Beautiful Design at its finest

The gardens between is a gorgeous and inventive puzzle game with clever time bending mechanics. Only ten or so levels in and even though it hasn’t become very difficult yet every time a puzzle comes together I get the biggest smile and find myself repeating each time “okay this game is really cool.” Just realizing the solution then watching the pieces fall into place is so satisfying and that satisfaction is only bolstered by the lovely animations and an incredibly strong art direction (seriously in love with this art style!) Very thoughtful level design; beautiful, winding mountains covered with household objects that tower over you as you ascend the summit, manipulating time to position falling objects or jumping boxes, orchestrating a “right place right time” flow of events. All of it services a very satisfying gameplay loop and a clear sense of place; stooped in nostalgia and our relationships with the passage of time. Besides some minor hitching on level start-up and that it makes my iPad (6th gen) really hot pretty quickly, the game runs well and the touch controls are good and simple; not a bunch of different inputs and not finicky in any way. I could go on about how great the sound design and music are (which they really really are superb) and how much I like the subtle, wordless storytelling/atmosphere building, but I’ll stop here and heavily implore you buy this game and experience it for yourself.

Most creative and clever game

I don’t download games a lot and when I do they are puzzle games like Room, House of DaVinci, Machinarium, Botanicula, Samarost. Many years ago I played Myst series and even very old school: The Manhole. I love those games and play them over again because there are just a few well-made puzzle games. Others are disappointing. The Gardens in Between is absolutely unique and possibly the most creative puzzle game I’ve played in my 57 years. Gameplay involves what I considered memory islands and involve gathering light into a lantern, time shifting, jumping boxes, fog bridges, and using electricity and old technology (like printing) in creative ways. There is a wholesome bond between two friends that you see in memories. I had a tear or two at the end. One thing about gameplay that I found was that I didn’t get immersed for hours when playing. I would complete an island and then I’d typically stop and play another day. I think this was because the goal each time was sort of similar (get a lighted lantern to the top). But it was quite an interesting diversion and that is basically the biggest thing you want from a game app. Well done! I look forward to what you create later on.

Excellent for Puzzlers and Art Fanatics

An immersive experience first, and a puzzle game second. Amazing and worth it. Art: 10 / 10 Puzzles: 8 / 10 Music: 9 / 10 Controls: 10 / 10 Overall: 5 Stars Full Review I never review games, but this one was just too great to stay quiet about! I played this on my iPad Pro 11” (with comfortable headphones) and could not be happier with the overall gameplay experience. TGB’s colorful art style, paired with its atmospheric sound design and minimal touch controls, creates an immersive experience that’s perfect for the mobile platform. Everything looks, feels, and sounds just right on the iPad. The game’s puzzles and level-design are also quite good. While I can’t say that any of the puzzles completely blew my mind, TGB certainly offers its fair share of twists and challenges in about 20 levels. If you’re an extreme puzzle-gamer, you probably won’t find yourself getting stuck very often, but chances are you’ll still have a great time discovering the game’s progressively complex mechanics. All in all, if you love art, puzzles, and immersive experiences, this is the game for you. The Gardens Between isn’t an impossible puzzle game that you would play to push your brain muscles to their breaking point, but it is a stimulating and imaginative experience that’s great for winding down at the end of a long day. For $5, it’s an absolute steal. Buy this game.

Fun, pretty, but slow

I’m halfway through the game and it’s just beautiful. I understand the cost for the graphics and sound/music alone but I’m beginning to regret spending $5 on this and not a different app... The puzzles are getting harder now but it’s annoying how SLOW everything moves. There are times when you have to repeat the same process over and over going back and forth in time and while the graphics and scenery are pretty to look at, I just want the kids to hurry up. Maybe there should be a speed setting for that. Also when you finally finish a level it takes too long to see the scene and light up the constellation and all I’m left wanting to do is get a move on to the next puzzle. I get it. It’s a story too not just puzzles and it’s like monument valley with the little animations after you complete a level but monument valleys are much quicker or more engaging I guess. I’m gonna finish it regardless but I wrote this hoping the developers will see it and maybe consider making an update with an option to speed things up a little.

It was a fun game but it is becoming irritating

It’s a very beautiful game. It would be better if there were instructions for each puzzle. Or have a help button when you get stuck. I can’t get past the 3rd puzzle. The ball of light drops out of the lamp into the water. When I pass the lamp, there is no way to get the ball of light because it’s in the water. How to get the ball of light when I cross the bridge? Where to get the ball of light when the 2 kids cross the bridge? I fly the box all around when I get the 2 kids across the bridge. It not make sense to where to get the ball of light from the other side? I figured it out. You have to fly the box under the rug, so that the rug lifts up. Have the boy touch the hanging box. So that the flower in the water comes around the island. Any way very cool.

Beautiful Art and Concept

The introductory level for this game is very helpful because although navigation is simple, it isn’t standard. You’re basically moving forward backward through time with the two friends who are your characters taking on one specific (and standard throughout the game) task each to accomplish larger goals by working together. This game plays well for adult puzzlers, and I’m sure that kids would benefit from the loosely told story about friendship and how it affects us. It’s challenging without being frustrating, and it can be played in one night or you can take your time strolling through it. The design is both beautiful and clean with immersive sound and environments. It’s one of the better apps I’ve downloaded.

Wow!

Every once in a great while a game comes along that just wows me! I’m super picky about games. I really enjoyed Myst, Riven, the Room series, and both of the House of DiVinci games. And I LOVED this one! The Gardens Between have the kind of graphics that are simple and yet detailed. The color scheme is perfect. I get cheered up every time I play it. The puzzles are extremely unique and slightly challenging but not too difficult. I love the whole time control aspect of the game. The only criticism I have is that the game is kinda short. I am strongly encouraging the app developers to create a sequel to this amazing game and perhaps make it a bit longer. Thanks for one of my favorite games ever. Easily worth the price I paid.

Beautiful but confusing

The games graphics are just absolutely gorgeous; some of the best I have seen. However, the games navigation and puzzles in regards to what you need to do are confusing. Look, I understand this is a puzzle-play navigation game, but many of the puzzles make very little to no sense at all. Lumino-City and Monument-2 puzzle games make sense in regards to what you need to accomplish. This game makes zero sense in regards to puzzles. I think that the creators of this game would attract and retain more players if the purpose and direction of the game made some sense. How about providing some tips on what you as the player are supposed to be doing in the game, particularly in the beginning. When I can not figure out even how to start playing a game, what I end up doing is just deleting the app altogether and then recommend others to do the same.

Australia punches far above its weight when it comes to apps, with almost half of Apple's best apps for the year coming from Down Under.

The Australian Sat Dec 29 2018

Minecraft Earth takes the popular brick-building game to the real world thanks to augmented reality technology.

AppAdvice Fri Jan 29 2021

Just yesterday, Apple released their App Store Best of 2020 and Top Mobile Games list which we saw Genshin Impact winning the best iPhone...

TechNave Tue Dec 29 2020