Secrets of Sylvan Gardens (only 2 reviews as of 9/27)

I saw on the review spreadsheet that there are only 2 games left with only 2 reviews. I thought I’d shout out this one!

Secrets of Sylvan Gardens is listed as over 2 hours, but it’s not like 5 or 10 hours. It proceeds in distinct days, and once you see how much goes into 1 day, you’ll know how long the whole game is. It can be done in maybe 4 hours, like a couple hours one night and a couple more another or four hours on a weekend.

The idea of the game is that you are sleepwalking into some magical gardens. An old magic-wielding woman created them a long time ago and the aftereffects of her choices are causing trouble in the modern day. You meet four different people and try to resolve their issues.

It’s a cozy/comfy game with generally low stakes, although the very ending has some very significant high longterm stakes. The romance is no-conflict, more of an exploration of people’s identity. The puzzles are pretty relaxed.

I enjoyed it, and I think it could merit some more reviews, so I’m throwing this brief description out there. It’s eminently completable and I found the ending choices interesting.

12 Likes

I’m playing it now and enjoying it! I think I’m getting towards the end; will likely finish it today or tomorrow.

6 Likes

Not that it matters much, but it does have 3 reviews technically—mine is just private until the comp is over.

4 Likes

Thanks so much for posting this, Brian! Really appreciate it!

Regarding the length, here’s some data if it’s helpful for folks’ time management. Between my playtesters, times reported here, and on IFDB: nearly all players (i.e. all but two) completed the game in 4 hours or less. About half completed the game in 2 to 2 1/2 hours. The average time is currently a smidge over 3 hours.

2 Likes