The Gardens Between, a tale of childhood friendship and time travel, comes out next month

The Gardens Between, a tale of two friends growing up in a surreal world of magical gardens, will be released on Steam on September 20. The Voxel Agents, the studio making the game, also dropped a new trailer teasing the time manipulation mechanic that will carry Arina and Frendt along on their very strange journey. 

"It's our hope that players are not only touched by the story of Arina and Frendt, but that they take time to remember their own special relationships growing up," The Voxel Agents co-founder Simon Joslin said. "While so many of the objects featured in the gardens are from our own childhoods, we hope our audience will relate and recall a time when friendship meant everything."

The time-bending element evokes memories of Braid, the famed puzzle platformer that helped put indie games on the mainstream map. And it definitely sounds like that type of game: The announcement said the pair will "uncover objects and situations that form the foundations of their friendship," while they "relive the emotional journey of their past, cherishing the memories they’ve built together and understanding what must come to an end." Even without digging down in the specifics of the mechanics, that should give you a pretty good idea of what's in store.

The Gardens Between will go for $20. More information can be had via Steam or at thegardensbetween.com

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.