Manifold Garden Reviews
And it takes an artist's touch to so masterfully combine gameplay, art direction, architecture, logic puzzles, spacial subversion and audio-visual elements into such a coherent package. I've a feeling Chyr's next project might manifest as an art installation rather than a game. If so, I'll be holding my breath for a fall as I step tentatively through the doorway.
Manifold Garden's unique aesthetic and creative puzzles result in a memorable journey that is well worth the price of admission.
Manifold Garden is probably one of the best and most daring puzzle games of the past two decades. Referring to the greatest classics of the genre, it manages to present an absolutely simple concept both in terms of aesthetics and gameplay, with the right rhythm in beautiful and ingenious challenges.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Whether it's the influence of all the shapes and all the colours, or the enjoyable "clack" sound of cubes tapping along staircases, Manifold Garden is totally hypnotic. It's easy to get lost in a flow state while traversing between cubes to switches and other cubes, imbibing in the phenomenal, ever building soundtrack. It has none of the script or context of a title like Portal, but one would easily suspect that that would conflict with the undiluted audio-visual treat that this experience proffers. Manifold Garden builds a compelling, meditative world, and easily stands on its own merit as a highly recommended first person puzzle. It is short but sweet, as they say, and paced excellently. Jumping off into the abyss, and thinking about how to solve the next puzzle will never fail to reward - it makes one feel clever and always fits within the framework of rules which were previously set.
Manifold Garden proves that a game doesn’t need a narrative to be enjoyable!
I want to love this game, but I don't. It's an exquisite piece of design with a beautiful aesthetic that just needs a little more sense of direction in my honest opinion. Explorers and puzzlers will grow to love this game, but casual players looking for a coffee time headscratcher will probably grow tired of the scale and endless searching around for something to do quickly.
Manifold Garden is an incredibly stylish first-person puzzler, like walking through the architectural drawings of a pandimensional designer.
Overall, Manifold Garden is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, it has mesmerizing visuals, good puzzles, and a calming atmosphere. But there are a few negatives, like headaches, and music which lulls you to sleep. Priced at $19.99, I would recommend picking it up only if it's interesting to you and on sale.
Manifold Garden is a wonderful, mind-bending puzzle experience. After 7 years of development, the five or so hours of the game are unique yet familiar. There is nothing else quite like it, and is one of the best puzzle games ever created.
Manifold Garden is a stunning puzzle game, one that will leave a lasting impact on you, not just for its thought-provoking puzzles, but by virtue of the fact that you're essentially playing an actual piece of art. It's bloody delightful!
Manifold Garden is a lovely game, but sometimes the "game" bit gets a little in the way.
Manifold Garden sure took its time to reach us, but the wait has been worth it. This is a beautiful puzzle game that stretches your spatial reasoning, but not immensely so. The difficulty could have been increased, but designing and then developing these complex spaces that loop forever was no doubt a huge challenge on its own. Play Manifold Garden to engage your brain in a different method of thinking. While short, completing this puzzler will give you an immense feeling of satisfaction, and it is well worth the $19.99 asking price. Get ready to think with relativity.
Completing puzzles and unlocking the various ways the game plays with its central mechanic all provide the catharsis of truly understanding each new environment and admiring the clever ways the developer wrapped everything together. From a pure gameplay perspective, it's a bit clunky, but you could say that about the work of many of the great artists and composers. Manifold Garden may not be much of a game, but it's surely an adventure that's worthy of some attention.
From world to world you go deeper and deeper, trembling with fear of a new complex task that seems impassable. Perhaps this is the most important thing you need to know about Manifold Garden, apart from the addictive desire to continue fighting puzzles and a slight dizziness.
Review in Russian | Read full review
The star of the Manifold Garden show is far and away its presentation, and witnessing it in motion is worth the asking price alone. It's just a shame the puzzles themselves can't quite hit those same levels of spectacularity.
Despite the relatively short playtime and little replay value, Manifold Garden is worth exploring. Just be prepared for an existential trip into the world of William Chyr.
I don’t know if I would say I had a “blast” with Manifold Garden, but that’s only because I suck at puzzle games. What I do know is make no mistake; this one should not be missed if you consider yourself a riddle aficionado. Absolutely brilliant visuals make way for genuinely engaging levels that had me scratching my head and pumping my fist in victory. Sure, there are a few minor setbacks, the main one being problems with the pacing. But all-in-all, Manifold Garden is fantastic.
But most of all, Manifold Garden makes me break out in a cold sweat. I cannot help but imagine myself, trapped in an endless kaleidoscope.
Manifold Garden is a gorgeous puzzler that is something very different. It will test you and reward you in equal measure for a very unique experience.
Manifold Garden its a game about changing: from the changing-gravity mechanic to the high variety of gameplay, the game design defines an interesting first person puzzle game with a lot of exploration in Escher-style. A good game that sometimes just suffers a bit of emptiness due to the lack of narrative aims, but a must-have for all puzzle lovers.
Review in Italian | Read full review