The Gardens Between

The Gardens Between
80
Metacritic
93
Steam
87.757
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$9.99
Release date
19 September 2018
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
93 (2 186 votes)
Recent
93 (16 votes)

The Gardens Between is a surreal puzzle adventure that follows best friends, Arina and Frendt, as they fall into a mysterious world of beautiful garden islands. Manipulate time to solve puzzles and discover the secrets of each island.

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The Gardens Between system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: 7
  • Processor: 1.8 GHz
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Intel HD 4000 Series
  • DirectX: Version 10
  • Storage: 2 GB available space
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Reviews
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aByZMal
aByZMal

Much like the premise of the movie Tenet, each level in The Gardens Between has a preordained solution, but it is found by causing events to take place out of order in time. You must forward/rewind time affecting the path of the protagonists and other items in each level so that you may interact with different things at different times to progress the level.

The puzzles in this game have been so cleverly designed in that they appear to be very difficult, yet end up being fiendishly simple, sometimes nudging you to think outside of the box. This results in a very satisfying experience. Definitely worth giving a shot for a chill evening

mmiked3
mmiked3

Got it on 84% sale and still wasn't worth the money:

* Cute art that gets boring fast.
* Very simple and boring puzzles.

If you are looking for a puzzle game, play something else (for example, Braid has awesome time manipulation puzzles).

If you are looking for a nice visual game, play something else (for example Abzu).

I guess it could pass as a visual novel, which is definitely not my genre.

Mathilde
Mathilde

๐†๐š๐ฆ๐ž๐ฉ๐ฅ๐š๐ฒ โœฆ very good
๐’๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ โœฆ excellent
๐•๐ข๐ฌ๐ฎ๐š๐ฅ๐ฌ โœฆ excellent
๐Œ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐œ โœฆ good
๐ƒ๐ข๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐ข๐œ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฒ โœฆ moderate
๐€๐œ๐ก๐ข๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ โœฆ easy
โค 7/10

DoubleDingus
DoubleDingus

Decent art experience game. Each level consists of a diorama where you use time controls to solve puzzles. Relaxing experience.

iftee
iftee

Such a wonderful, chilling, yet emotional game that will force you into remembering your childhood friends who you spent a lot of time playing with. Many of us, when we were kids, didn't have social media to stay connected and eventually lost contact with our childhood friends as life moved on. I had to change schools and to move with my parents to different locations. And when I finished this game and that credit song started playing, I felt an emotion that I was not even aware of I had. Thanks to The Voxel Agents for this wonderful game and the feeling you put me through. You just got a new follower who'll be waiting for your next project. For everyone else, just play this game.

Flowbha
Flowbha

A beautiful game. The story, aesthetic, gameplay, soundtrack, mechanics- they work together in a way that makes this game a unique experience.
Just challenging enough to make the puzzles enjoyable, without becoming frustrating.
Short but sweet, and one to remember.

Nilovi
Nilovi

What a unique and beautiful game. Music is great, play is smooth, story is cute, and there's lots of fun hidden gems.

sushant079
sushant079

I really like the artstyle, puzzles and most importantly the soundtracks... I have added these soundtracks to my work playlist.. 10 years from now, what i would remember about this game is the story, the ending is really touchy and connected with me on a personal level, brought back a lot of childhood memories. So please do me a favor and play this short (3-4 hours) but amazing game.

Protoman20XX
Protoman20XX

It's a rather delightful puzzle game that's worth a playthrough, with a fair challenge that doesn't bore or frustrate the player.

blightonuniverse
blightonuniverse

This game could be really annoying in the way it restricted your movement at times. But what was really annoying was that most of the achievements didn't pop after doing everything. I just tried a half dozen times to get the first one to pop after looking on the web for how I was supposed to do it and nothing. I also saw a complaint in the discussions about iy with no response. My advice, don't do it.

Usbserial
Usbserial

This is a such a fantastically beautiful game, I was almost in awe when playing it. It is a creative masterpiece of a game, unique in many ways. Definitely worth trying if you enjoy puzzles or if you enjoy pure and heartfelt stories.

slimbuttons
slimbuttons

I liked this game very much. It reminded me of Monument Valley, Braid, and other puzzle games with a distinctive aesthetic and a sense of meaning underlying the setting and puzzle-mechanics.

It was warmer than either of those particular games, too; it was a very warm game in tone. A lot of that was the music, whichโ€”like the visualsโ€”was welcoming and beautiful.

