Here’s a roguelite dungeon crawler Steam reviewers call ‘a botanical Diablo’ and ‘like Cult of the Lamb’ except you manage a mystical garden

There’s no reason a dungeon crawler needs to be dark and violent or even take place in a dungeon. Case in point: Grimoire Groves, a colorful and cozy roguelite that just launched on Steam.

As a young witch named Primrose, explore a colorful forest instead of a gloomy dungeon, cast spells instead of swinging a sword, and grow magical plant creatures to restore your garden. I’ve been playing it a bit this morning and I’ve been having a blast. A gentle blast, that is: Grimoire Groves is pretty much non-violent.

Rather than killing monsters, you head out into the forest to collect plant creatures by casting spells. I wouldn’t even call it combat: your spells don’t kill the creatures, it convinces them to plant themselves and produce seeds (you’re actually feeding them energy they need to grow). The plant monsters don’t hurt you, either, they just grab onto you or stun you to slow you down, and you can shake them off by dashing.

After dodging creatures called Beanies that look like turnips, and throwing magic at them with my hovering watercan until they happily stick their little legs into the ground and become stationary plants, I’ve taken their seeds back to my garden and started planting them to grow more. I’ve also been collecting resources to help me get around: the magic portals that take you deeper into the forest are powered by compost, after all. This is a very eco-friendly magic forest.

And I’m making friends. Scattered around the forest are NPCs you can meet and exchange gifts with. I met a centaur who wants to teach me cooking recipes and a few other colorful characters I’m hoping to win over. They seem pretty forgiving: I attempted to craft a present for one but completely botched the minigame, producing what I can only describe as ‘a clump of dirt with a sad expression,’ but when I gave it to the NPC she liked it anyway.

I’m not the only one who finds Grimoire Groves charming. “It’s like a cute botanical Diablo,” says one Steam reviewer.

“It’s kind of like Cult of The Lamb but instead of managing a cult it’s about managing a garden,” says another.

“You might think it impossible to mix ‘cozy’ game with a ‘Hades style’ roguelite, but this is what we have here,” another reviewer says.

You’ll find Grimoire Groves on Steam, and there’s a free demo if you’d like to try it before you buy it.