Manifold Garden

This game is well thought out and amazing. I really enjoyed it because it was a short puzzle game where the puzzles made it seem very hard and complex, but at the end it felt like you were overthinking it. That is the challenging part of it, since it felt like a new concept compared to other puzzle games. At the end of each puzzle (color section) you are shown a cool yet trippy illusion that feels a bit rewarding. My only complaint is that the shapes aren't too different than each other, but regardless it was really cool to look at. There are some valid complaints that I've seen in other reviews where the game feels like it had a lot more potential in terms of mechanics and honestly I agree, but for a cheap short puzzle game I don't find it a big deal breaker. If they did add more to the game I wouldn't complain, but the length of the game (about 3 hours give or take) felt nice. If the game was longer with more puzzles it would feel more tedious since there are very few mechanics. Especially if you are just looking for a short, fun puzzle game that you don't have to spend hours on finishing I would highly recommend giving it a try.

Beautiful game. Especially the ending. Mesmerizing "transcendence". Only about 3.5 hours of playtime, but I got it on sale, so it was definitely worth it.

TL;DR

Cons

• Sometimes it's really hard to find the spots where you have to do something next
  
• Performance is a little bit choppy (around 140fps with micro stutters) - this can cause some form of motion sickness when switching gravity (which you do constantly)
  
• Could make use of more music
  

Pros

• Trippy visuals but in a good way
  
• Modest visuals
  
• Partially beautiful
  
• Mostly decent to good puzzles
  
• Some really nice puzzle mechanics
  
• Every now and then it succeeds in letting you feel stupid :)
  
[*] A fairly unique way to move around. The main concept of this game is to change gravity, so you fall around more than you walk around. Additionally in many puzzles the areas exist multiple times and are connected to each other. This way you can fall for example towards the east side and arrive at the west side.

A fun puzzle game with some nice gravity- and reality-bending mechanics. The puzzles don't take the world's mechanics as far as it feels like they should, but it still remains a fun world to explore with a lot of visual excitement.

4/10

Great idea. But the as the game get bigger and bigger, it is more and more in need of some kind of signposting. Ended up wandering hopelessly around in circles over levels I'd already completed. I couldn't find the way onwards, even using a walkthrough.

Manifold Garden, created by William Chyr Studio, is not just a game, it’s an artistic masterpiece that challenges your perception of space and reality. Blending physics-defying puzzles with breathtaking visuals, it immerses you in a world where gravity is a suggestion and infinity is a playground.

The game’s premise is simple but profound: navigate a seemingly endless, Escher-like architectural landscape by solving puzzles that manipulate gravity and perspective. There’s no traditional narrative to guide you; instead, Manifold Garden relies on its environment to tell its story. It’s a world that feels alive yet abstract, a place that invites exploration and contemplation.

The core mechanic of gravity manipulation is as intuitive as it is mind-bending. At the press of a button, you can shift the direction of gravity, turning walls into floors and reorienting the entire world around you. This ability is key to solving the game’s intricate puzzles, which often require you to think several steps ahead and view problems from entirely new angles. The puzzles are challenging but fair, striking a delicate balance between complexity and accessibility.

Visually, Manifold Garden is stunning. Its stark, minimalist aesthetic combines clean lines, geometric patterns, and vibrant splashes of color to create environments that feel otherworldly yet grounded in logic. The infinite architecture, where structures repeat endlessly into the horizon, creates a sense of awe and disorientation, encouraging players to rethink their understanding of space.

The sound design and ambient music complement the visuals perfectly, enhancing the meditative quality of the game. The soundtrack ebbs and flows, providing a calming backdrop as you explore and solve puzzles.

One of the game’s most impressive achievements is how it fosters a sense of wonder. Every new area feels like a revelation, offering unique mechanics or visual twists that keep the experience fresh. The joy of discovery is at the heart of Manifold Garden, making it as much about the journey as it is about the destination.

If there’s a critique to be made, it’s that Manifold Garden might not appeal to those seeking a more narrative-driven or action-packed experience. Its focus on abstract puzzles and exploration means it’s best suited for players who enjoy cerebral challenges and atmospheric immersion.

Ultimately, Manifold Garden is a triumph of design and creativity. It’s a game that invites you to lose yourself in its infinite beauty, to think outside the boundaries of conventional logic, and to see the world in a new way. Whether you’re a fan of puzzle games or simply appreciate artistry in gaming, Manifold Garden is an unforgettable experience that lingers long after the final puzzle is solved.

Prepare to fall endlessly, and love every moment of it.

Short and sweet. The puzzles aren't so hard, but still kept me engaged simply by being beautiful. Finished in 3.5 hours, without looking for any of the secrets.