The puzzles were, to me, a very "nice" level of challenge: they were challenging enough that I said "aha!" when I got one of the harder ones, but not that hard. It's a good balance; it's not boring but the game wants you to succeed and proceed.

It's a short game; you can get through it in a couple of sessions, although I know there are many achievement-associated bonus bits that I did not find or solve. I'm glad for the time that I got to spend in this game.

3DMan
3DMan

Nice little gem of a game. I was impressed with the amount of creativity a game can have that's basically 3 buttons. Simple concept, but a couple parts get tricky. Nothing hard though, so a stress-free experience.
Graphics pretty(be sure to go to settings first, it defaulted me to low) and a nice tale about friends making memories.

kittemoore
kittemoore

This game was as creative as it was beautiful. It felt like unwrapping parts to a gift and putting together a puzzle, all at once. I so enjoyed it, and wish more games would follow its lead and place the emphasis on creative problem solving rather than time crunches. I felt curious and challenged without ever feeling frustrated. I just wish there was a sequel or another similar game out there to it!

chat1978
chat1978

I've only played 3 levels and given the current price with the promotion, I thought to quickly write this review to recommend it. I wouldn't pay the full price but for a couple of euros this games is beautiful, with very nice music and kind of a innovative mechanic. The characters and other objects have a linear path with pre-dermined action points. You as player, you need to move back and forth on the path to execute the events in the right order. Yeah I know, simple. But the presentation of this concept is so good and interesting that makes the difference.

abiiiii
abiiiii

Great gameplay, concept and graphics! You will need to use different techniques in every level, so you never get bored. It's a short story and i can't get enough of it - hope they can make some DLC or sequel or something :)

One punch man
One punch man

Man this game almost brought me to tears 10/10 gameplay amazing music would definitely recommend just about 2 hours of spare time and its complete

Simba
Simba

Wow, gorgeous game! Unique rewind mechanic; the puzzles can get quite tough. Truly the levels are so beautifully modelled, big up the creative team :D Great bit of story-telling, especially for a sick/down day :'3

KILLERKAREBEARz
KILLERKAREBEARz

Simple time-bending puzzler where one character can hold an orb, basically a flag to get to the finish, and the other character can trigger actions that occur outside of the timeline. Can easily be finished in one sitting, but the visuals and music made this relaxing and enjoyable. Would recommend picking up on sale.

FThomas
FThomas

I absolutely LOVE this game. I know its not going to be a super long play time, but I cant help but smile from ear to ear when playing. It took about 5 minutes to get used to the mechanics, I wasn't sure at first, but now I've played for over an hour, i'm hooked. 10/10 would recommend, and it'd be crazy not to get this especially on sale!!

qhai1849
qhai1849

Very good time-based puzzle game, love the graphic and music

sibernaomi
sibernaomi

I really enjoyed this game - a great one to just play a couple of levels on in an evening if you want something engaging but not too labour-intensive. I thought the puzzles were really inventive, though must admit the Time element was used differently to how I expected (I thought it would be a game where you actively switched things around in the world to change what happened when you walked through, whereas it's more of a 'watch what happens, and then figure out where you need to be standing at what point to take advantage of that')

I do wish it had been longer, and that some elements had been more clearly signposted (e.g. the fact that you could freeze the screen on particular objects to make them do things), but overall I really enjoyed playing it and figuring out all the levels. Would definitely recommend.

AaToSMeD
AaToSMeD

The visuals are amazing. The atmosphere and themes are captivating. The game play mechanic is simple yet intuitive; there were just the right amount and no mechanic overstayed their welcome. I have no complaints about the story and how it was presented. The music is sublime.

A suggestion for either DLC for this current game or future projects: I wish there were more modes after we finish the game such as Time Attack mode or some kind of new mechanic that can cause chaos in the levels that you have to actively avoid (Hard mode, i guess). Or perhaps a remix of the stages, new game+. Which will give us a reason to revisit the beautiful levels once again.

Overall, a fantastic piece of game art that should receive all the praises it deserves!

Ltm1900
Ltm1900

The Gardens Between is about 2 hours length, and I had fun playing.

The game involves 2 characters but they move together. Game is divided into several worlds- each contends well art-designed mini levels. What I like about this puzzle game is, it is not very hard yet the solution is not direct. There are some fun parts, like you need to wait a few seconds on particular scene to let it work, and have some good imagination.

