Grow Up

Feels like playing a cartoon aimed at the 5-10 demographic, with a similar amount of challenge. The controls are going to require some figuring out, but the sense of freedom you get is worth the time you put in.
At the time of writing this, I finished the story and have only the grindy collecting of crystals and unlocking cosmetics via challenges to do (there you are, Ubisoft, I almost didn't see you hiding behind the charm).

As far as Ubisoft's games go these days, generally the allure of their once-fantastic Assassin's Creed series (alongside other notable entries that helped to bolster their position in the triple-A scene today) has long since faded and became a 'Far Cry' from their golden days during the late 2000's and early 2010's, given the lack of polish and fixation on certain trends that have grown old and stale over the years since alongside microtransactions making their way into single-player games aimed at 'speeding' up intentionally-designed grinds.
Though it goes without saying that they have published a fair number of games developed by other studios, one of them in particular being Reflections, a subsidiary studio of Ubisoft that has a surprising history of games made including the original Driver series alongside the Destruction Derby games on the PlayStation consoles, as they came onto a surprise hit in the form of this game's predecessor, Grow Home, that sparked a lot of fun gameplay moments that showcased the indie ingenuity at play when you have a project that is focused on the game as something fun to be played first rather than seeking to monetize it.
Now leading into the main subject of this review here, the aptly-titled Grow Up is the sequel to the beloved Grow Home as you are once again put into the robotic shoes of B.U.D, a 'Botanical Utility Droid' that finds itself stranded on an entirely new alien planet after colliding with it's moon and having to repair the spaceship that separates itself into nine pieces across the landscape filled with various biomes and all manners of floating islands for the robot to discover and explore!
Before even touching the gameplay itself though, I should note that this game's choice of presenting it's aesthetics is quite the interesting one as the simple yet striking low-polygonal art style really comes together when you look at it not right-up close (as games focusing on hyperrealism would often encourage you to do) but rather viewing it from a glance or at a distance since, when coupled with Grow Up's amazing atmosphere through it's lighting and seamless blending of natural biomes across the planet, Grow Up truly incapsulates how creative it is as a physics-based platformer as even the lack of detail in it's textures is easily made up due to how easily recognizable a lot of the area's unique flora and landscapes are as a result of them each visually standing out from one another, thus complimenting the overall journey that each player will take on this game here.
As for the gameplay itself, it is largely the same as it's predecessor whereby you interact with the flora and fauna of this unknown planet to find ways of reaching higher up and gaining more momentum in your movements as starting off can be quite rough with B.U.D's slow and clunky movement often leading to a 'drunken' style of movement due to very limited aerial movement at the start with a jetpack that acts more as a brief glider than as an actual means of gaining vertical speed which, when coupled with the low battery lifespan at first, makes for a more grounded experience that warrants starting off slow and gentle, using the climbing mechanic that'll help to get you to places up and above.
However this will only take you so far as soon you'll need to make use of various plants to get higher up, of which you can grow seemingly anywhere by scanning it first to gain it's seeds for you to plant and then use wherever you can to make the big gaps between floating islands up higher above, although even this will only take you so far as one of the main goals of Grow Up is to collect various blue power crystals that glow in the distance that makes them easy enough to spot from a distance as these will act as the primary means for B.U.D to gain more versatility as gaining a certain amount of them will help to power the robot's capabilities in flight that, in turn, will aid it in exploring more of the alien planet alongside gaining even more movement across the various regions and islands in the air!
One key difference from the first game to touch upon though is that, whilst Grow Home largely takes place on a small flat island that was mostly a vertical experience with constantly going upwards, Grow Up expands on this formula by greatly expanding the landscape to a point where you roam an entire planet as it's gravity can be felt as you reach to higher grounds from wherever you start at the bottom, noting that this game also expands upon the starplant part of the game as this alien planet is home to four reduced-scale starplants as opposed to the one singular massive one from the prequel, giving each major region some of it's own unique flavour as far as the individual starplants themselves go which also encouraging the exploration of the nearby floating islands that host their own rewards and challenges.
Speaking of which, another new aspect that Grow Up throws into the mixture here is various time-trial challenges that essentially act as a fun way of testing the player's skills of controlling B.U.D, both on land and in the air, as what may appear to be practically impossible to complete at first can easily be beaten later down the road once you have attained more power crystals as well as gaining more abilities (working similar to the telerouters that, once activated, can teleport you across the planet in an instance, but act as permanent power-ups of their own that the game encourages you to travel towards via pinpointed marks on the map) to further enhance your ability to traverse the planet better, seeing as beating enough of these challenges unlocks new costumes for the player which, unlike in most games, do have unique effects of their own! (Some are superficial and mostly cosmetic in nature whilst others legitimately break the game once maxed out, albeit I'll leave this as a surprise for those new to the game!)
Truth be told, it is a fair question to ask if the gameplay is affected by the inclusion of all of these additional power-ups and abilities as Grow Home's scope was more smaller in scale, meaning that the developers of that game had an easier time with controlling how much and how fast the player's abilities should grow as they worked their way up the one large Starplant from the prequel, since you do start off struggling to get anywhere remotely fast and have to make use of some of the flora seeds to make certain big jumps far and above, however as you unlock new abilities and further empower your jetpack and battery life, the game gradually becomes more or less your 'oyster' as you'll soon find that you can pretty much go anywhere with little to no effort.
For some who loved Grow Home, this could be a tad off-putting as some genuinely enjoyed the struggle of making progress and feeling the impact of the height they've travelled whilst being given just enough to work with for any tricky jumps or if they make a mistake and are falling down fast. Meanwhile this game stops becoming so daunting once you get to at least 20-30 power crystals and especially when you unlock one of the later abilities that lets you glide seamlessly as this combined with a late power crystal unlock turns the game into an effortless platformer which, whilst those who enjoy a good power trip will love, could prove dissatisfying for those wanting to 'earn' their journey upwards.
Regardless, even if the story is minimal and the simpler graphics not being for everyone, Grow Up is a clear improvement from it's predecessor that offers more to both fans of the original game as well as newcomers who either opted to pass over Grow Home or simply never heard of it until now as the joy of exploring and roaming across the now-spherical landscape of this planet gives a new layer of complexity that Grow Home lacked and it is one particular indie project from Ubisoft that I would highly recommend giving a go if you ever fancy trying a more creative-focused platformer!

