Ask just about anyone about their past and they’ll have rose-tinted glasses on for at least some part of it. Whether it’s the games, the movies, the TV, or just going on adventures with friends, most put the past on a pedestal. In some respects, those glasses see clear as day, as the bond between friends is something that many lose as they grow up. With more and more responsibilities stacked on us as adults, we lose the sense of whimsy that we had in our youth, and every now and then something will awaken a memory of years foregone. Some will then fall down the rabbit hole and reminisce for extended periods of time; The Gardens Between explores this through a variety of puzzles between two friends.

It’s not often that I’ll sit and enjoy a splash screen for a game, but this is one I left up for a good ten minutes before starting the game. Part of that was because I was trying to put my daughter to sleep, but the other was the absolutely serene imagery and music that accompanied it, in addition to the beautiful rain and thunderstorm that flows through the screen. Once you start, you’re given a bit of an introduction to what follows with the rest of the game, which is the bond between two friends and what has made them so close.

The majority of gameplay in this could be likened to that of Braid’s time mechanic, although you won’t be controlling the characters this time around. Instead, you’ll be choosing to either move time forward or backward with the characters essentially on rails. There will be obstacles that stand in their way, meaning you’ll have to backtrack and at times stop at just the right time to make sure a particular event happens. Starting out this will be more obvious, but as you progress it may take a few minutes to see exactly what you are looking for – luckily the levels and the areas you are working with aren’t so large that you can really miss the solution.

Speaking of the levels, they are truly magical to witness. The aesthetic for each of these diorama-esque sections exude a type of dreamscape that is hard to let go of, especially with so much retro love in each one. Chances are that when you are reminiscing, there are anchor points that you latch onto for each memory. Many of my earliest memories hinge on things like toys or my baby blanket; from that element the rest of the event manifests. It’s similar to smelling something that you haven’t in years and being transported in your head – olfactory memory is pretty amazing in that regard. In any case, these levels are all essentially mountains that are littered with different items that are associated with the given memory, be it a wheelbarrow, TV, or bowl of popcorn.

With the rise of walking simulators allowing for people to create games with a limit on gameplay and a focus on narrative, little puzzle games like this can find more of a home than in the past. While the narrative is very loose and even left to interpretation to an extent (I’m sure many say it’s non-existent), it’s hard not to find some charm in this. Then again, if the main draw of this is a sense of nostalgia, it alienates a large potential player base as younger audiences won’t find as much enjoyment as those of us that are older and remember a good majority of the items scattered through the levels. That’s not to say that the puzzles aren’t fun, but I think a good portion of the enjoyment comes from relating to the memories here with your own, and current teenagers and younger now likely won’t have any connection to many of the items showcased in this.

For anyone that loves to reminisce about the good ol’ days and doesn’t mind some minor puzzle solving, The Gardens Between will paint pictures that may have you calling up people you haven’t spoken to in a while – or at the very least, you’ll send them a friend request on Facebook. And truly, what more could you want from a two hour game than an emotional impact that affects your normal life?

9 out of 10

Pros

• Beautiful World
• Haunting Soundtrack
• Clever Puzzles

Cons

• Nostalgia Reliant

The Gardens Between was developed and published by The Voxel Agents. It launched on NS, PC, and PS4 September 20th, 2018 for $19.99. The game was provided to us for review on PS4. If you’d like to see more of The Gardens Between, check out the game’s official site.

 

Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth playing, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great title that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate a game, please let us know.

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