The Gardens Between Reviews
There are no words to describe how incredible my experience with The Gardens Between was. A simple but pleasant story. An unique and innovative gameplay. A magnificent visual that confuses the boundaries between game and art. Like everything good in life, I found myself thinking about every moment I've spent with this game, and I could not help feeling a strong sense of Déjà Vu.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The Gardens Between is a masterpiece of minimalist storytelling, weaving a wordless tale of friendship and time. By drawing upon a few, nearly-universal childhood events, it allows the player to fill in the story with their own emotions and memories, creating a shockingly moving, personal experience. Featuring a gorgeous, surrealist style and challenging but fair puzzles, this is a must-have title for anyone who enjoys puzzle games.
The Gardens Between was one of my favorite Switch games of 2019, and with its mobile release, it is now one of my favorite mobile titles. The Voxel agents have done a great job of optimizing sound, controls, and graphics, making the gameplay and story just as solid, if not a tiny bit better, on a cellphone than it was on the Switch.
The Gardens Between shouldn’t be overlooked. The near-perfect title combines beautiful imagery with seamless gameplay and challenging puzzles, creating a top-notch gaming experience.
While some may not be fond of the game’s conclusion (I personally thought it was appropriate and touching) the journey in The Gardens Between is absolutely a special one. While mechanically a puzzle game, and one that can be tricky in places, as an overall experience it has a remarkably universal quality that I think anyone can appreciate. In a sea of indie (and even AAA) titles it stands out and is deserving of both praise and your attention.
The Gardens Between is, in my opinion, one of the most original and emotional puzzle games to hit the PS4 this year. Each of the puzzles has been carefully planned out and crafted into memorable and fun situations, even the ones which don’t seem like puzzles at first until you look around and work out what you have to do. The music can get a little repetitive in-game (it changes as you move through the chapters), but the ambient sounds and the calmness of the tune really help you think about the solutions. It also allows you to immerse yourself as you sink into the world of Arina and Frendt within the spectacular looking dream-like environments.
The Gardens Between is a short and simple adventure that holds a lot of charm. It plays upon the nostalgia we all have for childhood and focusses on experiences we've left behind in adulthood. It's also distinctly bittersweet in how it deals with the nature of change within relationships. While it's not the longest game, it's perfectly put together, and though the puzzles aren't too difficult, the way they're crafted should be praised as should the whole package.
As a title that I would consider a bit "under-the-radar" compared to the heavy-hitting games coming this fall, The Gardens Between is a wholly unique experience that you shouldn't let fade away from your memory.
The Gardens Between is delightful, its soundtrack is beautiful and calming, its art style is pleasing, its characters are charming and expressive, and its story is touching and melancholic, and I found myself truly amazed by the consistently great level design.
Melbourne studio The Voxel Agents' debut console game proves that they are already masters of the craft. This is a shining example of what indie games can be
While it may seem like nothing more than a Braid clone, The Gardens Between is anything but. Creative and evocative, other than the length, there's little to dislike here.
The only error I can see here is that The Gardens Between ends on a weird note. This is something that could've been expanded upon, but the developers left us guessing. The complaint is rather minor in the grand scheme of it all as the experience is one that shouldn't be missed.
I enjoyed every bits and pieces of The Gardens Between and I admired every garden of it. My only regret is that the game is kind of short.
Knowing that I was walking into an abstract puzzle game, I wasn't quite prepared for what I received. Even at that, I found myself to be pleasantly surprised and challenged by this game. I tend to gobble puzzles for breakfast and some of these islands had me stumped. I love this game and would recommend it to all ages because of its art style, casual nature, and general concept. It does not have any violence, fighting, nor inventory management making it the perfect game for youth and adults to enjoy.
The Gardens Between is an amazing game, with an amazing story and style. The puzzles make the game challenging and add to the time you need to complete te game, but are never to cruel.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Childhood is maybe the most important stage of our lives. Still, it's the stage we face with the most tranquility. The simplicity with which The Gardens Between talks about friendships and childhood touched me, making me remember and reflect. Playing this game is like reliving these memories, even if for a short period of time. Despite being far from a perfect game, it's an experience I think everyone should have.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
If you crave a great, relaxing, smart, puzzle-solving experience with some storytelling, this is perfect for you.
One other artistically awesome indie game that left an emotional impression on me was Old Man's Journey. Now with the journey of Arina and Frendt, The Gardens Between manages to go for the same areas of emotion. There's nothing seriously gripping here, but it's meant to leave an overall personal feeling, which it does well. The environmental puzzles using objects from each memory builds up a personal idea of what event is actually taking place and ultimately becomes resonating when it is revealed. It's fun getting to those points. The Gardens Between may look simple when giving it a brief glance, but it's one of the most charming, clever and wholesome games of 2018 and it's all about beautifully capturing friendship.
As an experience, The Gardens Between is a journey that's well worth embarking on. Its puzzles are gratifying, and its world is gorgeous and filled with personality. Its price may be too step for those looking for a meatier experience, and veteran fans of the genre might wish for tougher puzzles, but those hankering for a small game with a big heart will find plenty to love in The Gardens Between.
Beyond those couple of snags, and really, those snags just remind us designing puzzles is a human effort, The Gardens Between stands out among its physics/puzzle/metaphor-driven peers. It's beautiful to look at and listen to, gratifying to solve (most of the time), and in the the end tells a simple story that's just bittersweet enough to sting your brain into thinking about your life a little.