The Gardens Between

 PC
User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 39 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 39
  3. Negative: 4 out of 39

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  1. SuperkenGaming
    Sep 20, 2018
    7
    The Gardens Between
    A short charming puzzle
    The Gardens Between is a puzzle game where you play as 2 friends spending their final day together… And you control both of them… However not separately… The gardens Between takes place across 19 levels and is a little less than 2 and a half hours long… Here you’ll be doing increasingly challenging puzzles involving a lamp… The controls    The Gardens Between
    A short charming puzzle
    The Gardens Between is a puzzle game where you play as 2 friends spending their final day together…
    And you control both of them…
    However not separately…
    The gardens Between takes place across 19 levels and is a little less than 2 and a half hours long…
    Here you’ll be doing increasingly challenging puzzles involving a lamp…
    The controls and Idea is simple... you can move forwards or backwards which will rewind time or progress time… and both characters move simultaneously... so there is no back and forth nonsense going on here exactly…
    there is a bit.. but it’s more of lining things up, passing the light onto the little box helpers in levels, or figuring out codes or ways to line up the environment to get past…
    All with the end goal of getting the light to the end…
    getting over the different environmental obstacles in your way trying to stop this from happening
    nothing ever too difficult which I appreciate…
    it’s a quick little charming brain teaser…
    and I felt the gameplay consistently changing things up slightly as the game goes on while keeping the goal the same…
    but slowly new obstacles will be thrown at you which will carry onto the problem solving of levels throughout..
    There are so many unique and memorable puzzles here…
    this is definitely a game puzzle game fans should give a shot…
    There’s not much of a story and things won’t necessarily challenge you…..
    But there is something special and enjoyable here in the Gardens between
    I give the gardens between
    a 7.5/10    … Expand
  2. naufri27
    Jan 2, 2020
    7
    Una serie de rompecabezas originales en su aspecto visual, nos cuentan la historia de una nostálgica amistad que, en el momento que empieza a despegar cargada de ilusiones y sueños, se termina.
  3. auditbadger
    Mar 16, 2020
    5
    I think that this is truly a unique game and I would recommend that if you are a fan of this type of genre then I think you should give this game a try.
  4. nitorita
    Apr 12, 2020
    7
    Looking past the nice graphics and interesting time control puzzle mechanic, this game doesn't really have any story going on with it even though it's designed to be atmospheric. You simply progress from level to level without ever knowing what's going on. The conclusion clears up a bit of the mystery behind the story, but by that point it's just not meaningful anymore.

    The maps look    Looking past the nice graphics and interesting time control puzzle mechanic, this game doesn't really have any story going on with it even though it's designed to be atmospheric. You simply progress from level to level without ever knowing what's going on. The conclusion clears up a bit of the mystery behind the story, but by that point it's just not meaningful anymore.

    The maps look interesting, as if you're inside a dream-like world. Since there's only three buttons in the game (forward, back, and interact), there isn't a whole lot of complexity. The puzzles might not be super difficult, but they still require more than a few minutes to solve, and they get progressively harder.

    Overall, this game is a decent way to burn a few hours of your time if you have nothing else to do and want to play a puzzle game. At the design level, it's really just a mobile game that's been ported to PC. It looks pleasant and is optimized, but that's all. I generously give this a borderline 7 (it's more like a 6.5 though).

    On a side note, the XGP version has an issue with cloud saves, so you might end up losing progress if it doesn't properly sync with Microsoft's servers. This happened to me once early on, which was a minor inconvenience, but still one nonetheless. Since the game isn't long, try to get it done in one sitting.    … Expand
  5. griefin
    Mar 6, 2021
    7
    The game is based around single gameplay mechanic, but it still gives enough riddles for unexperienced puzzle-gamer like me. I enjoyed art style though the ending seemed too dark and gloomy.

Awards & Rankings

58
#58 Best PC Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. Riot Pixels
    Dec 2, 2018
    70
    The Gardens Between wins you over with immediacy and candor rather than original concept or atmosphere. Don’t expect metaphysical references, hidden postmodernist rhetoric, or a multi-layered narrative — there is none of that. Moreover, it is devoid of conflict, story and text. This is a journey through a child’s imagination made out of clever puzzles.
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  2. GameStar
    Nov 11, 2018
    81
    Nostalgics will enjoy innuendos to pop culture, everybody else a slender, picture-pretty puzzle adventure that also speaks to your emotions.
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  3. GameCritics
    Oct 15, 2018
    90
    No good thing can last forever though, and as pretty and pleasant as the islands are, I couldn’t stay. After finishing a section, I often made Arina and Frendt run back and forth just to look at the details and to enjoy the complete, endearing picture, but that’s not how progress is made. I had to make them move on. Reminiscing on and remembering the past is sweet and often important, but we can’t spend too much time on it — The Gardens Between serves as a gentle reminder to anyone who may have forgotten that.
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