The Gardens Between

The Gardens Between is a puzzle video game developed by Australian studio The Voxel Agents, released in September 2018 for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

The Gardens Between
Cover art for The Gardens Between, featuring the characters of Arina (left) and Frendt
Developer(s)The Voxel Agents
Publisher(s)The Voxel Agents
Director(s)Henrik Pettersson
Producer(s)Simon Joslin, Brooke Maggs
Designer(s)Henrik Pettersson, Josh Alan Bradbury, Simon Joslin
Programmer(s)Matt Clark, David Little
Artist(s)Jonathan Swanson, Jessica Brett
Writer(s)Brooke Maggs
Composer(s)Tim Shiel
EngineUnity
Platform(s)Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iOS
ReleaseWindows, macOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4
  • WW: 20 September 2018
Xbox One
  • WW: 29 November 2018
iOS
  • WW: 17 May 2019
Genre(s)Puzzle
Mode(s)Single player

Plot

The game centers around teenagers Arina and Frendt, a girl and boy who live next door to each other and have become close friends since Arina's family moved into the area. One rainy night, the two sneak out and hide in their treehouse, built on a small garden square next to both houses. In the midst of a rainstorm, they see a light sphere form in front of them, which suddenly causes the treehouse to fall into a vast dream ocean with small islands made up of their shared experiences. They sail between the islands in the treehouse to light each portal at the top, and finally to a central island and a large portal, together; as they progress, the weather of this dreamspace becomes overcast and then rainy.[1] Once lit, the islands all collapse into the ocean, leaving them in their treehouse. When the next morning comes Arina and Frendt are hugging each other, as Frendt's family is now moving out. The two say their final goodbyes as Frendt's family drives off.

The game consists of about twenty abstract levels, grouped into sets of two or three levels each, each influenced by memories of Arina and Frendt's friendship. Arina gains control of a magic lantern that is able to carry a sphere of light, which is needed to activate a portal to the next level, while Frendt has the ability to sound wind chimes that open or close flowers that provide the light for the lantern, as well as interfacing with a device that manipulates the flow of time for some objects. Obstacles in the environment include small cubes that jump about the level, but which can also carry Arina's lantern past obstacles, flowers that emit a black light that steals spheres of light that come close, and purple fog that is solid when the light is not present but becomes intangible when the light is close.

While the path to the portal at the top of each level is straight forward, the game is about manipulating the flow of time. The player does not directly move the characters but instead has their process move forward or backward in time, which will have the pair move forward or backward along the path. However, Arina and Frendt's interactions with the environment remain mutable with time. For example, the player may need to have Arina work forward in time to grab a sphere of light for the lantern, move time backward for her to place it on a jumping cube, and then continue to move forward pass a fog bridge to recollect the cube later. The player cannot move time forward or past a point where either Arina or Frendt cannot progress. Separately, Frendt's ability to interact with devices that control the flow of time for objects in the level may be needed to create paths previously blocked, bring falling light flowers into close proximity to Arina's paths, or similar motions.[1] Other solutions may require lateral thinking that recognizing how the various time stream manipulations can work.[2]

Once the player has completed a set of levels, they are presented with a short scene of Arina and Frendt involved in these activities, where a hidden jumping cube can be found using similar time manipulation controls. This completes a constellation, which once the final level is completed, merge into a final memory.

Development

The Gardens Between was developed by the Australia studio The Voxel Agents. Lead designer and animator Josh Alan Bradbury stated that the game was meant to be an allegory for how one looks back at childhood friends when they become older. Bradbury described how Arina and Frendt are not necessarily the most compatible friends - Arina is shown more adventurous and outgoing, while Frendt is shy and seeks intellectual pursuits - and as an adult may make little sense how they developed a friendship, but through the lens of their shared childhood memories, one is able to see how their friendship developed. The time manipulation mechanics was representative of trying to relive these childhood memories, running through them back and forth in order to recall them correctly.[3] In another interview, executive producer and level designer Simon Joslin revealed that the time manipulation mechanics started with the idea of turning the timeline interface of the movie Minority Report into a game. "The experience of using a timeline to review and inspect scenarios felt fascinating, and embryonic of intricate, quizzical experiences."[4]

The game's soundtrack was composed by Tim Shiel.

The game was released on Microsoft Windows, MacOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4 consoles on 20 September 2018[2], on Xbox One on 29 November 2018.[5], and for iOS devices on May 17, 2019[6].

Reception
Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
MetacriticNS: 79/100[7]
PC: 80/100[8]
PS4: 75/100[9]
XONE: 81/100[10]
Review scores
PublicationScore
GameSpot8/10[11]
TouchArcadeiOS: [12]

The Gardens Between received "mixed or average" reviews for PS4, and "generally favorable" reviews for PC and Switch, according to the review aggregator Metacritic.[8][7][9]

The Verge's Michael Moore considered how The Gardens Between presented a type of theoretical physics related to different points of view when discussing the potential of time travel, as what Arina and Frendt would witness would be drastically different from what the player witnesses or other potential perspectives in the game.[13]

The Gardens Between won the award for "Game of the Year" at the 2018 Australian Game Development Awards,[14] and was nominated for "Australian Developed Game of the Year" at the Australian Games Awards.[15] It was also nominated for "Gamer's Voice: Video Game" at the SXSW Gaming Awards,[16] and won the award for "Puzzle Game" at the 2019 Webby Awards, whereas its other nomination was for "Best Art Direction".[17][18] It was also nominated for "Best Audio/Visual Accomplishment" at the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards,[19] and won Apple Design Award for 2019.[20]

gollark: Entirely different how?
gollark: A while, I assume. They're less common in user-facing systems but there is a large need for them for backups and cold storage and whatever.
gollark: Plus worse write endurance.
gollark: SSDs are still 4x costlier per GB, though.
gollark: Or education in general, really, but particularly that case.

References
  1. Costello, Jay (19 September 2018). "Wot I Think: The Gardens Between". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  2. Campbell, Colin (19 September 2018). "The Gardens Between is a magical journey that's well worth your time". Polygon. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  3. Amini, Tina (29 September 2017). "This indie game about childhood friendships is so real it hurts". Mashable. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  4. Colubio, Raine (13 February 2020). "How The Gardens Between Was Inspired by The Minority Report". whatoplay. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  5. "The Gardens Between". Microsoft.com. 29 November 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  6. "The Gardens Between for iOS". Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  7. "The Gardens Between for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  8. "The Gardens Between for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  9. "The Gardens Between for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  10. "The Gardens Between for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  11. Brown, Peter (18 September 2018). "The Gardens Between Review - Dance Among The Stars". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  12. Mayhew, Lindsay (17 May 2019). "'The Gardens Between' Review – A Short Trip Through Fond Childhood Memories". TouchArcade. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  13. Moore, Michael (30 September 2018). "The Gardens Between is an unexpected lesson in theoretical physics". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  14. Hollingworth, David (25 October 2018). "Hollow Knight team named Studio of the Year at the Australian Game Development Awards". PC Gamer. Future plc. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  15. "Your 2018 Winners". Australian Games Awards. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  16. Trent, Logan (29 January 2019). "Announcing the 2019 SXSW Gamer's Voice Award Nominees!". South by Southwest. Archived from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  17. Liao, Shannon (23 April 2019). "Here are all the winners of the 2019 Webby Awards". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  18. "2019 Winners". The Webby Awards. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  19. "The winners of 2020". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  20. "Apple Design Awards celebrate best in class design for apps and games for 2019". Apple Newsroom. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
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