There is a Oscilloscope in the game!!! Like I am back in high school lol

Ax
Ax

This made me sad in a pure way I had no idea was coming. It's one of those games that says everything in complete silence, and I love those and play a lot of them, to the point that sometimes I can see where things are going. Not here. It was just too subtle of an experience, and I was having a lot of fun with the gameplay without realizing all the things between the lines were also getting embedded into my brain. Yeah, it's a short game, but in my opinion a lot of the best games are. I got it on sale, but I would say it's worth full price if you're really interested.

I feel like most anything I have to say about it is going to hype it up too much, so here's what I recommend: buy it, leave it in your library untouched for a while, forget what everyone has said about it other than "it's good apparently." Then, pull it out for a couple hours when you feel like playing a game but you don't know what. This is one of those experiences where less context is more.

(That said, if you're not a fan of puzzle games and get easily frustrated enough to look up walkthroughs if you can't figure something out within a few minutes--not for you. There were a couple of points where I was really lost, but I was patient with it and tested every little thing, but the "click" when I figured it out was worth it and I really would have regretted looking up any of those answers, especially considering how short the game is.)

charlieface1981
charlieface1981

Awesome game with an equally awesome soundtrack by Tim Shiel! Get it!

gbors
gbors

The Gardens Between is a rare treasure of artistic video game experience. The story follows two teenagers through a surreal journey of their childhood adventures, using important events / locations as the game's levels. Without a single word, it tells a story that manages to be poetic without being pretentious, emotional without being corny, and with its very simple and perfectly revealing ending, touching without being intrusive.

With the beautifully crafted visuals and great soundtrack, the game would work well as a visual novel - however, The Voxel Agents obviously wanted to take the "game" part also seriously, and they created unique, time-manipulation-gameplay, on which the game's puzzles are based. It's great for novelty value, and the slight variations make it last until the end of the game.

Relaxing, atmospheric and very satisfying - The Gardens Between is a game not to be missed.

Georgian
Georgian

The Gardens Between is a puzzle game where the main rule is time manipulation. The 3D environment art is awesome and looks very mysterious. This game has a great story and really pleasant music.

Kneecapslock
Kneecapslock

Perfect combination of beautiful art style & the right amount of difficulty for puzzles. The feelings this game gives me are indescribable!!!!

Omokers
Omokers

Gorgeous game, lovely soundtrack. Game mechanics are easy to understand and the requirements of clearing a level is intuitive, while the actual process is pleasantly challenging. It's a fascinating concept and I'd love to play more games that play with time as a controllable dimension.

Syrius
Syrius

Play it for the sake of any best friend you lost along the road.

Phantom Renegade
Phantom Renegade

The Gardens Between is a neat little, short puzzle game where you fast forward and rewind time to find your way through obstacles. It tells a simple but wholesome story along the way. If you are in the mood of a laidback, chill short puzzle game that you play for a little bit every now and then, this is a perfect fit.

I definitely enjoyed myself playing the game!

Chucklehead
Chucklehead

A lovely, touching game about friendship and memories. The puzzles are clever and creative, the scenery is pretty, and the animations are excellent.

I did experience 1 crash but the game put me right back where I left off, so very little was lost. The game is also quite short (~3 hours) but I much prefer that to a game that outstays its welcome.

Sim0n
Sim0n

Perfect length, simple but beautiful story told with visuals, and really fun and surprising mechanics.

Senorita
Senorita

There is no dialogue in the whole game. But frames and music tell us the story. The combination of music and frames always build a good game especially with an interesting mechanics. This is definitely a good game to enjoy. Highly recommend.

Elveli
Elveli

Excellent game puzzle!!!
I got warm effects from plot, pleasure from graphic and well brain moves from 3d puzzle solving logic.
Well done!

Sandhouse
Sandhouse

One of the most creative games I've played in a very long time. If you like puzzles you will like this one. Not too hard, not too easy. I like puzzles but I'm not so enthusiastic that I want to spend an hour on one single puzzle. This one keeps you moving at a moderate pace. You have to think creatively and independently on a frequent basis, which I loved, and they actually makes sense too. Imagine that! That part got me especially excited.
I'm tired of endless puzzle boxes, mystery houses, and geometric shapes when it comes to puzzle games so this was extremely welcome. Unique describes it well. If I ever see another slider puzzle I'm rage quitting puzzles forever. Just buy this game. It hits the spot.

kelly01010
kelly01010

beautiful game! You can tell immediately a lot of love and was put into it. I love the original take on a puzzles! Great job devs!

bednorz.karolina
bednorz.karolina

Simple, poetic concept, suprising very playable :)

Kalnesh
Kalnesh

3 hour game, only the last 30 minutes has anything that resembles a puzzle. If you want a puzzle or a game, this is not for you. I'm pissed and I bought it for 70% off, can you imagine paying full price. WHAT.

