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Garden Souls Demo

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Recordings

Overall ?Good (+1.4)Good (+1.4) — −3 strongly disagree … +3 strongly agree33 ratings across 3 sessions
Enjoyment ?🤩 Really fun
Playtime2 h 29 mintotal across 3 recordings · in-game time only; survey and notes not counted
Functional ?Visuals: +2.0 — The game looked and sounded great.Challenge: 0.0 — The level of difficulty felt just right.Controls: 0.0 — It was easy to figure out which buttons and keys did what.Goals: +1.3 — I always knew what my goals were in the game.Feedback: +0.7 — I got clear feedback on how I was doing.VisualsChallengeControlsGoalsFeedback
Psychosocial ?Autonomy: +1.3 — I had the freedom to choose how I played.Curiosity: +2.7 — I was curious to see more of the game.Immersion: +2.0 — I felt fully immersed in the game.Mastery: +0.3 — I felt like I was playing well.Meaning: +2.7 — Playing felt like time well spent.AutonomyCuriosityImmersionMasteryMeaning

Player experience — 11 constructs

← DISAGREEAGREE →-3Strongly disagree-2Disagree-1Slightly disagree0Neutral+1Slightly agree+2Agree+3Strongly agreeSession 1Session 2Session 3MEAN
FUNCTIONAL?
AUDIOVISUAL APPEALThe game looked and sounded great.Audiovisual appeal: mean +2.0session 1 — Audiovisual appeal: Agree (+2)session 2 — Audiovisual appeal: Agree (+2)session 3 — Audiovisual appeal: Agree (+2)+2.0CHALLENGEThe level of difficulty felt just right.Challenge: Disagree … Strongly agreeChallenge: mean 0.0session 1 — Challenge: Strongly agree (+3)session 2 — Challenge: Disagree (-2)session 3 — Challenge: Slightly disagree (-1)0.0EASE OF CONTROLIt was easy to figure out which buttonsand keys did what.Ease of control: Disagree … Strongly agreeEase of control: mean 0.0session 1 — Ease of control: Strongly agree (+3)session 2 — Ease of control: Disagree (-2)session 3 — Ease of control: Slightly disagree (-1)0.0CLARITY OF GOALSI always knew what my goals were in thegame.Clarity of goals: Slightly agree … AgreeClarity of goals: mean +1.3session 1 — Clarity of goals: Agree (+2)session 2 — Clarity of goals: Slightly agree (+1)session 3 — Clarity of goals: Slightly agree (+1)+1.3PROGRESS FEEDBACKI got clear feedback on how I was doing.Progress feedback: Slightly disagree … AgreeProgress feedback: mean +0.7session 1 — Progress feedback: Agree (+2)session 2 — Progress feedback: Slightly agree (+1)session 3 — Progress feedback: Slightly disagree (-1)+0.7
PSYCHOSOCIAL?
AUTONOMYI had the freedom to choose how Iplayed.Autonomy: Slightly agree … AgreeAutonomy: mean +1.3session 1 — Autonomy: Agree (+2)session 2 — Autonomy: Slightly agree (+1)session 3 — Autonomy: Slightly agree (+1)+1.3CURIOSITYI was curious to see more of the game.Curiosity: Agree … Strongly agreeCuriosity: mean +2.7session 1 — Curiosity: Strongly agree (+3)session 2 — Curiosity: Agree (+2)session 3 — Curiosity: Strongly agree (+3)+2.7IMMERSIONI felt fully immersed in the game.Immersion: mean +2.0session 1 — Immersion: Agree (+2)session 2 — Immersion: Agree (+2)session 3 — Immersion: Agree (+2)+2.0MASTERYI felt like I was playing well.Mastery: Slightly disagree … AgreeMastery: mean +0.3session 1 — Mastery: Agree (+2)session 2 — Mastery: Neutral (0)session 3 — Mastery: Slightly disagree (-1)+0.3MEANINGPlaying felt like time well spent.Meaning: Agree … Strongly agreeMeaning: mean +2.7session 1 — Meaning: Strongly agree (+3)session 2 — Meaning: Agree (+2)session 3 — Meaning: Strongly agree (+3)+2.7
ENJOYMENT?
ENJOYMENTThe game was fun.Enjoyment: Agree … Strongly agreeEnjoyment: mean +2.7session 1 — Enjoyment: Strongly agree (+3)session 2 — Enjoyment: Agree (+2)session 3 — Enjoyment: Strongly agree (+3)+2.7

Sessions

#AnsweredPlaytimeRatings ?
1Oct 15, 8:53 PM UTC44 minGreat (+2.5) — −3 strongly disagree … +3 strongly agreeGreat
2Oct 15, 9:16 PM UTC43 minGood (+0.8) — −3 strongly disagree … +3 strongly agreeGood
3Oct 15, 10:55 PM UTC1 h 02 minGood (+1.0) — −3 strongly disagree … +3 strongly agreeGood

Reviewer note

#Answer
1Overall, I thought this was a really well-made, polished, and great game that I definitely want to keep playing [41:37, 43:40]. The controller support felt intuitive right away and the visual presentation and animations look vibrant and legit [0:17, 1:34, 1:59]. However, there are a few communication and usability hiccups. The tutorial prompt mentioning 'use cancel' doesn't explain what cancel or the cancel gauge actually is [4:09, 18:40]. Offering rewards like Golden Clovers and Shining Maples before explaining their worth makes choices confusing [17:34, 18:13], and shop descriptions don't clearly state how items activate [32:42]. There was also a UI bug where the merchant interface covers the stats in the top-right corner [37:17]. Finally, I found it hard to get invested in the lore early on [38:50] and noticed dialogue repeats verbatim rather than acknowledging past conversations [23:33, 35:50].
2The game looks nice with cool cartoon-style animations and visual effects, and stringing together elemental combos felt fun once I started unlocking them. However, getting into the flow was rough. The default keyboard controls felt awkward (like K to jump), the game never told me that Tab opens the move list, and some tutorial explanations came after the options were already offered. The difficulty and shop prices also felt very punishing, making early runs feel repetitive.
3I really enjoyed this demo and found it super fun—honestly, it is a game I would purchase. The art style is cute and the attack effects feel great. However, I ran into a few usability frustrations. Early on, I kept accidentally triggering the menu/settings screen without realizing what button caused it. It was also hard to read some directional skill inputs like the up-arrow requirement for the counter attack on a smaller display, and I never quite understood how the cancel mechanic functioned. Additionally, gold felt too stingy to afford shop items, and having no reliable way to recover health made the mini-boss encounters feel a bit overly punishing.