My favorite puzzle game to date! The puzzles are simple enough that the game doesn't become frustrating and you don't get stuck a lot, yet the gravity switches and the constant fractal design of the world in some non euclidean spaces makes it truly unique and fascinating experience to absolutely not miss. Can't recommend it more. It tops portal in my book in the casual puzzle genre.

Excellent game with an MC Escher and mandala aesthetic. It feel equal parts puzzle and artistic immersion.

The game is rather hands off allowing the player to discover its rules and solutions.

If you're looking for something relaxing while using your brain, this is it. Also, VR of this game would go crazy.

This is certainly a unique game. Gravity change and infinite symmetric world make a good combination. I loved it from the very beginning. If you like games like Portal, Antichamber, The Witness, this one is for you.

Relaxing but brain-bending puzzle game with some incredible infinite setpieces. Overall very satisfying. Your goal is vague but appears to be repairing the corruption in the garden by powering circuits, reactivating mechanisms, growing trees, and bringing spatial dimensions back into harmony.

I do wish there was another way to traverse the maps, (like maybe some kind of grappling or hover ability) as some of the bigger puzzles can become tedious to solve as a lot of specific movements are required, and this does significantly reduce my desire to replay the game for the final challenge achievement.

If you like geometric/spatial puzzle games you'll probably like this.

It's neat. I'm not really into puzzle games, but I tried this one because it seemed so strange and novel. Interesting mechanics and amazing sense of scale. I didn't get very far before giving up, but that has a lot more to do with my own taste than the quality of the game. Runs great on Steam Deck. If you like puzzle games or unique experiences, I think you'll enjoy this one.

I liked the puzzles, and the non-euclidean geometry made for a very interesting world to navigate. The music and sound design were both on point. Overall a very fun and engaging experience.

However, I did not appreciate the ending sequence. A simulated acid trip is not a good ending to a puzzle game. You are not Outer Wilds. You are not Journey. You have no story at all, so why are you trying to elicit an emotional response?

What a quantum non-Euclidean inverted gravity distorted spacetime collapsing waveform multiversal Hilbert space defying entangled tesseract fever dream...

Best physical puzzle game I think I have played. Mind bending with just the right amount of challenge. Incredible visuals. Highly recommended!

The visuals are stunning and the music is fabulous! My one complaint is the lack of a story or explanation of what is happening. Over all it's a great game and I had a blast playing it.

One of the most amazing games I have ever played, truly a masterpiece of game design. I loved Antichamber and thought I would never find another game like it, this is even better. Thank you William Chyr.

What is there not to like? Besides the occasional vertigo and the slight frustration with the first pentomino level, this has been a most exilarating experience, both visualy stunning and challenging (but not overly hard).

I completed the game in just over 9 hours. I strongly recommend this 3D puzzle game!

P.S.: I forgot to mention the excellent sound design, especially the music (very atmospheric!).

Stunning puzzle game. Lots of gravity puzzles in a stunning environment.

Incredibly beautiful. The artwork is stunning and the animations and such are just phenomenal. Puzzles are challenging but not impossible to figure out, great brain workout but with a chill vibe.

It's a cool concept, and the first half-hour or so was very promising. However, the puzzles never became challenging. Finding the cubes and corresponding sockets in unnecessarily large rooms took longer than actually solving the puzzles, which made the experience feel rather unrewarding. New mechanics are introduced throughout the game, but they are rarely used in conjunction with one another. That said, the game is visually stunning and holds up to the screenshots.

A fun and occasionally very frustrating puzzle game that plays like nothing else you've seen before. Roughly speaking, the gravity-bending indoor puzzles feel incredibly clever despite lackluster visuals, and the outdoor platforming puzzles look phenomenal but can have you tearing your hair out looking for that one little last cube you missed. It's an experience worth having.

Красивая, но очень абстрактная архитектура, приятные палитра цветов и звуковой дизайн (звуки падения, шагов...). Музыка неплохая, но не запоминающаяся.
Сюжет - его почти нет: Ни одного персонажа с которым можно поговорить, ни одного противника, ни одной записки. По ходу игры складывается ощущение что герой не то ищет просветление, не то пытается починить что то в мире.
Головоломки на основном пути средней сложности наверное. Нет прыжка, но есть возможность переключить гравитацию в любую из шести сторон когда находишься рядом со стеной. По ходу игры в основном перемещаешь кубы и учишься понимать как гравитация на них действует, в некоторых комнатах есть и другие механики.
Ни одного бага в игре не встретил.

На любителя игра - если нравятся абстрактные миры, формы и нравятся головоломки, то понравится. Она часто бывает на распродажах со скидкой больше 50%

Visually stunning, incredible music. The puzzles weren't very challenging but completing them still brought me joy. And if you get tired of those you can wander around staring at beautiful cubes

Very nice little puzzler that showcases many different kinds of spatial-style art.

