Manifold Garden

This game does something to you. Feels like good anxiety? I don't know how else to describe it.

Great game. I love the idea, music, and level design. Sometime I just wondered around , enjoying recursive architecture. Pure meditation with not too hard puzzles.

Manifold Garden is a 3D puzzle game set in infinite looping 3D environments. There is no story to speak of; you are simply in a strange space full of puzzles you have to solve, with no instruction on how to do so. It is very much one of those games where you have to figure out what it is you’re even supposed to do being part of the puzzle.

The core of the gameplay is pretty standard box-and-switch-and-laser gameplay, but with with the twist of the looping 3D spaces and the ability to shift gravity so that “down” is any of the six X, Y, Z directions of a cube (though you must be adjacent to a wall to do so). Many of the boxes spawn on trees instead of on the ground, allowing you to pick them up again if you lose them – a somewhat necessary concession in the often-large levels – and the gravity change restrictions means you often have to navigate to spaces the hard way in more closed rooms, whereas in more open ones you can exploit the looping nature of the world to fall down from “above” to get to where you need to go.

This game is one of those games that is full of non-continuous geometry, with levels that loop back on themselves impossibly, doors that lead to places in other rooms that are impossible to line up in 3D space, and various other nonsense. It has a rather nice style to it and the gigantic looping rooms can be quite cool.

However, there’s a problem – many of the rooms are FAR too large for the puzzles they contain, making them way more tedious than they need to be. Many times I was confronted with a puzzle, only to find out there was a simple solution in the huge level and I just couldn’t find the right place to go or to find some item. As such, the game’s style actually sometimes undermines its own puzzles, and this happens more and more as you get deeper into the game. There’s also some places where, if you go through a door, it will seal up behind you, meaning that if you needed something from that room, you now have to backtrack all the way through multiple puzzle rooms to get there – which can be very annoying, and did happen to me once during my playthrough.

All in all, the game is a reasonably decent puzzle game with some fun ideas, but the huge puzzle rooms ended up wearing on me by the end of the game, as while they looked impressive, smaller, more condensed puzzle rooms are easier to navigate and easier to parse.

This game is special, not in the same way that other games are. Some games make you feel a certain way, think a certain way, act a certain way, or even play a certain way but this game forces you to do it all, it puts you in a truly unique position. Not only that but this game is breathtaking as you step out onto the first platform this incredible combination of music and scale and majesty combine to make a truly one of a kind feeling. If you've ever wanted to play a game that makes you think beyond just the game itself, I really couldn't think of a better selection (Bonus Points if you read House of Leaves (an inspiration to this game)) it is a work of art and I could think of very few better ways to spend $20. What an experience this game was and honestly I can't believe how good it is, it is one of a kind and is magical, you won't find anything like it and you won't feel the same after you play it, so enjoy.

This is the first game that I'd point to show that Video Games can indeed be art. This is Kaleidoscope, the Game. Some of the puzzles could've been trickier, you could feel that even the developers were struggling with the geometry. But I don't think that this is really the point, the point is to marvel at the environment.

Reminds me of 'Antichamber' a game made in 2013 which explored non-euclidian geometry as well. Similar artstyle and same calm ambience. Though, it doesn't have the gravity manipulation mechanics of this game.

8.5/10 would recommend!

Super unique puzzle game with a great art style. 10/10 would play again

Simply beautiful.

Puzzles were challenging enough.

Tbh visuals made me feel sick (vertigo-wise) several times but I would say that adds charm to the game really. I hope the ending is satisfying.

Whole game took less than 5 hours, really recommend it for puzzle lovers, great visuals and audio, 5/5

This game, was an experience.

I absolutely love the atmosphere of liminal spaces, I love infinite spaces as well, they give me a sense of peace that I cannot explain.

The creativity in the puzzles of this game is next level good, so satisfying once you figure out each trick, that then plays in to the next level as well, which might bring back some elements from a former level too.

