Garten of Banban is a free-to-play adventure game from Euphoric Brothers Games. As the official mobile port of the cult-classic PC game, this carries over most of the features of the original. Set in Banban’s Kindergarten, you soon find yourself being hunted by large animatronic creatures inspired by beloved children’s characters.

Beyond the standard survival-horror fare, Garten of Banban also features a good amount of puzzle-solving activities, often done with the help of your trusty drone. Take note though, that this game contains disturbing scenes and story elements. It shares similarities with Five Nights at Freddy’s and Poppy Playtime.

A love letter to childhood mascot horror

One thing that made Garten of Banban an instant cult classic is that fans saw it as a parody of other childhood mascot horror games. The child-friendly setting and the use of children’s mascots-turned-monsters are some parallels with other games in the horror subgenre. This game revolves around a children’s educational institution where kids suddenly and mysteriously disappeared. It’s up to you to discover what really happened.

As a mobile port, the controls are adapted and remapped for touchscreens. You have the left joystick for movement, a right joystick for the camera, and a couple of center action buttons. Aside from running and avoiding monsters, a fun part of this game is in using your drone to access hard-to-reach spots. The monster chases in this game are also noteworthy, thanks to the effective use of music.

Of course, as mentioned, it contains rather mature content in terms of storytelling. Other than that, most of the concerns about this game are on the technical side. It can get challenging to navigate, thanks to the control sensitivity. It is fixed and can feel wonky. Also, the overall concept may feel unoriginal because of its overwhelming similarities with other games.

Pretty scary for a parody

Overall, Garten of Banban is a good game to check out. Although it still has a couple of imperfections, the developers are on the right track in adapting the PC horror game to mobile. As for the game, it retains everything fans loved from the original. Expect hair-raising fright and shocking story elements in this childhood mascot horror experience. It’s worth a shot.