NightmareWokeUp ๐Ÿฑโ€๐Ÿ‘ค
NightmareWokeUp ๐Ÿฑโ€๐Ÿ‘ค

Wonderful game with a beautiful graphics style! I wish it was a bit longer and a bit harder for the first 70%, but not sure I would have enjoyed it if it was much harder. The beachball in the end had me tripping...
At 70% discount i can 100% recommend this game, full price seems a bit steep for 1-2h of gameplay, maybe 2.5-3 if you want to get all achievments. Just depends how much youre willing to spend on games, im simply not the guy that buys AAA titles for 60-100 bucks ;)

Anonymous
Anonymous

so so good. I teared up at the end and it's a dang puzzle game wtf

AvFenNeal
AvFenNeal

After watching the trailer for this game me and my partner thought it's a coop game and I bought it without any research. Turned out it's not coop as soon as we started playing it. We were kind of dissapointed by that fact to be honest but I've got only myself to blame.

Apart from that, this is a positive review afret all ;) When we started playing and figured out we can't do that at the same time, we just played it together like it would. We had two controllers, both of us thinking of solutions and sharing them with each other, moving characters whe someone had an idea. We kind of invented a hybrid xD

I DO recommend this game for either solo play or brainstorming session with your partner or a friend. The story is both nostalgic and heartwarming but you have to see it for yourself :)

P.S. Short tho

P.P.S. 100% achievements!!! ^^

ugiim
ugiim

Beautiful childhood friendship and pleasant puzzles. It was fun.

X3Na
X3Na

a nice casual puzzle game with story to tell about 2 frnds and their adventures in and around the gardens between their houses and the tree house there.

TTV/SoitsSara
TTV/SoitsSara

A beautiful 10/10 game
Some comfortably challenging puzzles with outside the box solutions, a beautiful story told without dialogue, and an ending to hit right in the feels. Maybe get it when it's on sale, just because it's short, but well worth the money and the time spent enjoying this game

Patrochilles
Patrochilles

Innovative puzzle with lovable background story, The Gardens Between introduces you to the ingenious time-manipulating gameplay. You are allowed but a few buttons to control you character(s): you simply command them to move forward or backward--and with us, time progresses or rewinds--and take actions, as you can see in the preview video. The puzzle itself is not so mind-boggling. And 'mind-boggling' here might be too strong a word even. The game is simply not hard, or that hard. You experiment a few times and succeed, or fail, in which case you just have to try again.

The story embedded is worth mentioning. Each mission finished will give you a shard of the background story, a fragment of the two protagonists' friendship. And this is, I think, what drives many players to keep playing: curiosity. We just want to know what had happened, would happen, or what would become of the two. The puzzle realms itself are fashioned with disoriented pieces of memories between them. Do not be mistaken: they did not suffer amnesia or had their memory taken away. It's just that, say, their might be a level in which a television stood as the center piece and, upon finishing the level, you will be revealed a scene of the two friends having a movie night together. Part of their story, that is. This too is an noteworthy aspect of this game.

dj.strode
dj.strode

Fabulous game, just as everybody else says. Doesn't appear to have a quit option, which is irritating & crap. Just saying. Otherwise, brilliant.

carro
carro

my brain go brrrr playing this game, this game makes me feel dumb and smart at the same time, not much more i can ask for ghfujidkso, yah all got me in the end ngl, i was like aww a cute hug ;-;, but ohh i was so wrong more ugly crying just some seconds later ;-;, amazing and sad game I'm gonna go and cry in my corner now, thanks

Traim
Traim

Cute concept and graphics, just, not my cup of tea. I wish there was a neutral option for steams ratings

Zentak
Zentak

Worth to get during a sale: it is a very nice chill and relax puzzle game, but it is also relatively short.

NeoTheVoid
NeoTheVoid

Perfect little indie game for a relaxing night alone. Entertaining and emotional. The puzzle part of this game is challenging enough to make you think and engage you without being too stressful. It wraps up well and the end credits game me a sense of closure and calm. Would totally recommend to anyone.

bananagege
bananagege

One of the coolest puzzle game I've ever play! The concept of manipulating time is fascinating and makes the game control easier but not losing the difficulty of every level. And the art and music is really good too. Love it!
(Update: The ending breaks my heart)

Phoenixo
Phoenixo

A good game with interesting gameplay mechanics, only 3 keys, but it's not as easy as it sounds! The puzzles are fun to do (some will give you a hard time), the soundtrack is immersive, the story is quite moving ... but as usual, for this kind of game the only concern is that the latter is quite short (3 hours to complete it and get all the achievements).
In conclusion, to spend some time in a genial atmosphere, play it.