Beating this game, after being stuck on what turned out to be the final puzzle for a very long time, was so cathartic.

The ending is sublime and leaves you with a sense of awe.

For a game with no dialogue it has a lot to say.

Highly recommend purchasing this game.

I really enjoy this fun puzzle game and I love showing it to people and having their minds explode.

good puzzle game. if you played antichamber, you'll be pleasantly reminded of it while playing this game, although Manifold Garden is different enough to stand on its own. i found it to be both easy and relatively short, but it seems to take most people more time/effort to beat so maybe you'll get more out of it than i did. the music is also quite nice, and the environments are large (through use of recursion, mostly), impressive, and pretty

Awe inspiring, mind bending, beautiful, and simple in its offering, just right. Will take you 5 hours or something.

You can flip gravity in any of the 6 directions and the levels are all designed around this, forever repeating on itself when you try to escape one. It's a little disorienting and really makes you feel like there's some other worldly 4th dimensional god who designed this place that you wander through, but the puzzles are surprisingly approachable even till the end so don't be afraid.

No loading times, everything is one single sequence that you can explore freely as everything is connected by seamless portals bringing you from one level to the next with some hub locations as well. No doubt there are secrets to be found amidst the chaos.

Crazy how good and impressive the environments look when it's just cubes with good lighting. The sound design and music are also very good and perfectly accompany your journey. Someone had fun with shaders in this one...

The end is really beautiful and up to your interpretation.

Fairly short for a single play through. Well worth the purchase if on sale just for the visuals alone.

Great gameplay and puzzle mechanics in non-Euclidean space.

Beautiful design, great soundscape.

This game allowed me to transcend reality.

As you are probably aware, this game uses impossible geometry and dabbles with the use of higher dimensions. Through the desolate halls of this game I wandered in search of answers.
How does this world work?
Why does it work?
What's the point?

Let me to tell you, this game does not disappoint. As I write this, processing what I have just witnessed, I am unsure whether to even call this a game. Its an experience that allows you to truly understand a higher plane of being. The simple graphics hide a truly profound idea that has afforded me new knowledge of how our universe works.
Obviously, the first course of action now is to exploit this new knowledge. And let's just say, I did.
To make a long story short, I am now in jail. Do you know any good lawyers?

Great game with a great soundtrack, would be cool to see a challenge mode/dlc that puts the puzzle pedal to the puzzle metal.

10/10

Manifold Garden captivates with its unique manipulation of gravity and interconnected, repeating environments, creating a visually stunning world.
However, the game feels too expansive, with many areas going unused, which diminishes its impact.
The puzzles often solved themselves or relied too heavily on exploration, lacking the challenge I hoped for.
It’s an atmospheric experience, but its vastness and simplicity holds it back.

I love the sense of scale, and the puzzles are pretty interesting too! (they are somewhat easy although I don't really think that's really an issue)

Overview - "Great base game / 100% game"

There was such a large difference in the experience between the two halves of the game I have to split the review into the Base and 100% (No God Cube Run)
[hr][/hr]

Base Game - "Unique, and fun" [9/10]

The base game is such a fun experience, I strongly recommend people to play.

Pros

• Great puzzles
  
• Unique systems
  
• Fun with gravity
  
• Amazing looking
  
• Some lite Existentialism for flavor.
  
• Intuitive designs.
  

Cons

• The Tetris blocks that showed up later were too big to really see the puzzle, It wasn't hard just hard to see. Felt better to just fiddle with gravity till things worked, than to try and see where they needed to go.
  
• It was difficult to get a sense of progression through the maze of the game. Have puzzle between different god cube rooms wasn't bad and added to a sense of being lost in the fractals, but it would of been nice to see a big colored door showing the player that they have reached the next god puzzle. I regularly wasn't sure how close I was just to realizes I was part of the way through a god puzzle.
  
• The world regularly looks same same, which can add to a sense of being lost. Not bad if it was only for a time but the whole game feels like this so eventually you just cant remember where you've been.
  

