Comparison

Underground Blossom vs Strange Horticulture

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Underground Blossom

Embark on a point-and-click adventure through the life and memories of Laura Vanderboom. Travel through metro stations, each representing a part of her past and future, solving puzzles to uncover her story and escape her inner turmoil.

Highlights
  • Point-and-click puzzle adventure
  • Journey through 7 unique metro stations
  • Solve puzzles and uncover secrets
  • Atmospheric soundtrack
  • Gripping story full of mysteries
Features
Read full description

Descend into the Rusty Lake Underground and travel through the life and memories of Laura Vanderboom! Travel from station to station, each metro stop symbolising a piece of Laura's past and future. Solve various puzzles, find the correct metro to board and uncover one of Laura’s timelines, while simultaneously helping her make sense of her life and escape the corruption of her mind! Underground Blossom is a new point-and-click adventure developed by the creators of the Cube Escape & Rusty Lake series. Features: ▪ A new experience in a familiar setting Enjoy a classic Rusty Lake point-and-click puzzle adventure with a gripping story full of mysteries and, of course, puzzles. ▪ Expect to make several stops Travel to 7 unique metro stations, each station a representation of Laura Vanderboom’s life, memories and potential future. The estimated travel time is 2 hours. ▪ You know what to do Unravel the potential secrets hidden in each metro station, earn achievements and who knows what else you might stumble upon! ▪ Don’t forget your headphones At each metro stop you will be greeted by an atmospheric soundtrack by Victor Butzelaar, including a cello performance by Sebastiaan van Halsema!

About

Strange Horticulture

Manage an occult plant store in a mysterious town. Discover and identify strange plants, using their unique properties to influence an unfolding narrative. Explore the surrounding lands to find new flora and unravel ancient secrets.

Highlights
  • Manage an occult plant store
  • Discover and identify strange plants
  • Use plant effects to influence story
  • Explore surrounding lands
  • Unravel dark mysteries
  • Pet your cat
Features
Read full description

Strange Horticulture is an occult puzzle game in which you play as the proprietor of a local plant store. Find and identify new plants, pet your cat, speak to a coven, or join a cult. Use your collection of powerful plants to influence the story and unravel Undermere’s dark mysteries. WELCOME TO UNDERMERE Welcome to Undermere, a quaint town surrounded by hag-infested forests and rugged mountains. You are the Horticulturist, owner of local plant store Strange Horticulture. As a cast of colorful customers come by your shop, you are quickly thrust into an occult mystery stretching back hundreds of years. EXPLORE THE LANDS BEYOND Explore the lands beyond your store to find new plants, but be careful! The dark woods and lakes are not always friendly to a simple herbalist. You might discover powers beyond your wildest dreams - or lose your mind completely. Use context clues to determine which places to visit, and which to avoid! AN EVER-GROWING COLLECTION Using your trusty encyclopedia and clues found on your explorations, you learn more about the strange plants you come across. By identifying each plant, you will be able to use their effects to influence the story -- from hypnotic hallucinogens to powerful poisons.

Screenshots

Underground Blossom4 screens
Strange Horticulture4 screens

Verdict

The call

Underground Blossom and Strange Horticulture both sit at 4.9 stars, but that hides the real split: 98% of Underground Blossom's written reviews are positive against 75% of Strange Horticulture's. Underground Blossom also leads on price ($2.99 vs $5.99) and ratings volume (4.4K vs 1.4K). On rating, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Underground Blossom costs $2.99 and Strange Horticulture $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Underground Blossom against 4.9 for Strange Horticulture. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4.4K and 1.4K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 98% of Underground Blossom's written reviews are positive against 75% of Strange Horticulture's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Underground Blossom versus Strange Horticulture: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUnderground BlossomStrange Horticulture
Price$2.99 — better$5.99
Rating4.9 (4.4K ratings) — better4.9 (1.4K ratings)
Positive reviews97.5% of reviews — better75.5% of reviews
Number of ratings4.4K — better1.4K
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidAd-supported — better
Best chart rank#39 — better#53
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size196 MB522 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperRusty LakePlug In Digital

Customer experience

Underground Blossom

All ratings4,355 ratings
Positive98.6%
Neutral0.8%
Negative0.6%
Written reviews681 reviews
Positive97.5%
Neutral1.8%
Negative0.7%

Strange Horticulture

All ratings1,338 ratings
Positive97.5%
Neutral1.3%
Negative1.2%
Written reviews163 reviews
Positive75.5%
Neutral7.4%
Negative17.2%

User reviews

Underground Blossom

From 4.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Engaging story
  • 🎨 Beautiful artwork and atmosphere
  • 🧠 Challenging yet satisfying puzzles
  • 🔁 Seamless integration with previous Rusty Lake games
  • 🕰️ Immersive time-traveling narrative

Room to improve

  • ⏱️ Relatively short gameplay length
  • 🤔 Some puzzles felt too straightforward
  • 🔀 Occasional difficulty in navigating between locations

Strange Horticulture

From 1.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Cozy and relaxing gameplay
  • 🧠 Clever and engaging puzzles
  • 🎨 Lovely art style and graphics
  • 📚 Interesting and well-written story
  • 🕹️ Unique and novel gameplay mechanics

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches (viewing device issues, plant movement problems)
  • 🔋 Battery drain and overheating issues
  • 📱 Suboptimal mobile experience (small text, lack of Apple Pencil support)
  • 🕰️ Short playtime, not much replayability

Bugs and requests

Underground Blossom

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Occasional language inconsistencies between stations
  • Difficulty in backtracking to previous locations

Requested features

3 requests
  • More in-depth exploration of the Rusty Lake lore
  • Longer and more complex puzzles
  • Additional gameplay modes or mini-games

Strange Horticulture

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Viewing device bug preventing progress
  • Plants getting stuck and unable to be moved
  • Crashes and freezes on certain devices

Requested features

3 requests
  • More content and expanded gameplay
  • Shelf/storage option for plants
  • Improved mobile optimization (larger text, better controls)

In-app purchases

None

Underground Blossom

No in-app purchases

None

Strange Horticulture

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Underground Blossom free?
Underground Blossom costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Strange Horticulture free?
Strange Horticulture costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Underground Blossom or Strange Horticulture?
Underground Blossom is rated higher. Underground Blossom averages 4.9 out of 5 from 4.4K ratings, while Strange Horticulture averages 4.9 from 1.4K ratings.
Do Underground Blossom or Strange Horticulture have ads?
Neither Underground Blossom nor Strange Horticulture shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Underground Blossom or Strange Horticulture?
Underground Blossom ships an update weekly, and Strange Horticulture weekly. Most recently, Underground Blossom was updated on September 24, 2026 and Strange Horticulture on September 24, 2026.
Which is more popular, Underground Blossom or Strange Horticulture?
Underground Blossom currently peaks at #39 in the App Store charts, and Strange Horticulture at #53. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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