MunchithePanda
MunchithePanda

I liked the overall style of the game and the way it plays. Its a wonderful game and the ending made me wish there was more to play.

Lyrian
Lyrian

Really beautiful and fun puzzles. I like that the game follows its own internal logic and there was no time that I felt like the puzzles were being unfair.

BigLady
BigLady

This game shows the importance of sound design. The visuals are breathtaking but not supported by good sound design. When you finish a level, it just feels like 'oh ok it's finished'. The sound effects are very few so it makes the overall sound design is boring and empty.

Even so, this game is very good. The puzzle and time manipulation are fresh and unique. The story is also good but not special I must say.

MILKSTEAKandEGG
MILKSTEAKandEGG

Super simple relaxing gameplay, with really creative and mind bending puzzles. Nothing too extreme or difficult, game takes about 4-5 hours to complete, and only requires the use of three buttons. Super cute, mildly emotional. Definitely worth a pick up on-sale.

EdThePonderer
EdThePonderer

Short but beautiful and heartwarming. Overall a great experience.

TTV MrsG3ars97
TTV MrsG3ars97

Highly recommend. Absolutely beautiful, just make sure you put your graphics to high on PC as it auto put mine on low.

destoye
destoye

A very affected, moving tribute to friendship. Fun puzzles, too.

็‰นๅˆฅๆ”ปๆ“Š้šŠ
็‰นๅˆฅๆ”ปๆ“Š้šŠ

A masterpiece, and by the way, the length of the game is very excellent. I would have felt bored if the game was longer than this. I would recommend buying the game when the sale is down. Great game, I enjoy it very much
The puzzles are not very difficult and at the same time not easy to moderate
The graphics of the game are very cool and the music is also very good and calm
My game rating: 8.5/10
Really great game

Captain Amazers
Captain Amazers

Great level design and art-style!
Puzzles aren't too complex but fun and the end is heart-warming (or read: sad).

But one suggestion: please include FLASH WARNING for photosensitive people and also for those who are prone to seizures!

garou
garou

it was very nice, gameplay was very fun, i genuienly had a great time playing, it looks too easy at first but will give you easy enough challanges to have some chill fun while not feeling so stupid, even though the gameplay is very innovative and fun it is too short for the full price and it doesn't offer much to make up for it so you should probably get it on sale.

mishka
mishka

first puzzle game i've actually done, which says a lot considering i'm not a fan of them since i have a brain the size of a pea.
so what im trying to say is that this is a very beginner friendly game. once you get the catch of how the game works you'll understand it in no time. although i do note i bought this during a sale, which is the only reason i got this game lol. its pretty short so don't expect some heavy long game play.
and ngl almost cried at the end. :,(

ceci246
ceci246

lovely little game! the music and gameplay were quite enjoyable. I liked the timewarping mechanic as well as the various elements added in, the mechanics and details were introduced well and the puzzles were appropriate and fun. it is short and i'd recommend buying it on sale :)

Jhon
Jhon

Muito bonitinho, sรณ nรฃo achei muito divertido.

Janos Biro
Janos Biro

A beautiful game about friendship. I played a level before going to sleep and cried at the end. Great ending song. Perfect.

Sin
Sin

Very pretty, and well done. Puzzles are pretty easy however, there's not much actual gameplay, you're more playing this for the story and visual I think, there's not much skill involved in figuring more of the stuff out. Fairly quick game as well, but there's nothing wrong with that sometimes.

------------------------------
Completionist Review:
DLC Achievements: No DLC
Rating: There's a pattern to most of them you'll figure out eventually, overall not bad.
Can be completed in one run: Yeah probably.
Chapter Select: Yes, although it doesn't really say which levels need to be replayed.

Nkuri37
Nkuri37

A small game about two friends and their adventures together. The story is easy to understand and doesn't require any speaking on the games part. The puzzles can be challenging and sometimes be out of the box, there's a mechanic with moving time back and forth to repeat motions and create opportunities for yourself. Altogether a good puzzle game.

