Garden of Oblivion is a free and short visual novel with puzzle elements. The art style is cute (Lotte is adorable by the way), the BGM is nice, and the story itself was interesting. This game actually surprised me, I wasn’t expecting much at first. But I must say that I enjoyed the bad ending better than the “good ending” lol also that mirror scene was awesome!

6/10. I hope that the developers can make a sequel someday and hopefully add more background to the story.

It's difficult to get into any kind of detail about this game without also spoiling its major elements, partly because it's so short, but also because it's a visual novel all about mystery and gradual revelation - a brief journey of discovery that both player and character alike must go on to learn the truth of a strange, wonderous world.

A young woman wakes up in an unfamiliar bedroom unsure of how she got there. Upon venturing outside she finds herself in a walled garden inhabited by odd, talking creatures that seem excited to be reacquainted with her, but who she herself has no recollection of. Magical as this "segment of paradise" seems, not wanting to spend the rest of her life within the confines of this twee prison, she spends her time trying to find out what's on the other side of the mysterious locked door amidst her otherwise impenetrable surroundings.

It's not a "pure" visual novel as there are elements of moving around between screens to talk to different characters and explore the environment ever so slightly at your leisure, and even a handful of jigsaw puzzles thrown in, too. But for the most part, this is very much a story-driven, text-heavy game more so than interactive fiction. Thankfully, both the story and writing are good enough to back that up.

The subject matter of the game is moderately heavy on aspects of existentialism, and occasionally draws upon a few literary references here and there, which might not be for everyone, but I'd still say it's reasonably accessible regardless of a person's knowledge or interest in such things. And even without much literary knowledge of my own, the story was still something that struck me heavily on a personal level and was enough to keep me engrossed and captivated to the very end, even if the reveals were a tad predictable.

Some may complain at the total lack of voice acting, but I'd actually argue that's more to its benefit in this instance and allows the reader to project their own, far more personal characteristics onto the personalities, helped in no small part by the excellent art on display. While it may be fairly brief and straightforward, I think it's unique and interesting enough to merit having its own little place carved out among most players Steam library.

A short visual novel with minute adventure game puzzle-solving elements contained within. There are 2 endings. Despite the cartoony graphics, the story is quite dark and for the most part effective. Game progression was done well. The "horror" element is underplayed by the cuteness of the graphics - which may or may not have been a good thing...

Note: Some players have suggested that this game is a rip-off of Dreaming Mary, another indie game that was released in 2014. Judge for yourself by watching the Dreaming Mary playthrough here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9R82SxIGHcs

I've been avoiding this game for a while, but I'm glad that I settled down with it for one evening. In an hour experience, you'll get a psychological trip about sacrificing paradise to learn the truth. Is knowledge really worth the price you pay?

Accurate biblical allegory aside, this short experience presents a game that's part kinetic novel and part hidden object game (utilizing Ren'py's engine), quite light in both aspects and the narrative is well told. There are a few jumpscare moments that even looking at the image gallery on Steam still may not prepare you as you may still get surprised by the same jumpscares...they aren't terrifying, but they are startling.

As far as the story goes, you play as a punk girl who wakes up in a fantasy land, but her curiosity gets the better of her as some creatures I can only guess are her imaginary friends try hard to keep her ignorant in a world of pure bliss. As the protagonist proceeds to learn the truth, she becomes more twisted and the world begins to rot...the cute and cuddly friends suffer thanks to her increasing knowledge and her obsession to learn more. The dialogue is well-written and the foreshadowing is perfectly placed.

Garden of Oblivion is both pleasant and creepy at the same time. It's far darker than Port of Call, but is it worth your time? As timid as I am about horror stuff, this story was certainly worth my time and it may be worth your time too. It's short, free, and has achievements. Have a spare hour for some dark entertainment? Look no further. Just be forewarned, it gets pretty dark.

8/10 Sweet things grow in this Garden of Oblivion.

Can speed through for the achievements ,also enjoyed the jigsaw puzzles.

I am glad it's free to play, because it looks like a "Dreaming Mary" game rip-off or at least heavily inspired. I finished it really quick and there only seems to be two endings so that's good, but it was more so boring, and the puzzles were ALL literal puzzles and all the same except the picture at the end.

I would only recommend this game to players that are ok with very heavy topics.

This is very introspective, well written and I enjoyed the story & character development.

Game play was shortish and simple, though Garden of Oblivion is more about the experience of the narrative, and is free. Achievements achievable. Artwork was beautiful.

Please read more.

Garden of Oblivion is a pretty decent visual novel. The game tells, what I felt to be a compelling story in a short amount of time. The art is decent and the overall quality is good. I don't want to go into much detail considering the length of the game, but if you enjoy free VN games you will most likely enjoy Garden of Oblivion as well.

Better story than twilight