Manifold Garden

 PC
Manifold Garden Image
Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 58 Ratings

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  • Summary: Manifold Garden is a game that reimagines physics and space. Explore a world of beautiful Escher-esque architecture where the laws of physics are different. Geometry repeats infinitely in every direction and falling down leads you back to where you started. Manipulate gravity to change yourManifold Garden is a game that reimagines physics and space. Explore a world of beautiful Escher-esque architecture where the laws of physics are different. Geometry repeats infinitely in every direction and falling down leads you back to where you started. Manipulate gravity to change your perspective and see the world in new ways. Master the rules of the universe and restore a barren world with vegetation and life. … Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 19
  3. Negative: 0 out of 19
  1. GameGrin
    Oct 24, 2019
    100
    I have never encountered a more beautiful, entrancing and sublime gaming experience.
  2. GameSpot
    Oct 29, 2019
    90
    As I stood in the impossible world of the Manifold Garden, I felt tested and worthy. Its puzzles are incredibly satisfying and offer a very clever blend of step-by-step knowledge-building with increasingly challenging solutions. The environments are awe-inspiring in their endless repetition, but repetition isn't a trait reflected in the game's challenges. There is always something new, or a new way to look at something old, as you traverse through the infinite horizon. Manifold Garden is a feast for the eyes and the mind, so long as you can wrap both around what it has to offer.
  3. Gamer.no
    Oct 30, 2020
    90
    Manifold Garden offers an unusual gaming experience, with a good set of puzzle challenges surrounding its incredible impossible architectural universe.
  4. 3DJuegos
    Oct 25, 2019
    85
    A brilliant exploration and puzzle adventure that shines for its minimalist but amazing audiovisuals.
  5. Hey Poor Player
    Oct 1, 2021
    80
    Manifold Garden is a serotonin-inducing triumph of a puzzle game that will captivate anyone who loves abstract aesthetics. Every single frame of this game is a screenshot, and every puzzle one that challenges the brain to think of the world in a more incorporeal manner. If M.C. Escher is your favorite MC, Manifold Garden is an absolute must-play, and I cannot envision a better platform for this geometric garden than PC.
  6. DarkStation
    Nov 14, 2019
    80
    I can absolutely recommend the game, but for all the good things it does, one which would be even stronger if you weren't taken out of the experience a little too often. I wanted to achieve true transcendence but the limitations the game places on you too often stop it from reaching its full potential. I have a feeling you’ll still want to experience it, though, and don’t be surprised if you make everyone around you do the same.
  7. Vandal
    Oct 23, 2019
    75
    Manifold Garden is very original, and not only gameplay-wise but also when it comes to its art and arquitectural design. However, we feel like its design needs some work to bring it up there with the greatest puzzle games.

See all 22 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 12
  3. Negative: 4 out of 12
  1. BunnyChuChu
    Feb 3, 2020
    10
    Manifold Garden is an experience unlike any other. Where Anti-Chamber bends the rules of space and logic for mind-bending puzzles, ManifoldManifold Garden is an experience unlike any other. Where Anti-Chamber bends the rules of space and logic for mind-bending puzzles, Manifold Garden's focus is on beauty, pacing, and your experience... and what an experience it is. A complete experience with compression and release, dread and beauty, then capitalized upon with fantastic music and a satisfying end. That this game's end is so satisfying and significant is amazing since there are no characters, story, or narrative. Just colors and shapes in a void.… Expand
  2. Frank22
    Nov 3, 2020
    10
    This game has a concept so different to, basically, everything I've ever played. The aesthetic is amazing, and kinda reminds me to anotherThis game has a concept so different to, basically, everything I've ever played. The aesthetic is amazing, and kinda reminds me to another puzzle game, Antichamber, so I started playing thinking it would be something similar to that game. To my surprise, as I said, is a whole different thing. The game immerses you into this universe in which every piece of it's intricate architecture is repeated infinitely, and its main big mechanic is that gravity can be changed depending on the pov of the player. There's no up or down.

    The puzzles can be kinda overwhelming, especially at first. That's because, unlike the typical linear puzzle games that have very marked limits, you can go ANYWHERE in the map IN EVERY direction possible, so you need to find where to go and you will maybe get lost until you realize what to do. And as ive seen in youtube videos, there's more than one way to solve a puzzle which is a cool thing.
    Another aspect I really liked is the music, it's beautiful and goes hand to hand with the aesthetics.

    If I had to pick something I didn't like too much, it's the puzzles involving those giant colored blocks. they doesn't make you feel you are in control of them, and is very tiresome to wait till you finally stack them well. The other puzzle mechanics (the trees, the cubes, water, non euclidean geometry, etc) are really good.

    I feel this review is kinda rushed but I recommend the game to everyone that likes to discover new experiences and ways to play.    … Expand
  4. jackmott
    Oct 23, 2019
    10
    A beautiful and unique game. You explore Escher-like worlds that defy logic. Fall through crazy architecture infinitely, and solve puzzlesA beautiful and unique game. You explore Escher-like worlds that defy logic. Fall through crazy architecture infinitely, and solve puzzles by shifting gravity. Levels that loop back on themselves and into other levels. Very unique, great atmosphere. Some puzzles are a bit tough but overall it isn't a punishing game.… Expand
  5. Pimplup
    Dec 14, 2021
    9
    A beautiful game. The puzzles are easier than a game like The Witness, but they still make you think.

    I'm halfway through playing and am    A beautiful game. The puzzles are easier than a game like The Witness, but they still make you think.

    I'm halfway through playing and am having a blast.    … Expand
  6. podzorama
    Nov 7, 2019
    8
    Thank you William.
    We live in a world where we have to quantify an artistic vision and give it marks out of ten which in this instance is    Thank you William.
    We live in a world where we have to quantify an artistic vision and give it marks out of ten which in this instance is totally unfair. If you are any way interested at all in a game that challenges how we perceive our four dimensional space time continuum on a two dimensional screen, then this is the one for you.
    This is however also a puzzle game, and it is in this that I am marking it an 8/10.
    Like Manifold Garden itself this is a game of multiple planes:
    There are some beautiful eureka moments that is characteristic of all excellent puzzle games, but on the flip side, some puzzles leave a sense of having to grind out a solution. There is a freedom to explore any surface, and to fall freely through "space" without fear of death, and to arrive back where you started from, but on the flip side the infinite regression of the World within Manifold Gardens is also restrictive and repetitive. There is a magical beautiful side to the game, but on the flip side it is all hard edges and loneliness. At its best, the game is uplifting rewarding and visually stunning, at its worst it's a puzzle game in search of a puzzle.
    Ultimately, you have to bow in deep respect and awe at the completeness of this immersive complex World, to drink in its majesty and get lost in its mysteries.
    Highly recommended.    … Expand
  7. Wiebe
    Feb 26, 2020
    4
    It has one good idea around its gravity and mirror world, but it is not enough to make this a good enjoyable puzzle game, there should haveIt has one good idea around its gravity and mirror world, but it is not enough to make this a good enjoyable puzzle game, there should have been more to draw you in… Expand
  8. all_i_need
    Dec 18, 2020
    0
    Meh story, weak animations, it's just whatever. Wouldn't recommend in all honesty. But that's just me and i like quality.

See all 12 User Reviews

Awards & Rankings

26
#26 Best PC Game of 2020

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