It’s no surprise, to those that know me, that puzzle games are one of my favorite genres. Valve’s 2007 title Portal forever changed how this genre could be presented. Valve took the concept of challenging puzzle-solving and implemented it into a first-person perspective. That game stole many gamers hearts, myself included. Since Portal’s initial release, various developers have taken a similar approach. Many try to mimic Portal’s style and gameplay. The more creative find unique ways to create an all-new experience. Independent developer William Chyr took a crack at this with Manifold Garden.
Game Mechanics
Manifold Garden opens almost immediately. There are no narrative nor instructions, instead diving straight into the gameplay. When inside a building, each wall is color-coded. Pressing RT will manipulate the gravity around your body. As the entire landscape shifts, the wall you are facing becomes the ground. While using gravity to explore, you will discover different colored cubes. These must be picked up and brought to their respective colored receptacles. Doing so will unlock doors, which in turn unlocks different areas. However, colored blocks are typically locked to specific walls. This means once you shift gravity, that colored block will be locked in place wherever you left it. Shifting back to that block’s wall makes the cube subject to physics again.
Most areas involve navigating complex landscapes and finding colored cubes which power various machines. Sometimes the blocks are required to open a door. Other times one will power up a sphere, which in turn creates all-new types of interactive blocks. Reality distorting cubes, for example, distort the ground and create dark pathways that must be avoided. Similarly, dark cubes allow entry into the dark world, opening yet another dimension of gameplay.
Entering the dark world essentially inverts the atmosphere’s colors. The dark world is home to the Dark Tree, which in turn must be destroyed. The Dark Tree’s death brings life to the God Cube, which proves to be incredibly important to Manifold Garden’s world. The God Cube must then be taken to it’s designated location, the Manifold Garden. Once the cube is placed, the Manifold Garden begins to create life. This will gradually change the environment.
Atmosphere Meets Mechanics
Many of the locations are incredibly desolate. Manifold Garden’s world lacks detail and texturing, which often results in dreary atmospheres. Very simple whites, blacks, greys, and some basic colors are thrown in for contrast. The graphics are just incredibly basic. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however. Later levels use the simplicity, combined with the game’s gravity manipulation mechanic, to create more imaginative landscapes. That said, the environment gives off an intentional emptiness.
The bleak environments are often accompanied by a white void. While initially daunting, the white void proves to be incredibly useful. The white void can be fallen into, which spirals players into an endless loop. Infinitely looping through the world’s geometry is essential to navigating through many of Manifold Garden’s locations. At times, the endless loop can be a little bit overwhelming. Depending on the direction of the fall, it is simple to lose one’s bearings. That said, the void can oftentimes help guide players toward the non-linear path. There is also comfort in knowing that there is no way to die. When struggling to find the correct route, you are encouraged to restart at the last checkpoint.
I Think I’m Gonna Be Sick
While the infinitely looping landscapes can be visually appealing, Manifold Garden can get a little nauseating. Some areas are incredibly frustrating and force you to endlessly loop until you stumble upon the solution. Not only does gameplay become challenging, but it likewise tests your motion sickness tolerance. Thankfully, the game’s simplistic art helps to combat the nausea. This is a warning to those who become dizzy easily or are affected by flashing colors. I typically don’t get sick playing games of this nature, but even I needed a few breaks.
Music
Keeping up with Manifold Garden’s minimalism, things are very bare-bones in the music department. Some areas and actions may result in the occasional melody, however the majority of areas are very quiet. Ambiance and nature sounds grace most of the game’s environments, such as wind blowing in the trees or birds chirping happily. I personally would have preferred some more music, though, as it might have increased my engagement with the world. As mentioned before, Manifold Garden doesn’t have a narrative or any dialogue. It’s very apparent that the lack of guidance, coupled with the sound direction, were intentionally woven to create a simplified experience.
Does It Match Up To Portal?
Manifold Garden is going to be compared to Portal, due to both having physics manipulation as a core gameplay element. That being said, it differs greatly from Portal in its execution. Manifold Garden takes the concept of an endless loop, combines it with an incredibly simplistic art style, and is able to create a unique first-person puzzle game. As I played, I eagerly anticipated what would come next. Which abstract area would I encounter? How would I have to bend my perspective to progress?
Manifold Garden’s artistically barren sound direction definitely opened me up to distractions outside of the game. However, the unique gameplay and its ability to inspire my desire to discover more of these mind-melting landscapes kept me coming back. Manifold Garden proves that a game doesn’t need a narrative to be enjoyable!
Manifold Garden is available digitally for $19.99 USD, on the Nintendo Switch eShop, PlayStation Store, Microsoft Store, Epic Games, and through an Apple Arcade subscription. It is available to wishlist on Steam, with an estimated October release. For more information on Manifold Garden, visit the official site.
A digital copy of the game was provided for the purpose of review.
