The Gardens Between is a relaxing adventure-puzzle game for iOS (and other platforms — more on that later) where the flow of time becomes your main puzzle-solving tool. In fact, time is the one thing you actually have control over as the two characters — adventurous Arina and shy Frendt — explore a series of surreal garden islands together.

From the game's description:

Arina, a headstrong girl, and Frendt, a boy wise beyond his years, fall into a series of vibrant, dreamlike island gardens peppered with everyday objects that hold a special significance to the duo. Together they embark on an emotional journey that examines the significance of their friendship: the memories they’ve built, what must be let go, and what should never be left behind.

Designed as an homage to the enduring power of friendship, The Gardens Between places you in control of not the characters themselves, but the force which will change and shape their relationship: time. In the mysterious realm they find themselves transported to, cause and effect are malleable and time flows in all directions. Solve puzzles to reach the apex of each isle and light up constellations of memories, illuminating threads of a bittersweet narrative.

The game's dreamlike islands are often littered with enormous everyday objects influenced by the close friends' shared experiences — one example being an island full of oversized '80s-era gadgets like VCRs, game controllers, keypads, and vintage computers.

As you manipulate time back and forth, the boy and girl will move forward and backward along the island path, interacting with their environment in interestingly mutable ways.

From the game's wiki page:

For example, the player may need to have Arina work forward in time to grab a sphere of light for the lantern, move time backward for her to place it on a jumping cube, and then continue to move forward pass a fog bridge to recollect the cube later. The player cannot move time forward or past a point where either Arina or Frendt cannot progress. Separately, Frendt's ability to interact with devices that control the flow of time for objects in the level may be needed to create paths previously blocked, bring falling light flowers into close proximity to Arina's paths, or similar motions. Other solutions may require lateral thinking that recognizing how the various time stream manipulations can work.

This is one of those games that stands tall as a true work of art, with a beautifully touching story about friendship and growing up, an array of lush environments to explore, and an appropriately ambient soundtrack.

The game is just $5 on the iOS App Store, which is a steal. You can also find the game on...

• Mac App Store ($20)
• Nintendo Switch ($80) — Includes a full-color manual, interior artwork, an exclusive sticker, and three trading cards.
• Steam ($20)
• PS4 (via PlayStation Network) ($20)
• Xbox One ($20)