This one might take you half a day to play, but it’s more than worth the trip. It’s one of those enriching puzzle games that when it ends, leaves you wanting more. And that’s a good sign of a great game.
'The Gardens Between' manages to interweave a number of elements which all combine and work together to create satisfying gameplay. It doens’t frustrate, and it never bores.
You play as two characters, friends who must reach the top of a variety of different-themed islands, bearing a sacred light.
We could try to describe it in detail, but you really just have to play it. Let’s just say, time manipulation is involved, and exploration, testing skills of both logic and observation.
Many may want to now leave this post at the mention of time-manipulation and puzzle. However, time-manipulation is still relatively new in gaming, and here it presents (and fulfils) the chance to break from gaming norms and take us to a novel place where we don’t actually have to control characters, but what happens outside of them.
And it actually works here, since it allows the whole game to be more laid-back, but no less intriguing as you ‘play’ the game around the next corner.
If the challenge was ever too high it might break this involvement, but the level of challenge is suitable and spot-on for players of most ages, which is no mean feat by Austrian developers The Voxel Agents.
The game produces pleasing sensations, not just in the attention to detail but in the variety of the islands and in the sense of discovery towards items from childhood.
Really, it’s a bit like one big ‘homage’ to time itself, and a special way to step back, that only games can do. For example, the two friends stumble across an old computer, and work out some code, or a walkman to experiment with music, or in re-arranging dinosaur bones. All these reveal their secrets in this way artfully.
What you’ll get with this game is something that manages to really promote interaction with its environments through nostalgic design and levels which re-create the magic of discovery and in finding solutions intuitively. If you do get stuck, sometimes you might just need to observe unfolding time, or try something else, or, occasionally, reflect a little, but nothing is too tricky. You’ll find your way.
'The Gardens Between' is what happens when an idea for game gets brought to life, conveys its themes and intentions inside perfect game design where it all just comes together and works.
