The Gardens Between
Imagine playing with a very beautifully illustrated and intricate pop-up book. That is about as good a description I can give you for what The Gardens Between is. You can close and open the page to make things move backwards and forwards. But seeing as this is a digital pop-up book we can add some other mechanics too such as using lanterns to clear fog which would have otherwise been blocking your way. We can spin a dial to mess with the chronological order of other things independent of us….and just in general we can manipulate time to solve puzzles and uncover a fully relaxing and heartwarming story of two friends who love each other.
– Real player with 7.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Emotional Surreal Games.
The first time I loaded The Gardens Between and saw the title screen, I knew I was in for something special. I was reminded immediately of the initial screen for “Braid” a game that I constantly referred back to for The Gardens Between. And like “Braid”, The Gardens Between is a beautiful puzzle game that often uses time as a mechanic and rewards patience, interest and pondering of the tales we tell ourselves of our rose-tinted youth.
The Gardens Between is a universal story then, all told without a script, dialogue or any written words whatsoever. As you journey with our young friends, Arina and Frendt, you get a sense of their personality and their enduring friendship and moments together, through objects that make up the levels and the snippets of moments they share when each is completed.
– Real player with 6.5 hrs in game
Flaws in the People We Love
This game is deep and rather sad once you put a meaning to what’s going on. I did find out some choices are open to us, while others are not. Sadly, there doesn’t seem to be a happy ending, despite the uplifting music. At least I didn’t find it. Kind of sad, makes you think about what really matters in life and handling the choices we make. I hope there was a happy ending after the game as some of the things she said made me think it was possible.
– Real player with 0.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best Emotional Indie Games.
Hi, i played the game & I gotta say I was moved by the story. Never do I feel emotion for a fictional character but in this one I had tears in my eyes & by the end I wanted to go back & make things right.
Screw the Mountain.
Please make a sequel to this. I know its only one person asking for it but I want to see this sad but beautiful story get a happy ending.
P.S. The voice actress on point. Plz bring her back.
– Real player with 0.5 hrs in game
Sword and Space
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Game operations: The mouse can take walk and talk, and the keyboard W A S D or ↑ ↓ ← → control direction, space and enter control OK key,too. Press “OK” for a second will be fast forward the plot.
SORRY， Only win7 can play this game.Thanks for AngelineFletcher’s correction.
Read More: Best Emotional Dynamic Narration Games.
Dab on Darkness!
Having now topped in playtime over the previous title, Sakuya Izayoi Gives You Advice and Dabs, one may question how could the developer possibly improve upon their work which could already be considered humanity’s magnum opus. I wondered that myself prior to partaking, and so I had to begin my journey of a thousand hours. And truly, with this title we have added depth of plot, auditory masterpiece, and achievements for a sense of reward even beyond the already vast landscape that is Dab on Darkness. At every step we are offered more than anything before and honestly even though I expected perfection, what was accomplished here goes even further beyond. Perhaps one needed at least this amount of time to truly experience their previous work, but even now with this amount of playtime for this, what could be classified as beyond even a divine testament, is quite possibly not enough to explore the complex myriad of concepts and ideas being put forth here. This can’t be considered a work of mere humanity. It goes beyond our realm of existence entirely, dwarfing even whatever gods may exist. A gift to us mortals to be sure, however I fear that even expressing my utmost appreciation of this enigma would be a fundamentally egregious act of complete and utter disrespect as using humanity’s slipshod excuse of a form of communication could never hope to express even an infinitesimally small fraction of this glory. I am humbled to think what awaits us in the future from this developer.
– Real player with 1305.0 hrs in game
First of all I would like to say that this review is entirely genuine, and isn’t one of those dumb “ironic” reviews that you see on games like this.
Okay, now that that’s out of the way…
This Visual Novel is great, and the people who made this are really good at this.
I don’t review very many things, so I don’t have the same way with words that some people have, but I just knew I had to review this.
Thank you guys for making this game.
I will be purchasing all games made by this developer as soon as they are released from here on out.
– Real player with 0.9 hrs in game
Sakuya Izayoi Gives You Advice And Dabs
Now one may be wondering how I could be reviewing this after 1175 hours of playtime. I realize this is simply not enough to fully appreciate this masterpiece, but at the very least it is now my most played game on steam. This is the least one can do to truly have delved deep enough into this game, to experience all it has to offer, to savor every last drop of this ambrosia. To say it was soul-changing is an insult, and is woefully inadequate in describing the magnificence of what can no longer be described as a mere game. My act of even attempting to use such inaccurate and insufficient terms to convey this unparalleled brilliance is wholly unacceptable and utterly blasphemous. This is easily humanity’s magnum opus.
– Real player with 1302.2 hrs in game
This game has undoubtedly changed my life for the better.
A few months ago I was struck by the loss of my grandma whom I loved very much. She used take me down to the park near where I lived and watch me play. We always used to get ice cream right after too, our favorite flavor was sweet strawberry. As someone who has dealt with loss in the past I would assume this would be something I could get over easily. I was proved wrong
My mental and physical health was slowly deteriorating as I was mourning the loss of my grandma, my family tried to help me but their efforts where deemed futile. I was lost, no where to run to, nowhere to speak out, so out of desperation, I looked to the one person I could trust. The one that would always be there for me. The one who believes in me…
– Real player with 69.1 hrs in game
Thistledown: A Tragedy of Blood
It’s an imaginative novel that you get to maneuver your way through, exploring a beautiful world and unique lore. A great interactive story you can experience in one or two sittings. It’s surprisingly dense with lore and narrative world building and I really liked some of the emotional beats the game managed to hit. Really liked the music as well.
