The Garden Walkthrough

Co-op roles: read this first

May is the cleanser; Cody is the terrain. Most puzzles need Cody to become the bridge or turret May then uses.

Co-op playbook for The Garden

The Garden is Cody's emotional chapter, and its mechanic splits the pair by role: May cleans and cuts while Cody becomes the terrain — a turret, a wall, a bridge. Most puzzles need Cody to become the thing May then uses, so coordination is about timing the transformation, not just moving.

Communication cadence

Cody should call his form before he shifts: "turret form, covering the right side" tells May where she can stand and what she can shoot past. May should call her cuts — "I'm cutting the vine" — so Cody knows when the path opens. During the Boss Joy finale, name the plant phase as it changes (Tomato, Potato, Lime) so both know whether to cleanse or to shield.

Pacing & difficulty at a glance

The chapter runs about 2 to 2.5 hours. The difficulty peaks at the two boss beats — the Burrower's whack-a-mole in Weed Whacking and the three-phase Boss Joy cure — with a quiet stealth dip at Trespassing between them.

Times are editorial estimates for a first clear and exclude replays and the three minigame detours.

Camera & movement

When Cody becomes a Vine Wall or Cactus Turret, the camera should frame both the form and May's action, so keep a small gap rather than stacking. In Trespassing, the stealth section, move on Cody's burrow tunnels to avoid the twig traps that wake the moles, and freeze together on the quiet beat. On the Frog Pond, chain jumps so the tongue grapple lines up before May commits to the cross. When Cody is a Vine Wall, May can stand on him safely, so treat that as a rest point during longer corruption clears instead of rushing.

If you get stuck

Most Garden stalls come from one of these — check in order:

1. Wrong form: if May cannot cross, Cody became the wrong plant — a Vine Wall bridges, a Cactus Turret covers.
2. Burrower timing: hit the Burrower only on its surface windows; don't swing while it is submerged.
3. Stealth fail: a waking mole means someone stepped on a twig — use the burrow tunnels instead.
4. Missed minigame: two minigames sit near the start in Green Fingers; Snail Race is by the big lantern in Frog Pond.

Track the three Garden minigames and your boss cures in the Completion Tracker, and check the minigame index for exact spots.

The Garden teaches a quiet lesson about role-splitting: May acts while Cody becomes the ground beneath her, and pairs who internalize that turn-taking finish the boss cures faster than pairs who both grab for the same job.

1. Green Fingers (weapon pickup)

Get the water hose and plant transformation. The chapter's first two minigames are near the start.

Steps

1. Learn water/sickle and burrowing on simple puzzles.
2. Play Garden Swings and Larva Basket near the start.
3. Move into the thicket.

2. Weed Whacking + Boss: The Burrower

Navigate the dense thicket. A giant pest boss requires whack-a-mole tactics.

Steps

1. Clear corruption paths together; Cody burrows under blocked roots.
2. Face The Burrower in the clearing.

3. Trespassing (stealth)

A patience section: sneak past sleeping moles. Stepping on twigs wakes them, so move on Cody's burrow tunnels and time your steps.

Steps

1. Use Cody's burrows to bypass twig traps.
2. Freeze when a mole stirs; advance only on the quiet beat.

4. Frog Pond

Ride frogs with charged jumps and tongue grapples. The last minigame sits near the big lantern.

Steps

1. Chain frog jumps across the pond; Cody's tongue grapple pulls May across.
2. Play Snail Race near the big lantern.

5. Affliction: Boss Joy (final, 3 phases)

The chapter's emotional climax. Boss Joy is corrupted, not evil — you heal it across three plant forms.

Minigames in The Garden

Three minigames — two early, one mid-chapter.

Source cross-check