The Gardens Between (PS5)

The Gardens Between is a light puzzle game. It has a simple but unique aesthetic, one that reminds you of something that isn’t too taxing to play but isn’t too boring either. This is an apt description given how simple the gameplay is. You can move time forward and back using either the analogue stick or the triggers, the latter of which is more comfortable. In doing so, the pair of unnamed friends (unnamed in the game that is) will move forwards and backwards.

How does this create engaging gameplay or puzzles? Well, it isn’t exactly pausing time, rather it’s just the characters that don’t move. Thus, they can still interact with the world, and it can take a few levels before you can wrap your head around this. For example, one character’s motion will jump down onto a saw, whereby if you keep reversing and forwarding time, the character will jump up and down on the saw, eventually sawing through a plank and allowing the other character to continue.

Usually, one of the characters is in the lead, and they are holding a lantern. The aim of each level is to reach the portal at the end with the lantern filled with light. There are obstacles along the way where it might require the lantern to be snuffed out, and then relit to pass through. The other character is usually following behind (but from time to time, their positions will swap), and they can interact with certain objects which allows you to manipulate time in other parts of the level, such as reconstructing and deconstructing falling things.

It manages to visually convey this gameplay mechanic well. Moving forwards and backwards will rotate the circular level, giving you a familiar point of reference in what you are doing. Considering that the game doesn’t feature any dialogue or text, it intuitively teaches you the controls and what you need to do. Each level is split into several smaller puzzles, and you can be confident knowing once you pass an obstacle, you don’t need to backtrack too far back to solve the next one (in fact, the game doesn’t allow you to move too far backwards or too far forwards).

The levels themselves are short. The earlier easier ones will take less than a minute. The levels do get longer as you progress through the game, but the difficulty isn’t one to make you tear your hair out. It’s good knowing that there are only a limited number of variables that you can try to solve the current puzzle, so you will never feel like you are perpetually stuck on one, requiring you to search up on a solution on the internet.

The later levels increase the difficulty, but only through its reliance on some more abstract solutions. It tends to require the player to hold the characters in a specific location for a longer period to trigger the next thing. However, oftentimes it does not give you enough hints or prompts to do so. Yes, one of the characters might pause and point, or there is a sound, but you might still not pick up what you are supposed to do.

The story is told via short snippets of the characters interacting with each other. It’s nothing groundbreaking, in fact, it takes a backseat to the gameplay. All you need to know is that the two characters were in a treehouse in a garden at night, and then they are now traveling through dreamscapes. Each level has random everyday objects scattered throughout, adding to the theme.

The game doesn’t take long to finish, roughly two hours to finish the 20 or so levels it provides. However, that is enough for the game to never outstay its welcome and it is a fun and enjoyable experience. Apart from trophies / achievements, which are easy, there’s no replay value as there are no collectables either.

Overall, The Gardens Between is a wonderful, if short game. You only feel its short because of how interesting and well executed its idea is. Its premise and gameplay mechanic of moving time forwards and backwards, yet able to still manipulate certain events, into a puzzle is impressive. Yes, it is mostly linear but wow, it is a unique and beautiful game.

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Toy Review: Jurassic Park x Transformers Collaborative Dilophocon

Review:  #824

Name:  Dilophocon

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  N/A

Line:  Jurassic Park x Transformers Collaborative

Year of Release:  2023

Size Class:  Deluxe

Mold Status:  new

DINOSAUR MODE:

The second set in the Jurassic Park x Transformers Collaborative line, Dilophocon is based upon the iconic scene in the Jurassic Park movie where the character Dennis Nedry meets his fate with a Dilophosaurus.

Naturally, Dilophocon transforms into a Dilophosaurus, and this is a really nice dinosaur mode, with no obvious robot kibble parts sticking out.

She's a bit slender though for a Deluxe, above is a comparison against TLK Bumblebee and Siege Sideswipe.

There is some play value here, where the mouth can open and close.

She also comes with an effects part that mimics the acid spitting action.

Curiously, the frills are two separate pieces that are only held on by small posts.  This means that they can occasionally just fall out.

There's no meaningful articulation in dinosaur mode, given that she is perfectly balanced as it is.

A fantastic dinosaur mode, and one of the best beast mode we've had.

TRANSFORMATION:

The legs are the easiest, as you just straighten them.  Otherwise, the tail comes off, and the arms unfold from the torso.  Once you do that, it leaves a gap for the dinosaur head to fold down.

ROBOT MODE:

Dilophocon has a fantastic robot mode too, she looks amazing here, and the slender proportions works beautifully.

If you left the tail attached during transformation, it will now sit on her back, and this is the main piece of kibble.

The head sculpt is great, and the frills behind her head is a fantastic piece of decoration.

Her height is roughly the size of an average Deluxe, but she is much more slender than most.

She has amazing articulation, with joints for her head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees and ankles.  What makes it amazing is that the shoulders can flex inwards, she's one of those rare Transformers that can hold a sword with both hands.

With the tail, the tip flips over to reveal a barrel.  She can then hold this gun in either hand.

The acid effects part can peg onto the end for some blast effect action now.

A wonderfully nimble and good looking robot.

OVERALL:

The set is worth it for Dilophocon alone.  She has two amazing modes, with pretty much no flaws in either of them.  This is one of the best molds we've had for a while, and it's a shame that it is regulated to an exclusive that is part of an expensive set.  Nevertheless, if you can get the set at a discount, then she is well worth it.