่Šๅฃซๆฑ‰ๅ ก่ฟ˜ๆฒกๆœ‰ไธบๅฎƒ็š„
่Šๅฃซๆฑ‰ๅ ก่ฟ˜ๆฒกๆœ‰ไธบๅฎƒ็š„

Visually stunning and extremely creative gameplay.

Noroi89
Noroi89

The puzzles are very imaginative.

irene.naomi29
irene.naomi29

This game was truly an experience. Super immersive with the beautiful art and amazing sound design! I thoroughly enjoyed the slow-paced puzzle-solving gameplay. Did I mention the sound design?? The music could very well give me a good night's rest. This game was worth every penny!

mndlika
mndlika

This is a short game about friendship. What is awesome about this game is the novel gameplay style, in which you use few commands to change your environment. The good point about this mechanic is that you play with "past" and "present" actions, combining both to solve puzzles and get to your goals. For example, if you activate something in the "present", you can go back to verify is something changed in the "past". It is like a rewind function that affects both your past and present. Also, this game has stunning visuals and a touching story. I recommend to all that likes short and novel games :)

CrimsonHorror
CrimsonHorror

if you like short little puzzle games with atmosphere, give this a try

Morgn
Morgn

~ DIFFICULTY ~

๐Ÿ”ฒ My 90 year old grandma could play it
โœ… Easy
๐Ÿ”ฒ Normal
๐Ÿ”ฒ Hard

~ GRAPHICS ~

๐Ÿ”ฒ MS Paint
๐Ÿ”ฒ Bad
๐Ÿ”ฒ Meh
๐Ÿ”ฒ Graphics don't matter in this game
๐Ÿ”ฒ Good
โœ…Beautiful
๐Ÿ”ฒ Masterpiece

~ MUSIC ~

๐Ÿ”ฒ Bad
๐Ÿ”ฒ Not special
โœ… Good
๐Ÿ”ฒ Beautiful

~ STORY ~

๐Ÿ”ฒ This game has no story
๐Ÿ”ฒ Like playing Temple Runners for the story
๐Ÿ”ฒIt's there for the people who want it
๐Ÿ”ฒ Well written
โœ… Epic story
๐Ÿ”ฒ Imagine Kingdom Hearts but on crack

~ PRICE ~

๐Ÿ”ฒFree
๐Ÿ”ฒUnderpriced
โœ…Perfect Price
๐Ÿ”ฒ Could be cheaper
๐Ÿ”ฒ Overpriced
๐Ÿ”ฒ Complete waste of money

~ REQUIREMENTS ~

โœ… You can run it on a microwave
๐Ÿ”ฒ Average
๐Ÿ”ฒ High end
๐Ÿ”ฒ NASA computer

~ LENGTH ~

โœ… Very Short (0 - 2 hours)
๐Ÿ”ฒShort (2 - 15 hours)
๐Ÿ”ฒ Average (15-50 hours)
๐Ÿ”ฒ Long (50-90 hours)
Extremely long (90-110 hours)
๐Ÿ”ฒ No ending

~ FUN ~

๐Ÿ”ฒ I'd rather watch paint dry
๐Ÿ”ฒHard to enjoy
๐Ÿ”ฒ Repetitive
โœ… Actually pretty amusing
๐Ÿ”ฒThe kind of fun you'll remember
๐Ÿ”ฒ Ride of your life

~ REPLAYABILITY~

๐Ÿ”ฒ It's a one-time experience
๐Ÿ”ฒ Only for achievements
๐Ÿ”ฒ If you wait a few months/years
๐Ÿ”ฒ Definitely
โœ… Infinitely replayable

~ WORTH BUYING ~

๐Ÿ”ฒ No
๐Ÿ”ฒ Wait for sale
โœ… Yes

InstantFeePlays
InstantFeePlays

I loved this game from start to finish! Some of the puzzles were super easy, some required more thinking, but all of them were well designed. The music and art were beautiful and I was crying a lil by the time the credits rolled. I highly recommend this game.

Cloud_zzzy
Cloud_zzzy

This game was very entertaining and made my brain think. The story was an unexpected yet wholesome and heart warming. The Gardens Between is a very good game to play when bored or wanting some thinking to do. Over all this game was the best puzzle game I've ever played. :)

Anonymous
Anonymous

The game is aesthetic and calming while also have a nice message behind it. However, it only took under 4 hours to complete the whole game which made it not worth the cost.

