The Gardens Between

 Switch
The Gardens Between Image
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 6 Ratings

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  • Summary: Best friends Arina and Frendt delve 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: the memories they’ve built, what must be let go, andBest friends Arina and Frendt delve 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: the memories they’ve built, what must be let go, and what should never be left behind. Lost in a mysterious realm where cause and effect are malleable, the friends find that time flows in all directions. Manipulate time to solve puzzles and reach the apex of each isle. Follow the duo as they unpack and explore their significant moments spent together, lighting up constellations and illuminating threads of a bittersweet narrative. … Expand

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The Gardens Between - Official Nintendo Switch Trailer
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. GamingTrend
    Sep 19, 2018
    95
    The Gardens Between is a masterpiece of minimalist storytelling, weaving a wordless tale of friendship and time. By drawing upon a few, nearly-universal childhood events, it allows the player to fill in the story with their own emotions and memories, creating a shockingly moving, personal experience. Featuring a gorgeous, surrealist style and challenging but fair puzzles, this is a must-have title for anyone who enjoys puzzle games.
  2. NintendoWorldReport
    Sep 19, 2018
    90
    The Gardens Between is one of the bigger surprises I've played on Nintendo Switch. The title proved to be a smartly designed puzzler that anyone quickly can understand. Solutions are found by using logic in tandem with the rules of the world. The flow of time plays a major role in all of this and a keen eye can help you all the way through. The only error I can see here is that The Gardens Between ends on a weird note. This is something that could've been expanded upon, but the developers left us guessing. The complaint is rather minor in the grand scheme of it all as the experience is one that shouldn't be missed.
  3. Games Master UK
    Oct 4, 2018
    82
    A nostalgic adventure that will leave you sighing wistfully more than growling at brain-teasing puzzles. [Nov 2018, p.85]
    All this publication's reviews
  4. Nintendo Life
    Sep 19, 2018
    80
    Relaxing as it is taxing, The Gardens Between offers a poignant coalescence of charming visuals, a relaxing soundtrack and a bittersweet story. The simplicity of its control scheme hides an incredibly clever and frighteningly intricate puzzle formula that sees you rewinding and playing time like an omnipresent director. Its unique setup makes it one of the most unusual puzzlers on Nintendo Switch, and we can’t wait to see what Australian indie studio The Voxel Agents does next.
  5. Vooks
    Sep 19, 2018
    80
    The Voxel Agents have made a really touching game with The Gardens Between. Without any words you get a glimpse into a childhood friendship that may hit close to home, remembering friendships from your own childhood. If the narrative doesn’t interest you so much, there just so happens to be a fun puzzle game that allows you to mess with time in a non-catastrophic way.
  6. Nintenderos
    Sep 20, 2018
    71
    Exceptionally beautiful, with an original proposal that not only seeks to move forward or backward in time, but also to pause the story. It's a pity that having so much potential seems to have stayed like the first chapter of an unfinished game.
  7. Gameblog.fr
    Sep 19, 2018
    60
    The Garden is a very beautiful and moving game that lacks some fresh ideas after a few minutes of the game. Its mechanics are cool but it's too bad it lacks challenge and never tries to renew its formula during the entire adventure...which is only 3 hours long.

See all 18 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. kokernutz
    Sep 23, 2018
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Perfect length for me - under 3 hours. Good ramping of difficulty - mostly easy with some more difficult puzzles scattered throughout. Good mood/atmosphere. Wonderfully detailed levels. Great music. For some reason that level towards the end with the jacket and the big drain really messed with my head on an emotional level.… Expand
  2. 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    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

Trailers

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Awards & Rankings

72
#72 Best Switch Game of 2018
62
#62 Most Shared Switch Game of 2018

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