Garden and a Goat is an upcoming ecosystem-revival sim from Contemplation Games. In it, you’ll help restore the world around you by reviving plants and attracting wildlife back to the area. If you love games like Spilled! and Clean Up Earth, or if you’re currently experiencing Pokémon Pokopia FOMO, this might be the game for you.
I love the visual impact of transforming an environment to make it better, and attracting cute animals is a definite plus. In the game, you’ll play as a robot sent to gardens that are dying. Nurture each environment back to life and take care of the animals that visit to encourage them to stay.
There’s currently a public playtest for Garden and a Goat happening now until March 31st if you’d like to check out the game. In the meantime, let’s get into more details about it.
Ecosystem Recovery Gameplay
You play as an adorable robot dropped into a dying ecosystem. Your job: bring it back. But this isn’t a farming sim with rakes and hoes. Instead, you’ll use a high-tech console and a cheerful drone to repopulate the land.
The game takes place across a multiverse of gardens, meaning you’ll eventually visit a range of different ecosystems. Your approach shifts with each one: study the biome, seed indigenous plants, and encourage native flora and fauna to return.
As you work, you’ll scan the surroundings to harvest data gems—the currency used to expand and nurture the environment. Spend them to unlock new crops, treats, animals, and decorations. You can also customise your robot, your consoles, and more with cosmetic unlocks along the way.
Multiverse Animal Collecting
The animals—bees, squirrels, bears, leopards, and other creatures—don’t just show up and stay. You have to earn them. Pet them. Offer handmade treats. Place their favourite decorations around the environment. Do it right, and they’ll unlock as permanent residents. Each animal has specific preferences. Want that squirrel to stick around? You’ll need to figure out what decorations it likes and maybe whip up a snack at the Treat Console.
As your ecosystem flourishes, new multiverse variant animals start appearing, giving you more reasons to keep experimenting.
Garden and a Goat
Garden and a Goat is a single-player animal collecting and ecosystem recovery game! You play as a friendly robot, eager to help a series of ecosystems in need. Clean up the environment, revive plants, and entice the local wildlife to return, unlocking ever more animals and decorations along the way!
Garden and a Goat is expected to launch in Early Access in Q3 2026 on PC via Steam. You can wishlist it now or jump into the public playtest to see it for yourself.