– Real player with 2.4 hrs in game
it’s a very good and fun game, the platforming is very nice, and I love how the character evolves. Her journey is incredible, and as the player, I felt a connection to the character, but also, a connection, as more than just a player, as if I wish I could be an active observer, instead of a passive one, it is a beautiful game, as is 100% worth a buy seeing as the price is very manageable, and it is such a good game (so far).
– Real player with 1.7 hrs in game
Before I Forget
Goddamn. It’s been a while since a game made me cry. Before I Forget managed to pull that off. I guess it’s personal on some level. I have lost a dear family member to Alzheimers and I work security in a hospital, so I encounter many patients with dementia.
As a game, it’s not all that much. It’s barely even a walking simulator. As an hour long experience, I totally recommend it for the price point! It carries it self very gracefully and portrays the subject matter in a painfully beautiful way. If you have any interest in the subject matter, there are basically no better ways to spend an hour and five euros than playing this game.
– Real player with 5.1 hrs in game
Short, but worthwhile experience.
Sad with moments of joy.
A very deeply touching game for me, having watched several family members over the decades affected by Alzheimers or Dementia, wondering what they were seeing, feeling, remembering, forgetting.
The voice acting was so good.
The narrative was so good.
The way the game threw you from one location and memory to another was a bit jarring and confusing, but that was the point.
The way the rooms became colorized and revealed details was clever and stylish.
– Real player with 2.3 hrs in game
The Psychiatrist: Major Depression
I was ridiculously underwhelmed with this game. I honestly though there would be more to it. Based on the Steam page what I expected was a choice based game where you diagnose patients with a mental disorder and you work as “the psychiatrist” to remedy the patient. The commercials and synopsis of the game give off the impression that you would be able to choose how to talk to the patient and the way you talk to the patient would affect the outcome. This game ended up being a summary of one session. You get no choices and everything is predetermined. If the route that this game wanted to take was to portray a personal story through game format, the game should have definitely been more than one session long. Everything about this game feels rushed, in reality no one would open up that quickly to a psychiatrist, no matter how many they’ve been to. This game gives off the idea that someone can be diagnosed and treated in one session which is not realistic. At the very least if “the psychiatrist” was so great that she could diagnose and treat patients in one session there should’ve been more patients with different lives and different scenarios. This game feels unfinished and is definitely not worth the money. I honestly just feel scammed and pissed off after playing this.
– Real player with 0.3 hrs in game
The gameplay consists only of clicking one big button and reading few pages of text: no choice, no intrigue + it lasts about 5-15 minutes. I’ve been waiting for this game but it’s disappointed me unfortunately.
– Real player with 0.3 hrs in game
There The Light
I can see this being one of those games that polarizes people - you’re either the type of person who likes this kind of game or you’re not. And if you’re not, you’re probably really going to dislike it.
Fortunately, I’m in the former category. I loved the “vibe” of this game. But more than that, I loved the feeling I experienced playing it. I come from the “walking simulator”/exploration game camp. I love games where I can explore, at my own pace, a place that has a lot to see and experience. I also like puzzles to an extent, and the puzzles in this were either simple (but somewhat meditative) or somewhat annoying (the circular ones). I didn’t struggle too long with any of them, but I enjoyed some more than others, even if they weren’t difficult. It felt like the point of the game wasn’t the puzzles but more the experience as a whole.
– Real player with 3.4 hrs in game
There The Light takes the player on a mystical journey through the abandoned ruins of a long lost civilization. The mystery of who these people were and what caused them to leave this world remains unsolved even after the end of the game, although there are hints indicating what actually happened. At the same time, the game leaves a lot of space for personal interpretation or various speculations, the story being conveyed solely through the numerous inscriptions and drawings that one can find on the walls of the surrounding temples. One thing is certain though: this advanced civilization left behind a series of puzzles and enigmatic mechanisms.
– Real player with 1.7 hrs in game
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
Free for everyone at the time of review.
Hardware: Win 10x64, 3570k mildly OC, GTX 1070, 16 GB, SSD.
Super laggy on my system; took me a full 30 minutes to complete a game advertised as 5-10 minutes. I see the system specs state “Windows 7”; I’m guessing this is either a Win 10 issue (some games lag badly in 8 / 10 that run fine in 7) or possibly the 10xx series video card.
I recommend taking a very brief glance at the videos before playing to see how fast the game is supposed to move. If the game is going to lag for you, it will start at the opening credits, which take so long to change screens (tapping an arrow key helps) that it feels like the game is locked up. Don’t press ESC; that instantly closes the game.
– Real player with 0.5 hrs in game
‘The hardest tumble a man can make is to fall over his own bluff’' - Ambrose Bierce
James Cox has adapted, as part of his ‘100 games in 5 years’ project, the timeless classic short story titled An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge written by Ambrose Bierce in 1890. It has seen many variations since its inception ranging from short story to full novel inspirations, radio screenplays including a Twilight Zone broadcast, TV drama/movies and even music videos including Bon Jovi’s song Dyin' ain’t much of a livin'.
– Real player with 0.1 hrs in game