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Guide two childhood friends through surreal memory-islands, rewinding and advancing time to solve environmental puzzles.
Released 19 Sep 2018
Rewind Island Time
Guide a Lantern
Solve Memory Dioramas
The Gardens Between is a surreal puzzle adventure that follows best friends, Arina and Frendt, as they fall into a mysterious world of beautiful garden islands. Manipulate time to solve puzzles and discover the secrets of each island.
Developed by The Voxel Agents · Published by The Voxel Agents
Best friends Arina and Frendt travel through surreal garden islands built from objects tied to their shared childhood. The wordless journey evokes their friendship and the memories they have made together.
Rather than steering the friends directly, you control the flow of time as they follow paths through each island. Move time forward or backward and activate points in the environment to change what happens around them.
Each island is a puzzle to solve by observing how its objects respond to time and arranging events in the right sequence. Guide a lantern and its light toward a shrine at the island’s summit; completing these memory fragments carries the journey onward.
Players often enjoy the unusual time-control puzzle mechanic, the carefully composed dreamlike environments, and the gentle story of friendship told without dialogue. Many describe the puzzles as approachable yet inventive and the overall mood as calm, though some find the gameplay repetitive or want more challenge. The short length is a plus for some and a drawback for others.
The Gardens Between is a single-player adventure-puzzle game about time, memory and friendship.
Best friends Arina and Frendt fall into a series of vibrant, dreamlike island gardens peppered with everyday objects from their childhood. Together they embark on an emotional journey that examines the significance of their friendship.
Manipulate time to solve puzzles and reach the apex of each isle. Follow the duo as they unpack and explore their precious moments spent together, lighting up constellations and illuminating threads of a bittersweet narrative.
Vibrant, storybook-inspired art style
Dreamy tale of adventure, friendship and growing-up
Gorgeous single player experience with a meaningful personal story
Bespoke ingenious puzzles require the manipulation of time to solve
Accessible design; simple controls, and no text, speech, time pressure or complex UI
Relaxing, ambient soundtrack by feature-artist Tim Shiel
Play in full detail on your gorgeous 4k screen
"Magical moments."
- GameSpot
"Incredibly clever."
- Nintendo Life
"Every element works in unison."
- Shindig.nz
"A magical journey."
- Polygon
"You really need to play it."
- Engadget
'Excellence In Art' Winner IMGA 2020
'Apple Design Award' Winner 2019
'Best Puzzles' Winner Webby Awards 2019
Apple 'Mac Game of the Year' Winner 2018
'Game of the Year' Winner at the Australia Game Developer Awards 2018
'Most Innovative Game' Winner by Game Two 2018
'Best Technology' Winner at Sense Of Wonder Night 2018
'Best of MIX' Winner at MIX Seattle 2018
'Game Design Excellence' Winner BIC Fest 2017
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux |
|---|---|
| Achievements | 17 |
| Age ratings |
|
| Controller support | Xbox |
| Controller required | No |
| DLC / extras | 1 listed on Steam |
| Metacritic | 80/100 View on Metacritic |
| Website | Official website |
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