It's one of the few games that I have ever beaten 100%, I came back to it every now and then whenever I wanted to play something and just relax, it's simple, fun, and just great all around. Definitely worth the money.

Grow Up builds wonderfully on the foundation set by its predecessor, Grow Home. This sequel takes the whimsical exploration to new heights—literally! The vibrant world is more expansive and filled with delightful surprises, encouraging you to climb, glide, and explore to your heart's content.

The controls feel smooth and intuitive, making it a joy to navigate the beautifully crafted environments. I love how you can experiment with the various gadgets and abilities to reach new areas, which adds a fun layer of creativity to the gameplay. The sense of discovery is ever-present, and each new biome offers unique challenges and visuals.

The charming art style and playful soundtrack create an inviting atmosphere that keeps you smiling throughout your journey. BUD is an endearing protagonist, and his adventures feel both rewarding and lighthearted.

Overall, Grow Up is a fantastic follow-up that captures the essence of fun and exploration. Whether you’re a fan of the first game or new to the series, this is an experience that shouldn’t be missed. Highly recommended!

It's a lot more complicated than the first game... if you played the first mainly because it was easy to play with your brain switched off, then this won't do that for you. But it's plenty of fun (especially when you unlock a certain power up that I won't spoil here) and just as, if not more, atmospheric compared to the first. I'm enjoying it.

Fantastic platformer, fun to just run around stumbling over things with the goofy character physics even if you don't feel like collecting everything.

I had looked at this game (and Grow Home as well) several times over the years, but I never actually bought the thing. Boy, am I glad I did now (and not even on sale)!

The game takes a little getting used to, and the fact that the movement doesn't stop on a dime (your PC is a little bit of a clumsy little robo) was a real challenge for the first little while (okay, sometimes it is STILL challenging) but it is a lovely little way to spend your time, without the unbelievable stress of more modern gaming titles. Add on the "UbiSoft light" collectathon aspects and the low poly graphics (my kids couldn't figure out why that was a draw for me) and this game checks a LOT of boxes for me.

The only note I would make is that I'm sometimes not sure if the jank is on purpose, or not. But, and this is the most important part: I'm willing to play more to find out!