Sky & flight · PEGI 3
Flower
A short, wordless game in which you are the wind, carrying petals across grassy fields and bringing colour back to the landscape. Its listing describes simple controls and play at your own pace, and PEGI rates it 3 with no descriptors.
Riding the wind across fields of petals
Guiding the wind through Flower's fields
In Flower you do not play a person or an animal. You play the wind. Each level begins with a single petal, and by sweeping across a meadow you gather more, forming a long ribbon of colour that changes the world as it passes.
The official listing keeps it simple: controlling the game is as simple as guiding the wind in the direction you want to go. Vast grassy fields blow in the breeze, and you interact with and change the environment as you travel.
There is almost no text, which makes Flower easy to hand to someone who has never held a controller.
The publisher describes vast grassy fields blowing in the breeze and calls Flower an emotional journey. Your gust of petals changes the environment as it passes, which gives each level a gentle sense of purpose.
It is a single-player game with no menus to manage once a level begins, no characters to talk to and no inventory. That simplicity is rare, and it makes Flower feel more like a piece of music than a traditional game.
Why Flower is often called a game for non-gamers
The publisher describes Flower as accessible to gamers and non-gamers alike, and it is one of the few games in our library that needs no explanation at all. Move, and things happen.
The listing also invites you to journey through varied landscapes at your own pace and to find balance and harmony in your surroundings. PEGI rates it 3 with no content descriptors.
It appears in our ten-minute unwinds and after a long day playlists. One level is a natural stopping point.
Because there are no menus to manage once you start, it is a good choice for a tired evening when you do not want to think about controls or choices. The only decision is where the wind goes next.
Playing with a controller suits the wide, sweeping movement, and Steam lists full controller support for the PC version.
The soundtrack and the movement of the grass carry the mood, so it is worth playing with the volume at a comfortable level rather than muted.
Flower's place in game history
Flower was developed by thatgamecompany, the studio that later made Journey and Sky: Children of the Light. The Steam listing notes it is part of the first permanent video game collection at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
That reputation can set expectations high. It is best approached as a short, sensory experience rather than a long game with lots to do.
In our editorial view, it is an easy recommendation for someone curious about calm games but unsure where to start, because it asks for no experience at all.
Its studio went on to make games that share the same quiet, wordless approach, so if Flower suits you, the other two are natural follow-ups, with the caveat that Sky is online and free-to-play with in-game purchases.
Playing Flower in the UK today
The PEGI database lists Flower on PlayStation 4 (2013) and PlayStation Vita (2013), both PEGI 3. Steam lists a Windows PC version from February 2019, published by Annapurna Interactive, and the UK App Store lists an iPhone and iPad version from Annapurna as a one-off purchase.
There are no in-game purchases listed and no online features.
For families, the PEGI 3 rating, the lack of text and the simple controls make it one of the few games here that a young child and a grandparent could play with equal ease.
Because the PC version supports Steam Cloud saves, you can also move between computers without losing your place, according to its Steam listing. Remote Play on TV is listed too.
"Calm" here is an editorial view of pacing and pressure, not a health claim. If a game stops feeling restful, it is fine to put it down.
Where these facts come from
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