I am not sure how to respond to the acid trip ending, but this game is a very fun puzzle game with weird mechanics and beautiful visuals.

Wonderful and inspiring. The puzzles aren't "hard" but they make up for that in uniqueness and beauty.

7/10

If you love puzzle solving then this game will definitely give you one. The puzzles are not that hard and are pretty straight forward, but the combination of changing gravity and the non-euclidean environment just adds a whole new experience. Besides the puzzle solving, the music and the atmosphere just makes the game so beautiful to look at, but beware this game will have flashing lights.

This one is really, really good. In a lot of ways it reminded me of another exceptional, surreal puzzler called Antichamber, and because we are all the universe experiencing parts of itself subjectively if you're reading this then take it as a sign from the cosmos to play both.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3295122417
Manifold Garden has a neat way of stretching your spacial reasoning and perception. The game really encourages you to think without directionality, a lot like a 6dof space sim. This isn't that though, I'm just sayin. Also, it looks 100% pretty.

I fell in love with it fairly early on when I was traversing a flight of stairs and I lost my sense of direction to the point where I could no longer determine if I was going down or up. Huh? How does that even happen? Wat.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3293873676
The difficulty is dialed in pretty well, in that there's defo some headscratchers that feel satisfying to crack, but at no point did I feel overly frustrated. There's also no dexterity based challenges, which I often find annoying when they insist on shoehorning them into puzzle games for whatever reason.

The singular blemish upon Manifold Garden's expansive and frightening perfection is a particular puzzle when you first encounter the monolith tetris pieces. There's a leftover yellow cube with seemingly no purpose or function.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3294664963
I mean it's prolly nothing, but god damn I cannot get the fuckin thing out of my head. Why was it there??? Just a red herring? Was it purposefully planted to confuse players? Or does it hold some deeper secret? It can power a massive barrier that seems comically oversized so there might be something more to it. The extent to which that thing occupied my mind was really kinda funny. Maybe that was the point. idk.

Spiral out.

Fantastic soundscape, engaging puzzle and gorgeous visuals.

Looks hard, but actually easy to solve. You just need to find it.

Solid puzzle game. nothing will stump you too hard for too long, but the solutions are still satisfying enough to work out.

Wish I'd taken some drugs before the ending lol.

100% guaranteed to give you a headache (complimentary).

Reminded me of 2001: A Space Odyssey at the end . More impactful since it's an interactive medium. I don't know; whole game's a lot of imagery to process! So yeah, will 100% give you a headache (complimentary).

This game is rad. The actual puzzles are pretty straight forward with navigation through the non-euclidean environments (which seem mostly like interlocking and nested 3-Torus for my math friends), being the real meat of the game. And what environments they are! The visual design is incredible. And while one might think they'd get lost wandering around a four dimensional donut, the pathing is good and I always seemed to find my way to the right spot without too much trouble.
Overall, just a really good super chill time.

When I'm enjoying a game, I'll feel the desire to set aside time in my schedule to continue it. I didn't feel that with Manifold Garden, and when I forced myself to return to it for merely my second play session, I couldn't be bothered to complete the next puzzle, which led to the realization that I had no desire to keep going. I don't know why, because normally this game seems like something I'd enjoy. But then again, I didn't love Antichamber so maybe this subgenre of puzzles just doesn't do it for me.

Great game. There was literally only 2 tiny things I didn't like about this game which were that it calls the creation cubes god cubes in the achievements and that the credits are unskippable. Other than that the game is great. 100% not for everyone but if you like puzzles and visually pleasing games, this game is a great pick

art is fun. but everyone gets stuck in the middle by poor design. not even a puzzle. just the direction is poorly designed. all real puzzles are way too easy. did not have the fun I hoped for.

This game is so cool. Like honestly one of coolest experiences I've had. the infinite rooms are crazy and the puzzles are fun but challenging. I've only finished the first two levels but, crap man, this is crazy. please, please buy this game, if you like puzzles or physics or pretty games or if you just want to have a new experience. this game rewired my brain somehow, for hours afterward i was just thinking about the gravity reversal thing. this game is amazing. please buy it.

This is something else.

13 hours of pure 3D puzzling bliss in a peaceful sci-fi mentalosphere.

As a kid, when you first looked through a caleidoscope and you wondered how it would feel to actually walk there - this is it.

Bonus points for quality and reliability: not a single bug/glitch/framedrop or any other annoyance whatsoever.

Can't recommend this one enough.

10/10 absolutely phenomenal artistic, reality-bending puzzle game! Highly recommended!