Potato
Potato

For a small indie its great, best of purchasing the game on sale..

the scenery is amazing music is good could be better

the game itself doesnt have much of a story but at the end you realise, you are reliving a sad childhood memory

time to time can be a pain but well designed for an average gamer

4.5/5

Nuwanda
Nuwanda

It's always refreshing when a game tries new mechanics.
In case you're stuck (mild hint): Be prepared for some lateral thinking. The game doesn't teach you all the rules, you have to figure some of them out by yourself.

trashbaby
trashbaby

The Gardens Between is a beautiful adventure-puzzle game about two best friends: Arina and Frendt. Join them as they walk through beautiful scenaries and learn about their strong bond.

The game features simple mechanics: you can only walk forward and backward. The puzzles are not difficult but very clever. To solve them you have to manipulate time as you control both of the characters at the same time. Along with the clever level design, the game stands out for its beautiful visuals and relaxing soundtrack. It is a short one, it can be completed in under 5 hours making it a great option for a chill playthrough.

Jacksons2020
Jacksons2020

the gardens between 78: more gardens i guess

jeremyreagan
jeremyreagan

Beautiful Atmosphere, and simple controls, with a rewarding complexity. Great stuff.

xOrbOfDeception
xOrbOfDeception

The Gardens Between is a beautiful puzzle game based around time and environment manipulation. The music is incredible and the stylistic choices are aesthetically pleasing. The puzzles themselves are varied and range from straightforward to requiring some creative problem solving, but generally they aren't super difficult and you can usually figure things out if you play around with the time/environment manipulation for a bit. The general vibe and atmosphere of the game is pretty chill. I highly recommend this game if you tend to enjoy puzzle games and want to play one set in a beautiful environment.

skylites
skylites

Before you think I don't like this game, I want to say that I do. I know that there are a lot of games that thrives on reading between the lines but sometimes when it's too subtle, you end up not knowing where your goal is. This is my exact dilemma with this game.

Yes, the graphics is gorgeous, yes the the gameplay is unique, and while yes there is a story (albeit a pretty simple one) somehow not knowing the destination or WHY the two characters are having a "journey to the surreal" makes playing this game have a feeling of not knowing what to do. Yes, you do know how you'll solve the puzzles, etc. but the narrative is where I felt this game lacked. A good solution would be showing a bit of the end, reluctance of both the chars, then the game, and eventually acceptance.

Aside from these, this game did entertain me for a few hours and I do plan to play again for the achievements.

neenbean
neenbean

Took about 4 hours to playthrough completely and was a beautiful game, audio and graphics.

AUSTINTACIOUS
AUSTINTACIOUS

A very pleasant, extremely unique and original short puzzle game. Relaxing sound track, unique mechanics (no other game like it as far as I know) and can be completed within a couple of hours. You will probably need a guide for the 17 achievements as many are missable.

eccentrick
eccentrick

unique interface with being able to move forward or backward in time.

DinoCat
DinoCat

A cute and smart puzzle game about friendship : count me in!

javajoz
javajoz

Sobbing by the end. That was incredible!

Aters
Aters

Clever puzzle, nostalgia overflow.

slothilda
slothilda

---{ Graphics }---
โ˜ You forget what reality is
โ˜ Beautiful
โ˜‘ Good
โ˜ Decent
โ˜ Bad
โ˜ Donโ€˜t look too long at it
โ˜ MS-DOS

---{ Gameplay }---
โ˜ Very good
โ˜‘ Good
โ˜ It's just gameplay
โ˜ Mehh
โ˜ Watch paint dry instead
โ˜ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
โ˜ Eargasm
โ˜ Very good
โ˜‘ Good
โ˜ Not too bad
โ˜ Bad
โ˜ I'm now deaf

---{ Audience }---
โ˜ Kids
โ˜‘ Teens
โ˜‘ Adults
โ˜ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
โ˜ Check if you can run paint
โ˜‘ Potato
โ˜ Decent
โ˜ Fast
โ˜ Rich boi
โ˜ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Difficulty }---
โ˜‘ Just press 'W'
โ˜ Easy
โ˜ Easy to learn / Hard to master
โ˜ Significant brain usage
โ˜ Difficult
โ˜ Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
โ˜‘ Nothing to grind
โ˜ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
โ˜ Isn't necessary to progress
โ˜ Average grind level
โ˜ Too much grind
โ˜ You'll need a second life for grinding

---{ Story }---
โ˜ No Story
โ˜ Some lore
โ˜‘ Average
โ˜ Good
โ˜ Lovely
โ˜ It'll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
โ˜ Long enough for a cup of coffee
โ˜‘ Short
โ˜ Average
โ˜ Long
โ˜ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
โ˜ It's free!
โ˜ Worth the price
โ˜‘ If it's on sale
โ˜ If u have some spare money left
โ˜ Not recommended
โ˜ You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
โ˜‘ Never heard of
โ˜ Minor bugs
โ˜ Can get annoying
โ˜ ARK: Survival Evolved
โ˜ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ ? / 10 }---
โ˜ 1
โ˜ 2
โ˜ 3
โ˜ 4
โ˜ 5
โ˜ 6
โ˜‘ 7
โ˜ 8
โ˜ 9
โ˜ 10

Wednesday A.
Wednesday A.

