I only found this to be okay, if I'm honest. Price/length is something of an issue psychologically but only because the game itself isn't as strong as games with a similar appeal; I think back to playing Gorogoa last year which was a similar 1-2 hour puzzle/adventure experience but vastly more satisfying, not to mention something like Monument Valley which is probably even closer in style to Gardens Between. Those have more satisfying narratives (Gardens Between basically doesn't have one, but pretends it does, if that makes sense- either give it more welly, or jettison it entirely and make a pure puzzle game!), and are more consistent in their rulesets; the time manipulation in Gardens Between works in service of what the developers want a puzzle to be, rather than what previous evidence of gameplay would suggest:
An early puzzle involves manipulating time back and forth to use a saw. However, in other levels, rewinding time simply reverses the damage that previous actions in the level have caused. While this isn't crucial, instances like this m ake parts of teh game simply feel like "trial and error" rather than building on a learned ruleset, which should be key to a puzzle game.
My experience was also admittedly soured by the game bugging out on me twice in different parts of the final level, causing me to have to restart it - not exactly sending hours of work down the drain with something this short, but frustrating at "end game" point.
The production values are lovely (save the baffling decision to require you to "quit" each level when you complete it - why not just automatically fade out to the menu? It's not like you can do anything else) and it's hardly terrible, but it's not as enjoyable as I'd hoped it would be.
Sometimes a game just "clicks" and i had this feeling from the beginning playing The Gardens Between. I enjoyed it a lot and i find it quite memorable for various reasons. It's imaginative in gameplay and lovely in presentation (art style, soundtrack, atmosphere) and story. I see myself replaying this, once i forget some of the puzzle solutions, to pick up more of the finer details scattered around each level. I even think this will find a spot in my GOTY list. I'm glad i played it.
Well having finished it, I'm quite disappointed with it. It's just too short for the asking price. The presentation is good but the puzzles are too light and there isn't much different combinations to think of. The gameplay is also a bit too passive with mainly only you pressing forward most of the time. There's some hints of something greater here, with plays on perspective and such, a bit like in Gorogoa but we are far from this masterpiece here.
On the 16th of June, a PS5 version will be released. It seems the developer spent quite a bit of time on it with haptic feedback and improved visuals. It will be free for those who own the PS4 version. Seems like the ideal time to replay the game as i intended four years ago judging by my previous post in this thread :)