Finished this game in on 6h sitting (casually taking breaks for food etc).
The colors are amazingly vibrant and lush, the difference between yellow and orange in puzzles could be better. The visuals of the game are jaw dropping in a miniumalistic way, purely based on how infinitely vast the spaces each level exists within are. The MC Escher-like quality of this game is truly next level.

The puzzles were VERY clever, though throughout the game, the difficulty sometimes goes from a 3-5 to a 9-10 and then back again...I couldn't tell what the progression was going to be from moment to moment, room to room. The yellow level was by far the most difficult to figure out how to complete (at the end). The devs definitely like to mislead you with colors in the more advanced puzzles, so take a breath and think simple about what ones there are!

The sound design and music are great, very fitting for the game, though nothing that really wowed me (sorry fellow musicians! ive been spoiled by Risk of Rain 2 and Windblown's epic OSTs lately). They are very fitting and keep you in the ambiance of the game which is the entire point, so between these two opinions I would give it a solid 8/10.

There's no story, no explanations, no characters minus some birds (at one point you can literally see the cube youre holding repeating off in the distance just floating in mid-air), and the ending was mind-bending, too. It was worth the fun puzzles to see for sure - and I really enjoyed the thrill of solving a difficult puzzle! I think the overall progression of the puzzles could be cleaned up in any kind of sequel or DLC, but considering I just realized at the end credits that this is from 2019, i doubt that is happening.

Well worth the $10 on sale!

What a trip!
The mechanics are pretty simple and puzzles are a decent challenge but not terribly hard.
If you liked playing it those spacious concrete art galleries as a kid you will love the minimalist designs this game takes.

Puzzle game where the only hard part is finding the correct place where to put your cube to. That's not a puzzle: that's sh!t level design.

a simple, beautiful puzzle game that sacrificed replayability and difficulty for aesthetics. worth a playthrough if you can get it on sale

Highly recommended if you're someone that loves puzzle games. Additionally, the graphics and mechanics of this game are super smooth and gives the game an abstract vibe. The music is also really good and the game is very fun to speedrun too (if you're into that).

Amazing game! Relatively easy puzzles in the main route, but unique.

The best way to describe it:
You move by solving mostly gravity puzzles through a geometrical landscape in a 3d world in which every dimension consists of 2 opposite planes. (6 total: left-right, up-down, forward-back).
You can shift through planes by 90 degrees when touching a wall, and then gravity shifts with you (the wall becomes your new floor), and objects on different planes become frozen in time. (except multidimentional objects)

The most amazing part is the world exists in a pocket dimension, wrapped around itself, in a sense that if you fall down, you will end up from above, and if you run to the left (or forward), you will arrive from the right (or back).

This game is beautiful. It's constantly mesmerizing, and honestly there were various moments where I felt in awe at the sheer beauty of the game. The colors, the sound design, the fact that everything is just... infinite, all of this caused my jaw to drop throughout the game. It may sound like I'm going a bit over the top, but this game is genuinely art. Especially the ending sequence. The vibe this game emanates is such a weird feeling. I think the best word for it is just awe. Awe at the insane vastness of the game. I'll say it again, this game is art.

I haven't even gotten to the gameplay, but that gameplay is a great compliment to how trippy and beautiful the game already is. There were various moments where I was left utterly confused, as if I had genuinely just witnessed a glitch in the game or something. But no, those stairs leading up? They were going down too. Oh, and also nowhere. You're in the same spot you started. The puzzles are mind-bending, yet simple enough to solve once you change the way you think about the game and 3D space as a whole. The puzzles also incorporate the infinite-ness of the game very well, with many puzzles' solutions having something to do with falling through the infinite copies of the level to reach an area otherwise unreachable. There was also a nice variety of puzzles, with ideas slowly building on each other until they culminated in the final level.

Manifold Garden is art. And if you're planning on playing it, approach it from that lens. Take things slow, appreciate the beauty of the game, and maybe take a few screenshots. I know I certainly did. The gameplay is fun, but more than anything the game's beauty is what will blow you away.

It's very interesting conceptually but it feels like it needs to bake a bit longer until it's a fully realized game. Most of the puzzles consist of just finding the key and bringing it to the door. A few of them are actual puzzles. Some of the levels are just a lot of wandering around looking for the next thing to do.

Marvelous Atmosphere!
Have you ever wondered what consiousness could be in a unmaterial world?
This is probably one of the closest experience of "infinite spaces and "fractals" a human brain can imagine. Some puzzle are challenging (no grind yet) while other are easy going. Headphones adds depth and I feel like this game paired with VR could send you higher than a microdose.

Intricate Escher-inspired puzzler set in infinitely recursive (i.e. looping) worlds where you control gravity. Occasionally brain melting, frequently psychedelic, and doesn't outstay its welcome. Very trippy and very enjoyable. Difficulty is also not too punishing either.