garden - room escape game ‪-‬ 4+

I’m a big fan of this developer. The first game, Rime, really grabbed me with its grimy aesthetic and clever puzzles. While overall I still think that Rine had better puzzles, and the solutions in this entry are often a little obscure (many times there wasn’t enough visual contrast to tell what items were interactable), I still think this entry with worth playing. A suggestion to the dev’s: I think that introducing some bright colors on occasion for interactable objects would improve the experience. I understand that you have a very clear aesthetic, and that’s awesome, it’s my favorite part of these games. But I think that finding a way to add a splash of color on some tools might help avoid frustrations of overlooking screens. For instance, the glint on the mirror shard was very helpful in detecting it’s presence. Overall I was happy with this one, and I’m excited to see the next entry!

You've got a knack for the element of these games that so often gets tossed out once minigames and puzzles take over: the satisfying gameplay of finding, interacting, and using items with the environment in a way that is challenging but still intuitive. I just wrote a review for Haiku Games in which I mentioned that this is their weakest element. They should hire you as a game designer. I can't wait to see what you come up with next, you've got great instincts in this that I'd love to emulate as a wannabe future point and click adventure maker. Awesome work, solid job.

(And hey, if you need an artist or writer or beta tester, I'm Candlelight Illustrations on Facebook. Been a while since I did 3d modeling, and my coding know-how is basic, but I'd love to be able to help on a project like this. Learn the ins and outs so I can someday put my ideas out there.)

Other game devs please take notice…this game is challenging but solvable if you just stop, breathe, and think about what you have and need to do next. It doesn’t have splashy graphics and convoluted plot lines and yet works so much better than those other bloated games in my opinion. It puts concept and gameplay front and center. I thoroughly enjoyed this and it left me wanting more. Bravo! Reminded me of the original “Myst” series of games, and gave my brain a good workout. Looking forward to your next foray!