The Gardens Between isn’t your typical game. If you’ve played games before, you’re used of controlling your character through whatever danger might lie ahead, in The Gardens Between, you won’t control the characters, instead, you’ll control the flow of time. By altering the time and thus also the perspectives of our heroes, you’ll have to puzzle your way to the top of several levels.
Unique atmosphere
Before I started my hands-on session with this intriguing indie title, the developer was kind enough to fill me in on the premise of the game. The Gardens Between isn’t your regular game, it’s not meant as a typical experience, instead, it offers you a way out of your daily routine. It offers you a unique way to dream about worlds that aren’t yours, a way to solve puzzles you would never face in the real world. After spending my first minutes with the game, I was sold on the concept. The art style is simply amazing and the score of the game fits the atmosphere perfectly. Never was I stressed to find the solution to a problem, the game has this natural flow and I couldn’t help but love it from the first moments of gameplay. The video will show you just how great it looks but it’s in combination with its music that the game really shines. It’s not about reaching the goal as fast as possible, it’s about the journey to the top of the level, the journey to find all the answers you were looking for.
Take your time to solve the puzzles
Besides the unique atmosphere, the gameplay of The Gardens Between is different from everything you’ve played before. Instead of controlling the two characters, you simply control the flow of time. With the push of the analog stick, you can rewind or fast-forward the time. The two characters will run automatically, only stopping when they are forced to since their path is blocked. Most of the puzzles in the early levels revolve around getting a little light to the top of the level. The girl can carry the light while the boy can activate certain switches to help her out. It’s a nice symbiosis between the two CPU characters and the influence of the time and thus input of the gamer. If you want to have a better idea on how the puzzles really function, I advise you to take a look at our gameplay recording in this article.
Although the puzzles offer a unique take in the genre, they weren’t really hard to solve. Sure, there’s some out-of-the-box-thinking required but everything stays rather easy at first. I can’t wait to see and play more of the game to discover where things were going. At some points, it reminded me of Captain Toad. There’s no jump button and the levels are all just small, cute but beautiful squares. This, of course, is the only thing both games got in common since this indie game aims to be a lot more atmospheric and maybe even more original.
Early conclusion
After spending a short half hour with the game, I can only conclude that I want to see and play more from it, a lot more! It’s by far one of the most original indie games I’ve played recently and everything about it just feels right. The gorgeous graphics, amazing soundtrack, and original gameplay all add up to a unique product that’s definitely worth playing if you’re looking for something different and unique. My only concern at the moment is the thought that everything might be over a bit too soon. That being said, I can’t wait to jump back in!
