Free-to-play survival horror game
Garden of Banban 4 by NAT UGYRT is an exciting and immersive survival horror game. Set in an unusual yet familiar location, players take on the role of a security guard tasked with defending against monsters that want nothing more than to send you running for your life.
It’s noteworthy that Garden of Banban 4 is not an official Garten of Banban game. It’s one of the numerous fan-made adventure experiences, similar to Garten of Banban 4 Real or Garten of Banban 3. As an indie project, it is fun and promising, although excessive ads severely hinder the experience.
Set in the SpongeBob world
While it features the usual Garten imagery, Garden of Banban 4 is an entirely different game. It is set in Bikini Bottom, the world of SpongeBob SquarePants. You play as a security guard tasked with investigating Squidward’s residence. After being sent into a labyrinth, you find a key while avoiding the monster that lingers within. This premise twists the often child-friendly nature of the Nickelodeon cartoon, drawing from internet horror.
This way, this indie game offers a unique and thrilling experience. The intense action and suspense of the game will keep you coming back for more. Additionally, the detailed graphics and sound design create an immersive atmosphere that will have you feeling like you’re actually in the SpongeBob location. The game is divided into chapters, each offering a different puzzle and a different monster.
For all its promise, this game can be considered an unfinished project at most. The controls are wonky and unreliable, and you can’t even use the left joystick for character movement and the right joystick for camera movement. More importantly, the app feels designed to be an advertisement cash grab, with unskippable video game ads appearing in between every screen.
A promising but broken game
The idea to recreate a Garten game in the world of SpongeBob SquarePants is enough to draw players into the unique take of Garden of BanBan 4. It has a well-rendered 3D environment, a lot of references to both franchises and a good selection of missions. Unfortunately, the controls are all over the place and it’s hard to get into the mission, thanks to unskippable ads at every turn.
