643: Manifold Garden

[JaySevenZero]

Here's where you can contribute your thoughts and opinions for Manifold Garden for potential inclusion in the forthcoming podcast.

A friendly reminder that where the feedback for the podcast is concerned, we love it - but keeping it brief is appreciated. We do want to include a breadth of opinions where appropriate, but no-one wants a discussion podcast that’s mostly reading out essays. Better to save yourself time and cut to the chase if you can.

[moobaa]

I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, so I really appreciate puzzle games that are readable enough that I can figure them out without resorting to hints or guides. Manifold Garden manages that easily - it introduces new concepts and mechanisms in such a way that the solutions are somewhat apparent, but always rewarding.

But the mental contortions required to complete the game *without* placing a God Cube were insane.

[T-BirD]

Manifold Garden is a real visual stunner, but not in a way most people would usually associate with that sentence. It's architectural aesthetic (take it from an architect) and presentation is uniquely spectacular in gaming, and left me with my mouth hanging open in awe more than a few times.

It's also a pretty great game. In fact, I would describe it as an MC Escher kaleidoscope puzzle game with a gravity-flipping mechanic.
The challenges it throws at you can be tricky, but never feel unfair. There were a couple of times I was stuck, but either I had an "ah-HA!" moment eventually, or I just hadn't figured out where I was supposed to go. The game keeps throwing new mechanics at you even late into its 6 or so hour runtime, and everything is always clearly explained without ever using a single word. There's even a story, once again told without any words.

Impressive all around, and a shame that it's not officially VR enabled.

3 word review:
Fell for it.