The Gardens Between stood out for its gentle puzzles and rich, dreamlike spaces. Now, Hidden Memories of The Gardens Between is bringing that same world to VR, turning the quiet charm of the original into something you can actually reach out and touch.
It’s not just a simple port. Hidden Memories is a standalone chapter that reworks the original’s vibe into something more immersive, pushing the boundaries of how puzzles and memories can feel when you’re in the middle of them.
Core Gameplay and Puzzle Flow
The core of the game is still about two friends, Arina and Frendt, navigating islands built from memories. In VR, the perspective shift is more than just a new camera angle. Moving pieces with your hands and adjusting time flow by physically turning them gives each puzzle a tactile feel that wasn’t there before.
There’s a balance here between keeping the puzzles accessible and making sure the VR interaction doesn’t just feel like a gimmick. Early looks suggest that the puzzles themselves aren’t drastically different, but the way you solve them changes how you think about the whole experience.
Visuals and Emotional Impact
The Gardens Between has always leaned on a soft, almost storybook aesthetic, and that carries over here. In VR, the islands feel even more like spaces you could actually explore — places where the line between memory and imagination blurs.
The colors, the lighting, and the gentle animations all have a bit more weight when you’re surrounded by them. It’s not just about watching a memory unfold. It’s about being there, standing in the middle of it, and feeling how it shifts around you.
Platform and Broader Trends
Hidden Memories is built for VR headsets, tapping into a growing appetite for more relaxed, narrative-focused VR games. It’s a smart fit: the original’s slower pace and reflective tone already matched well with the kind of immersive headspace VR can create. In a landscape of high-energy VR shooters and rhythm games, this feels like a step in another direction — one that’s more about atmosphere and introspection than quick reflexes. It’s also a good reminder that VR doesn’t always have to be about bombast. Sometimes it can be about getting closer to something small and meaningful.
Virtual Reality Explorer & Game Reviewer
Always the first to plug in. VRSCOUT dives head-first into the most immersive VR worlds, analyzing mechanics, comfort, innovation, and that elusive “presence” factor. If he says it’s worth it, it probably is.