Worth

• The base game only takes about 4hours, but with how unique and fun the puzzles and world are I could easily see it being worth $10 maybe $15. The $20 asking price seems a bit much so I would Wishlist and wait for a sale.
  

-----"Buy, play the base game, uninstall, leave a positive review"-----
[hr][/hr]

100% Game - "Madness, Buggy, Nightmare" [0/10]

This part of the game/review primarily centers around the achievement "The Game Is Not Enough" or the "No God Cube Run." Achievements are a way for the developer to reward/encourage players to interact with all the features of a game. I debated talking about this but considering this is an achievement I feel the developers consider it a part of the complete experience which makes it a part of the complete review.

No God Cube Run

On the surface I expected gameplay that would be inline with the types of puzzle the game had introduced me to with a few extra challenges to get around each god cube. Or something where you get around the god cubes using back rooms and solving new puzzles. Sounded cool either way. This was not the case. This was a horrible experience. A torturous one. All the cons from the base game got so amplified during this run. It had bugs that reset large parts of my progress and the quality of the puzzles dropped so drastically during this run. Every part was not about finding clever solutions it was about how much mental you have to deal with highly obscure and tedious tasks. This was not a puzzle anymore. This really should of just been an Easter egg not an achievement.


-----"Behind these invisible doors there are bags of keys...if you try all the correct keys the doors will lead you to another room with doors. That's the puzzle."-----

Pros

• Its a cool idea to find backrooms in the fractal world to skip around the god puzzles.
  
• Its a cool idea to steal boxes from other puzzles.
  

-----"Cool ideas mean nothing if poorly executed"-----

Cons

• Obscure places and hidden doors make everything feel disconnected you cant tell what goes where or where you need to go.
  
• No clear progression or checkpoints.
  
• Constantly having to retrace tracks you see so many of the same places over and over you start feeling genuine madness.
  
• Every task was massively tedious. I'm not talking move one block to get through door. I mean go find 5 cubes you don't even know you need and inch them through hell.
  
• Bugs regularly de-spawned the cubes I needed to make progress. Spent 30 mins carefully finding and removing the right cube that was buried deep in a multi layered puzzle for it to just disappear. So you have to do it again.... this happened at least 3-4 times.
  
• Game stopped let me save at a curtain point. So I had to lock in and rush through 2+ hours of work to finish so I wouldn't loose hours of tedious work I'd already done. Was genuinely worried the game might crash.
  
• I had to do so much double backing across areas it felt so horrible.
  
• You never really know where you are in anything. Its just an abyss of fractals at some point.
  
• So many hidden door.
  
• After finishing the achievement the legitimate way I found out you could glitch through doors...Which means the rare achievement is owned by more people who glitched it than people who had to do what I did. SO LAME.
  
• No one would leave a positive review if any of the tedious puzzles form this achievement made it into the base game.
  
[*]This last achievement takes longer than the entire base game.

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Conclusion - "I spent more time hating the game than loving it"

Honestly, buy the game on sale and have some really great fun for the first playthrough. Than uninstall because there is nothing more worth seeing. Leave a positive review.
-----"4 hours of great fun - 6 hours of nightmare....."-----

Though bordering on too hard for me personally, I love this game so far. I'm a massive fan of puzzle type mindbender games and am usually dissapointed when a lot of them don't pose as much of a challenge as I'd like. This one however leaves me stumped on a seemingly simple puzzle for hours. Not a complaint at all, just expressing that this game is a humbling experience for those who pride themselves on problem solving abilities and critical outside of the box thinking

One of the greatest puzzle games to ever exist. Entertaining levels with the right amount of difficulty to let you use your brain and think, and not too difficult to frustrate you.
It is short and that's a good thing, otherwise it would have had repetitive levels.
Art style is astonishing and the music is ethereal.
10/10

AMAZING puzzle game. Puzzles are challenging but not complicated. And beautiful. Where The Witness' beauty was in brightly colored scenery, Manifold's is in pastel colored complex architecture. And like Witness the first playthrough is the magic.
At first it can seem confusing but again like Witness you can't die or mess things up beyond repair. The intelligence in this game is off the charts. Unlike Witness however, there's no wandering looking for what to do. Wandering yes, but with a purpose. It replicates open-world by using infinite space. It's a must-see experience.

