Get lost in the repeating scenery in a very M.C. Escher inspired world. Check out our Manifold Garden review on Nintendo Switch!
Manifold Garden is a game that reimagines the laws of physics.
Rediscover gravity and explore a beautiful Escher-esque world of impossible architecture. 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.
Key Features
● An expansive and visually striking world filled with mind-bending puzzles.
● Manipulate gravity to gain new perspectives and walk on any visible surface.
● Explore expansive architecture that repeat infinitely
Manifold Garden is a first-person puzzle game that has been on PC for a bit now, and it’s now finally made its way to the Nintendo Switch and the PlayStation 4. This one was actually revealed in a third partner focused Nintendo Direct last week and surprise-released on that same day!
I think the most important part of this review is talking about the world laid out before you. You definitely feel like you are in an M.C. Escher painting, with the way the world is designed. Everywhere you look, everything’s repeating in beautifully organized chaos, so it’s deliberately a bit out there, but it’s a spectacle for the eyes. Jump off a ledge, and you’ll fall right through the world… landing back in the palace from which you jumped off. It’s a really interesting setup in the world, and I think it’s the number one reason you should be playing this game.
Story-wise, there really isn’t anything here. You are just dropped into this world with no explanation, and you just start wandering around, trying to solve puzzles. I am of two minds about this. I recently reviewed Subliminal for the Nintendo Switch, and while the game had a story, it didn’t come together in the end. Any of these games will be compared to what Portal was able to do with storytelling, which probably isn’t fair, but those comparisons will continue to exist. Manifold Garden focused on the beautiful world and the gameplay in lieu of a narrative. I think I liked this for Manifold Garden, but your mileage may vary.
The puzzle elements of the game are pretty simple… most of the time. You shouldn’t end up getting stuck. Most of the puzzles will have you moving similarly colored cubes onto pedestals to open doors so that you can proceed further. Manifold Garden’s hook is allowing you to change gravity, so that you can make any surface your floor, literally allowing you to walk on walls, access doors on the ceilings, and more. It takes a bit to wrap your mind around things, but once it clicks, you’re in for a great time. You will start adjusting the way you look at the world and what your next step should be.
It will probably take you, say, 5 to 7 hours at most to get through Manifold Garden, which is a nice chunk of game to take on. I never felt stuck for too long on the puzzles, which is a good thing. While you need to think about positioning, the puzzles never really changed the overall gameplay mechanics, so while it can make things feel a bit repetitive by the time you’re running into your last hour with Manifold Garden, the game won’t feel overwhelming.
Manifold Garden is an interesting title that I had a ton of fun exploring. It’s a beautiful world set in a quiet, lonely but beautiful world, devoid of story or narrative. I would wander around solving the puzzles, stopping to take in the beauty of the world around me, which is the game’s strong suit. Visit Manifold Garden on Nintendo Switch today!
Disclaimer
This Manifold Garden review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by William Chyr Studio.
