The Gardens Between

This is where you can deliberate anything relating to videogames - past, present and future
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JaySevenZero
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The Gardens Between

Post by JaySevenZero »

Here's where you can contribute your thoughts and opinions of The Gardens Between for potential inclusion in the forthcoming podcast.

A friendly reminder to all that where feedback for the podcast is concerned, we love it - but self-editing (brevity) is appreciated. We do want to include a breadth of opinions where appropriate, but no-one wants a discussion podcast that’s mainly reading. Better to save yourself time and cut to the chase if you can.
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Alex79
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Re: 432: The Gardens Between

Post by Alex79 »

I've got this on PS4, but never managed to get through it. Just thought I'd let people know, in case it helps anyone, that this game is currently available on Android for free via the Google Play Pass. I've just signed up for a month's trial and noticed it on there!
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Angry_Kurt
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Re: 432: The Gardens Between

Post by Angry_Kurt »

I heard about this game through TCGS after David was praising it. I was looking for something short and quite chilled to play at the time and I wasn't disappointed. I thought the rewind/fast forward mechanic was really unique in the genre, I can only think of Braid and racing games doing something similar, so it was good to see it applied in a different genre and done really well. I thought the difficulty curve was well judged and I always managed to fgure it out before searching for the solution online. I understand that the story resonated with some people but I didn't really care much for it. It wasn't bad or anything, I just didn't really feel strongly either way about it but maybe I'm an emotional husk :P
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ReprobateGamer
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Re: 432: The Gardens Between

Post by ReprobateGamer »

This game is (maybe was ... by the time someone reads this) available on Xbox Game Pass. I was intrigued by the trailer as the facility to set your time forward and back allows the potential for some interesting challenges.

The story is poignant but not overdone and it's shown in a lovely style.

However, I found the meat of the game to be just a little lacking - I was reminded a little of pixel hunt games in that you were no so much using the time setting ability to change puzzles as you were using it to find the correct point in a cycle to progress your character.

A polished game and the abstract nature allowed for some fun play area's but ultimately the concept wasn't iterated enough to provide sufficient substance for me.
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Alex79
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Re: 432: The Gardens Between

Post by Alex79 »

I discovered this game via David Turner on the TCGS podcast, and after hearing how much he enthused about it I bought it as soon as it came to the PS4.

Initially, I was very impressed. It looked lovely, had a nice soundtrack and the time shifting mechanic was genuinely interesting. After a few levels, however, I grew quickly bored of the game which seemed more like an exercise in tedium than anything actually resembling fun. I resigned myself to the possibility that we'd got another Future Unfolding on our hands and put it to one side.

Then I noticed last week it was available for mobile, so thought I'd give it another try. Perhaps it would be better, played late in to the night with my headphones in. Well, I at least made it through the game this time, but ultimately I found it a dull, repetitive and tiresome experience. There were a couple of really smart puzzles - I particularly enjoyed the Walkman one, but overall I really can't say I liked this game at all, and the ending I felt really tried to illicit an emotional response that the game just hadn't earned.

I'm conscious that he's probably sat on the panel listening to this right now, so I'd just like to add that over the years Dave has recommended some absolute gems, some of my favorite games of all time, it's just that this wasn't one of them..! :lol:

THREE WORD REVIEW: Play Braid instead.
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Toon Scottoon
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Re: 432: The Gardens Between

Post by Toon Scottoon »

The thing that impresses me most about The Gardens Between is the way it’s stuck with me despite my having not played it since it first came to Switch in 2018. I finished it in two sittings, but there are flourishes in this game that I can still recall after spending hundreds of hours in other virtual worlds.

A lot of this comes by way of sound effects. The chime noise that issues when you hit one of the action boxes and the assembling and disassembling sound the world makes felt distinct, familiar, and fresh all at once. I adore them.

If I were to criticize the game I’d have to invoke a comment Leon Cox made back on Cane and Rinse issue 4 about the grip mechanic in Shadow of the Colossus. He said, “Holding R1 is not a game” and although I happen to like that mechanic; shortish, meditative semi-puzzlers like The Gardens Between and ABZU do make me ask a similar question about whether when I am experiencing them I’m actually at play. It’s a lot of just pointing the analog stick in one direction, which does give the player the chance to drink in the majestic visual assemblage The Garden Between offers.

One part game, one part virtual sculpture park, The Gardens Between is a text I happily remember, but which has not pulled me back into position to enjoy it again.

Three Word Review - Rewinds to reveal
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Pconpi
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Re: Our next podcast recording (16.8.20) - 432: The Gardens Between

Post by Pconpi »

My primary enjoyment of this game came from being able to play it with my wife. It ticked the boxes of being puzzle based and having basic controls. We enjoyed the three nights it took us to complete this game. My wife would take the controls and we would brainstorm the solutions together. Any time we can complete a game together it is a winner in my book.

None of the puzzles were very challenging but all were fun to complete and the developers kept evolving the mechanic enough to stay fresh. Still, I would have liked a few more that challenged us. The story left me wanting a bit more. I kept waiting for some more development or turns but it stayed safe and linear exploring nostalgia and friendship. It all worked as a package, but wasn’t as elite as some other story lines in indie games.

A relaxing experience that I enjoyed with my wife.
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