This game is a unique experience. If you like puzzle games you'll probably at least like it. But if you're a fan of the art of Escher or the writing of Borges, or if you're a math nerd and like topology (I'm all three of these), you'll absolutely adore it.

This game is truly something unique out there. I got it on sale, but I would definitely not regret paying full price for it. Each location stretches out infinitely. Every time I discover a new location, the vastness and the music gives me goosebumps, even existential dread at times. Makes me think about the universe. Surprisingly, the gravity change mechanic does not put me off at all; everything is done perfectly to not make it feel disorienting. It does not matter which genres you're into, with this game, you just need to try it.
Only complaint I have is it not being available on MacOS.

Very interesting and fun puzzle game, the mechanics used in this infinite space for each level, hopping down to get to the top; and even changing your axis to change your gravity and pick up certain colour coded cubes create a wonderful mind exercise. There are more mechanics in the game which you will find soon in order to liberate this world, from some dark corruption. Not sure what else to say, It's amazing and offers nice visuals btw

Short game without any narrative.

But I like it.

5/5

Overcomplicated puzzles kills the experience of this game. Its core design makes even searching for specific puzzles a bore and a hassle.
Games aren't supposed to become annoyances, boring things in which you have to scour the internet in search of very specific things.

best puzzle game that i have play so far! finally beaten the game. I really like the concept of this game that you have to combine together with rotation to solve some of the puzzle. 10/10 in my opinion! Definitely recommend to buy during the offer. Trust me it will be the most worth money you ever spend. Just that sometimes the soundtrack audio of the game is quite annoying but hey who cares 10/10 anyways! Thanks for develop such a cool game

It was incredible! Once you fully understand what you can do, there is nothing that can stop you from getting anything anywhere. Puzzles and movement become mere toys, all thanks to the power of switching gravity to any direction whenever and wherever you like.

I highly recommend playing this game. The lack of story is actually beneficial as it allows you to go at your own pace, and I know that there will be people who will struggle to grasp the skills needed to complete this game. To those, I encourage you to keep trying. It will be well worth it.

A little chaotic at times, but overall a fun and challenging puzzle game.

If you like puzzle games a lot, it's a good game. If you are not especially looking for a puzzle game, it's not the most atmospherical and adventurous game. But I like the game not being complex and not being full of mind games. Simple and makes you look at things differently.

incredibly beautiful game with thought provoking puzzles. v clearly inspired by portal in the best ways. 11/10

short but very sweet, sick and beautiful physics puzzler. really intriguing and entertaining visual design. Gameplay consists of blocks, triggers, gravity manipulation, portals, moving blocks, and a few other neat tricks, with some fresh twists. Never gets particularly hard but its fun and rewarding just to solve and see what crazy thing happens next. 9/10 for its weight class (physics-based art-heavy indie), solid 6.5/10 overall, pick up when its on sale

if you like fractals and non-euclidean geometry and puzzles this game is cocaine

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

Trippy puzzle game in which the environment was designed in a way to confuse you and where the main puzzle concept evolves around the power to change gravity. It has some unique puzzle mechanics and ways to move around.

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.

Amazing visuals and sound design but the gameplay is stage 4 cancer, huge rooms, way too much downtime, some parts are very gimmicky and one of the last parts with the huge boxes is just "i can't see what am i doing" moment. The review is negative to worn the people who are going blindly into this and don't know what to expect, i highly recommend the game to puzzle masochists, i even told my of my friends to buy it and he did, otherwise don't expect this to be portal 3 or anything, it doesn't come close near enough.

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!