I feel so apologetic for not recommending this game. I appreciate the overall aesthetics of the game, and the items that represent childhood and friendship... but it is completely boring and pretty much empty.

The puzzles are simple and easy, Though I find it cute with the idea of backwards and forwards gameplay, it was not enough to keep me entertained, not at all exciting. To be honest, I might be hooked in this game if i'm younger, like 8 years old.

I thought atleast the story would be deep but I saw and felt nothing. I played some more to give it a chance because I'm hoping to have awaken nostalgic emotions (and maybe the story could be open to interpretation), but there are no dialogue so even trying to connect the dots with the images seen seem lazy and did not help in understanding the story or the flow of the game. I'm sorry, but it isn't for me. T^T

Sofal17
Sofal17

cute game, but the puzzles are always the same and the story isnt really deep as well, i would recommend the game if its on sale :/

Lumberjack
Lumberjack

A beautiful game!
The reflective music and visuals pulled me right into the depths of the journey of the two characters.

7shuning
7shuning

It's pretty and the concepts of the puzzles are interesting, but the story and puzzle difficulty was very lacklustre. It isn't very good as a narrative game, nor does it work well as a puzzle one.

boomshakalaka
boomshakalaka

Relaxing game to play, puzzles make you think a little but arent too challenging. Loved the atmosphere and beautiful music

unboundedc
unboundedc

This game is not just fun but relaxing as well. I am not good at puzzle games, but one thing that helps a lot in this game is that it cuts off areas that have no more use, which says, " The answer is within this place my guy." The sound and audio are excellent, and so is the level design, major props to the team behind this game.

I might do another playthrough to get the leftover achievements and look more at the levels, but I would get this game if someone is hesitant about it.

briiannaa
briiannaa

all puzzles are the same, no real story telling im glad i waiting for this to go on sale cause its not worth $20

orteils4
orteils4

Visually this game is beautiful but overall game play is a bit repetitive and a touch boring. If the game is on sale, go for it, if not I would pass.

Morfar
Morfar

The Gardens Between

Finished 2022-07-09

The Gardens Between is an indie puzzle game about memory and friendship developed by The Voxel Agents, released 2018.

I bought it on the Steam sale, regular price is โ‚ฌ16.66.

I beat it in 3.4 hours. I did not go for 100%, (yet?).

Premise

It starts off with two neighbor kids that sit in a treehouse talking about something (there is no speech, just body language). All of a sudden time stops and a ball spawns in front of them. The girl touches it and gets sucked into a world with memories from their friendship.

Gameplay

The mechanics are very simple. When you move forward time goes forward and when you move backwards time goes backwards. And you can interact with certain objects.

Itโ€™s really similar to how the game Braid works. Braid had more varied mechanics later on though.

You control both kids at the same time. The girls can interact with light balls and a lantern. And the boy can interact with โ€œbellsโ€ that can change the state of the world in some way. Both are needed to clear the puzzles.

What I liked

I really liked the puzzles, I got stuck a few times but figured them out eventually.
The game has really good sound effects, really meaty/bassy sounds, like thunder, rain, water, etc.

The characters are not speaking and just using body language, I think itโ€™s meant for you to see yourself in the characters.

The story is really good, and you realize why they relive their memories together by the end. The ending is melancholic.

What I didnโ€™t like

The game would benefit from a little more varied puzzles and mechanics. More than just forward/backward and interaction. But the game was supposed to be a short casual experience I think.

Score ๐Ÿ‘

GoonoGloss
GoonoGloss

Short and sweet, but well worth a play through! Gorgeous graphics and sound design too.

Snorbuckle
Snorbuckle

Short, simple and sweet. It's nothing groundbreaking and I wish it were a bit more narrative heavy, but this is definitely worth your time if and only if you can get it at a good discount. I paid ยฃ3.87 for it and was happy.