+61 3 9654 8210 [email protected] 152 Elizabeth St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
+61 3 9654 8210 [email protected] 152 Elizabeth St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Home · FAQ

Answers from the Gardens

The questions players ask most — about the puzzles, the platforms, the purchases and the occasional stubborn island — gathered in one place.

Gameplay & puzzles

Arina and Frendt walk forward on their own. Your input controls the world's timeline: swipe or hold left to rewind, right to let it flow. Objects in the scene remember their trajectories, so you scrub the whole island — not the characters — until a path opens. Later islands add elements running on independent clocks that you can freeze mid-motion.

There are no fail states and no penalty for experimenting — most breakthroughs come from rewinding an object you assumed was scenery. If you're truly stuck, slow down and watch what moves on its own clock; independent movers are almost always the key. Community hint threads (no-spoiler) are linked from our blog.

Most players finish the story in two to three hours — it's deliberately designed as a single memorable evening. Completionists hunting every hidden constellation usually land between four and six hours.

Absolutely. There's no violence, no reading requirement and no way to fail — the entire story is told visually. It's a favourite "first puzzle game" for children, and the friendship theme lands especially well when a parent plays along.

Platforms & performance

The Gardens Between runs on Android 8.0+, iOS 13+, Steam (Windows/macOS), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation and Xbox. Any reasonably modern phone handles it at 60 fps — the visual richness comes from art direction, not hardware strain.

Yes — sign into the same store account (Google Play Games or iCloud/Game Center) and cloud saves carry your lit lanterns across devices in that ecosystem. Cross-store transfer (Android to Steam, say) isn't supported because each platform holds its own licence and save vault.

First, close background apps and restart the device — that fixes most reports. On Android, ensure battery-saver mode is off while playing, as it throttles the GPU. If it persists, send us your device model and OS version via the contact page; the support desk answers within one business day.

Yes — Bluetooth controllers work on mobile, and all console/PC versions are controller-native. The timeline maps to the right stick or shoulder buttons, whichever your platform prefers.

Purchases & account

None — never has, never will. The purchase price covers the entire experience, and all content updates arrive free to every owner.

Refunds follow your store's policy: Google Play handles them inside 48 hours via your order history; the App Store and Steam have their own request flows. Direct purchases from this portal carry a 14-day window — read the refund policy or contact support and we'll sort it.

Check spam first — gift codes especially like to hide there. Still nothing? Write to us from the purchase address via the contact form with your order time and we'll resend within one business day.

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Tech Lab

Runs beautifully on almost anything

The islands look lush because of art direction, not brute force. Deterministic simulation means the engine only computes what the timeline touches.

  • 60 fps on mid-range phones from the last six years
  • Islands load in under two seconds on modern devices
  • Roughly 4–6% battery per hour of play in our tests

Typical device results

Flagship phones (last 3 yrs)60 fps
Mid-range phones (4–6 yrs)55–60 fps
Tablets & Chromebooks60 fps
Cloud Saves

Your lanterns travel with you

Progress syncs automatically inside each platform ecosystem. Three steps and your save follows you to every device you own.

1

Sign into the store account

Google Play Games on Android, Game Center on iOS, or your platform account on console and PC.

2

Finish any island

Saves checkpoint at each altar — the game uploads quietly in the background.

3

Open the game elsewhere

Same account, same dream. The last lit lantern glows exactly where you left it.

Sync coverage by platform

  • Android — Google Play Games cloud save
  • iPhone & iPad — iCloud / Game Center
  • Steam — Steam Cloud
  • Switch — Nintendo Save Data Cloud

Cross-platform transfers aren't possible — each store keeps its own save vault. More detail above.

Households

Family & shared-device questions

One purchase, whole family?

On Android, Google Play Family Library covers up to six accounts. Apple's Family Sharing does the same on iOS — buy once, everyone plays on their own profile.

Safe for a child's device?

No ads, no chat, no purchases, no external links inside the game. It's fully offline once installed — a rare thing to hand a kid worry-free.

Can two people share saves?

Each device profile keeps one journey. Siblings sharing a tablet can alternate islands, or use separate store accounts for parallel playthroughs.

Fine Print

Policies, translated to plain English

Privacy Policy

What we collect (very little), why, and how to have it deleted.

Terms of Service

The agreement between you and the portal — licensing, conduct, liability.

Refund Policy

14-day window on direct purchases, plus how platform refunds work.

Cookie Policy

Every cookie on this site, named and explained in a table you can actually read.

Still Stuck?

Humans answer here

The support desk is staffed by the same Melbourne team that built the game — including, on lucky days, the designer of the puzzle that's beating you.

Support form

Fastest route — the contact form reaches the right desk directly. Replies within one business day.

Desk hours

Monday to Friday, 9:00–18:00 AEST. Weekends are for finishing puzzles, not answering tickets.

Didn't find your answer?

Write to the studio — real humans, real replies, no ticket bots.

Contact the team