beauty, salvaging and repurposing hundreds of discarded objects to create unique structures for nature to reclaim."

We've seen plenty of post-apocalyptic games where nature has retaken urban environments. The Last of Us Part II is a recent and prominent example. Yet Cloud Gardens differs by putting the onus on you to create a delicate balance between natural life and metropolitan erosion.

When it launches in Steam Early Access you'll be able to jump into a relaxing sandbox mode with no goals or tackle a six-chapter campaign.

"This is a chill game where the player is allowed to delight in their own creativity," the store page continues. "The player's task is to completely cover the scene in plants. As you overgrow the objects, a meter fills to show your progress. You are given objects to expand the scene. These objects contribute energy to the growing of plants, but you will also have to cover them in foliage to complete the stage, striking a balance between nature and the manufactured."

There's no concrete release date yet, but Noio is aiming to launch Cloud Gardens at some point this year.