I am basing my opinions on all of these games solely by the impressions I get from the game in the first hour. Here we are focusing only on how well the developers are able to introduce the game to you, and how well they are able to keep you interested in the game in the crucial first hour of play. This wasn't as much of an issue when I was younger and only had a few games but now that we have leasing services like PS Plus it isn't uncommon for people to have hundreds of games all at one... which is exactly the situation I found myself in recently.
I can't possibly play all of these games from start to finish so unless the game is outstanding, I only play it for an hour. Even if the game absolutely sucks, I still play it for an hour.
So now we look at an unusual puzzle game that is telling a story about a couple without using any words. This is called The Gardens Between and at first glance it seems really interesting and innovative.
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There isn't any dialogue spoken in the various cutscenes and thankfully they are quite sort because if there is one thing I can't stand, it is long cutscenes at the beginning or even during a game. We are quickly introduced to the game's only two characters who do have names but I don't know how we were ever meant to figure that out.
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A couple of kids are hanging out in a treehouse in the backyard looking forlorn when all of a sudden lightning strikes near them and they and the treehouse are transported in the treehouse to a series of bizarre islands that all contain pieces of shared memories that the two have. We are not told this by any dialogue or story, but it just becomes kind of evident. I looked this up later to confirm that this is in fact what it is and it turns out I am correct. It wasn't a huge mystery.
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The puzzles at first seem very simplistic because they only thing you can do is walk to the right or the left and by doing so your movement causes movement in other things that are on each of the islands. The only way to progress past an island is to gather some sort of light sphere in your lantern and carry it to the top or even of each of these islands. Once that is done you get teleported to another island.
The only other aspect of the game that you can directly control is that the boy is able to hit certain chimes that will stop the progression of time, thus allowing new paths to open up based on how things fall or how certain robotic frog-like things that are capable of carrying the lantern move about the various stages. Other than this, there aren't any other aspects of the levels that you can directly control.
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The graphics and sound are quality and I was pleased that there are very few instances of long-lasting load times. Every level seems to load very quickly and since there is no way to die there isn't any situation in which you would need to re-load any of the levels. I also appreciated the simplistic nature of the puzzles and how there is so much to look at as you start to piece together the lives of these two and you can see that they are quite great friends. At first I thought they were lovers but as time goes by you can see that it is a purely platonic and even childlike situation they are in. It's nice and it is touching and it all gets told without a single word uttered or muttered.
The downside of this game is that since there really isn't much that you are able to control the gameplay quickly becomes quite boring. Other than watching what is going on and figuring out the exact moment that you are meant to stop time for something to trigger, sometimes out of sight on the other side of the island you are currently standing on, there really isn't much else to do at all. Once a puzzle started involving me slowly walking back and forth over and over on the same island I found myself getting quite bored.
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The game only has about 20 levels I have been told but I think most people will get bored of the lack of control that you actually have as far as anything is concerned in the environment. You cannot jump, or intentionally climb but only just move from right to left. This makes that game simple as hell for anyone to play, but ultimately means that most people will likely lose interest in this pretty quickly. Perhaps it is a good thing that there are so few levels because of this.
I still recommend that people have a look, especially if they are casual players that are looking for a more relaxed experience with a story that you kind of have to figure out rather than be told it.
Games I have tried in my journey to play every PS-Plus Extra game for at least an hour
- Windbound (survival game with rogue-like elements - not recommended)
- Magicka 2 (top-down humorous multiplayer hack and slash-sort with immense spell system - maybe recommended)
- Tearaway: Unfolded (charming casual 3D platformer with inventive graphics and gameplay designed for all ages - recommended for casual players)
- Spiritfarer (casual simulation / resource-management style game with an extremely good story - recommended for all)
- Observation (point and click survival sort of... interactive game of sorts set in space - found it very boring after just one hour and do not recommend)
- Gabbuchi (simplistic puzzle game that I feel is better suited to mobile devices. Not recommended on consoles)
- The Messenger (8-bit style action/platformer that is a throwback to original Ninja Gaiden. It's simplistic fun. Recommended)
- Megadimension Neptunia VII (typical JRPG with some adjustments made to combat for uniqueness. Could be fun and I lukewarmly recommend for someone willing to dedicate 50 hours to a turn-based RPG)
- Monster Jam: Steel Titans 2 (monster truck racing game that will appeal only to people who are already fans of the sport - not recommended for any other people)
- Entwined (Visually appealing rhythm pace game that is very easy to pick up but gets repetitive after 30 minutes or so - recommended for anyone that can get it for free.)
- 2Dark (8-bit graphic survival horror/stealth hybrid. The game becomes extremely difficult really fast and therefore failed to hold my attention - not recommended)
- Virginia (interactive-cinema...not really a game and it is over in a couple of hours. Not recommended)
- Trials of Mana (simplistic action RPG that will definitely appeal to the casual gamer that is a fan of old-school RPG combat mechanics - recommended)
- Journey to the Savage Planet (FPS exploration game in a semi-open-world environment. The game is intentionally silly and I loved it - recommended)
- Resogun (arcade-style single-screen SHMUP that will get boring to most people after an hour or so. Not recommended)
- The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 (point and click adventure game that doesn't work on consoles and is just irritating to play - not recommended)
- Mighty No. 9 (it's Mega Man but terrible. Definitely not recommended)
- Moving Out (delightfully funny moving company simulator. It gets boring and repetitive pretty quickly. Recommended for a short laugh)
- Last Day of June (a sad story done in 3rd person perspective that while an interesting story and/or life lesson, quickly becomes repetitive and dull. Not recommended)
- Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom (action adventure RPG with an inventive combat system that unfortunately becomes very boring very fast. Filled with bugs and invisible walls, I lost interest within the first hour. Not recommended)
- Hue (inventive puzzle-platformer that whose basic controls are the reason why it is fun. This is also the reason why it gets old after a couple of hours)
- Dragon Quest Builders (simple building game similar to Minecraft with a quest and story system built it. A lot more fun than I thought it would be and highly recommended)
- Bound: Shattered Kingdom (artistic 3D platformer with an unusual graphical style that has an amazing story. It's only 2 hours long but still very good. Recommended)
- Hohokum (an artistic and relaxing experience but ultimately it isn't really a game because there are no clear objectives. Not recommended.)
- Bound by Flame (basically a budget Witcher but fails in almost every way. This game was frustrating to endure for an hour. Not recommended )
- Stray (a simplistic and beautiful adventure / puzzle game that I think most people would enjoy. However, it isn't as perfect as professional reviews would indicate IMO)
- Alienation (action RPG that plays similar to Diablo3 but set in a futuristic world. Recommended for casual multiplayer with friends)
- Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (A classic beat-em-up akin to Double Dragon that loses its appeal in the first 15 minutes of gameplay. Not recommended)
- I am Dead (Point and click puzzle-hunt game with a fantastic story that is unfortunately bogged down by very boring gameplay. Not recommended)
- The Gardens Between (puzzle adventure game that has a wonderful story in it that involves no words being spoken. It's a wonderful casual experience and is very-well made although a bit on the simple side... recommended)