Gardens of a New World for Windows

Explore limbo in this indie game

Gardens of a New World is a free-to-play indie game developed by Autumn Rain. In this unique adventure experience, you get to walk around a limbo filled with unusual characters. This game was originally developed as a sequel to Artists of a Dead World and features a lot of the characters and some design similarities.

It has a vague story and a short playthrough, which surprisingly allows Gardens of a New World to leave an impression on its players. This game is similar to God’s Basement in terms of gameplay mechanics and graphics closer to LETHAL OMEN.

A disorienting experience

Gardens of a New World was originally developed for the Haunted PS1 Madvent Calendar 2021, a collaboration between indie game developers. As such, it sports low poly graphics characteristic of games from the 90s and early 2000s. Its simplistic graphics, however, are offset by its disorienting nature. Floors and walls are tilted, with color choices that are rather incoherent and trippy. This makes the game visually unique yet potentially nauseating.

The game seems to lack a coherent story; you are left to explore this limbo to find 2D characters and hear what they have to say. In the end, the game is linear since there’s only one place to go at the end and one end to achieve. Exploring, finding characters, and unlocking the end scenario can be done in a span of 10 to 15 minutes.

However, the game leaves a strong impression as an experience and not as a narrative like most conventional video games. Aside from the contemporary character designs, there are a lot of weird experiences you can enjoy over and over again. The game doesn’t allow your character to die; when you fall from the edges, the world loops and you return on top of the platforms you originally fell from.

A trippy must-try

Although it’s barely a game, Gardens of a New World is something you must try. If you’re looking for a unique experience, you can try this one. It has a disorienting environment, weird color choices, and a vague story told from the perspective of its unique characters. Whether you want to see the ending immediately or fall endlessly in this limbo, you can do and enjoy any way you want.