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Fallout - Season 1 (2024)

Fallout is an eight episode show based upon the game series of the same name. The show has a stunning opening where it captures the horror and gravity of the situation where the whole world is bombarded by nuclear bombs. Due to the radiation, this forced the survivors to head underground and live in “Vaults”. Each vault has a small population and Lucy is about to get married to a member of another vault to help increase the population and not be inbred too much.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite go according to plan and Lucy is forced to go above ground. Hundreds of years had passed since the nuclear bombs, and not all humans died above. In fact, plenty survived but it is now a wasteland with no rules. Lucy, having had the luxury of shelter underground all her life, must go find her father in this cruel land, without any clue on how society works now.

The show follows other perspectives as well, including Maximus, who is part of this Brotherhood. Having trained there with the hopes of becoming a Knight, he succeeds in being promoted to Squire. However, Knights are not as virtuous as he had expected. These Knights also wear the iconic and instantly familiar armor of Fallout (well, at least the helmet). Even though it looks ridiculous and clunky, it is still kind of cool.

The show skips over the many years from the day the bombs fell to the day Lucy goes out, so many things are still shrouded in mystery. However, as cruel and harsh as the Wasteland is, there is still a society, and to be honest, some sort of order. Sure, mutated beasts roam the place so you’re never safe, and people are much more selfish, as they must to survive, but it is surprising that there are still many essential services, food and materials to keep some advanced technology running.

The show could have gone for a setting where everyone is unlikeable. Luckily, it doesn’t take things too negatively and the various characters that it follows, including what seems to be the antagonists, are never truly 100% unlikeable. Each of them has traits that are good, and traits that are bad. Their backgrounds are slowly revealed over the course of the season, which can be annoying if you’re the type that likes to know everything as fast as possible.

Midway through the season, the show manages to introduce a very good hook in its main mystery. While Lucy’s journey above was full of distractions, life continues underground in the vault. You’d feel that both their paths will eventually converge, as they are both honing into the same mystery. It’s an interesting piece, where whoever Lucy left back in the vault starts to question what they were brought up to believe.

The pacing of the season is decent, as it keeps enough things shrouded in mystery, but also reveals enough tantalizing details to keep you going. The final episode opens up with the big revelations of the purpose of the vaults, and what initially caused the war. It was a tiny bit anticlimactic as the uncovering wasn’t as world-shattering as it could have be. It wasn’t helped with Lucy’s plight and how easily she managed to get towards the end, considering the effort and obstacles she had to overcome up until now.

Overall, Fallout is a surprisingly decent show based off a video game. It had a strong opening and then the pacing slows somewhat being picking up again from the middle of the season. There is a lot of mystique and intrigue in the lore, that it slows unveils to you. While the big revelation isn’t mindblowing, the build up was still worth it and it ends with the promise of more.

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Toy Review: Transformers Earthspark Terran Thrash (Deluxe)

Review:  #823

Name:  Terran Thrash

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Terran

Line:  Earthspark

Year of Release:  2024

Size Class:  Deluxe (Wave 5)

Mold Status:  new

VEHICLE MODE:

Thrash transforms into a motorcycle, based upon his appearance in the Earthspark cartoon.

Released in the more expensive and complicated Deluxe size class, this is in general a better motorcycle than the Warrior version.  He's also casted in a much more whiter plastic.

As a motorcycle though, he has the disadvantage of being very small / light for a Deluxe.

Unfortunately, he loses the sidecar, which seems like a massive downgrade.  Instead, the shield is a non-transformable weapon that attached along with the gun on the back.

There is a kickstand to help keep him upright on the table.

One of the annoying things is that he is not symmetrical on both sides.  The robot feet is designed to be slightly offset, which you would initially have thought to be misassembled but it is not an error...

A decent enough motorcycle, just the asymmetrical robot feet on either side of the motorcycle to be disappointing.

TRANSFORMATION:

Thrash has an okay transformation, it's actually fairly uninspired for a motorcycle Transformer.  The front and rear wheels along with the bottom half of the motorcycle forms the robot legs.  The upper portion are the arms, while the front is the chest.

ROBOT MODE:

Thrash has a very good looking robot mode, impressive given that he is so slim with barely any motorcycle kibble hanging off.

The biggest piece of kibble are the wheels behind his legs, but they feel like they are integrated well enough into the robot mode to not be in the way.

The head sculpt is fine, there are some metallic teal highlights.

Height-wise, he is standard for a Deluxe, just that he is very slim.

Articulation is fantastic, with joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees and ankles.  The ankles in particular has a great range of motion.

He comes with two weapons, a shield (that in the cartoon is formed by the sidecar) and a small gun.

The gun can be held in his hand, while the shield pegs onto his forearms.  They look pretty decent.

When not in use, the gun can peg onto his back.

A quick comparison with the Warrior class version released earlier and this Deluxe version is proportioned much better, just that he is missing the sidecar shield that actually transforms as well.

The cleaner white also looks nicer.

He is well balanced and proportioned, adding to his play value.  The small gun can peg on top of the shield.

A strong robot mode that is the definitive version of the character.

OVERALL:

Yes, it is disappointing that Thrash loses the sidecar shield that transforms when compared to the Warrior class figure.  However, he is much better in every other aspect.  The motorcycle is kind of weird with the slightly asymmetrical look (but also easily missed if you didn't know it existed).  The robot mode looks awesome and is a lot of fun to pose.

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