The Gardens Between launches on PS5 this June 16! We’ve spent months specially crafting The Gardens Between for PS5 and it brings sharper details, verdant HDR colors, and bespoke sensations exclusively for the PS5 DualSense wireless controller.

To be honest we thought that after four years developing the game things would settle down. We thought we’d take it easy. But it’s been a huge journey and the reception has been beyond our wildest dreams. We were nominated for more than 30 awards including several Game of the Year awards, and it took us around the world!

Being the perfectionists that we are, every new platform has taken a little more time than we thought. We first started tweaking and improving the game for PS5 in early 2021, but we enjoyed the process so much that we just kept making it better at every turn. In this blog post I’ll detail what’s changed and why the PlayStation 5 is now the best platform to play The Gardens Between.

A quick recap

The Gardens Between is a surreal puzzle adventure that follows best friends, Arina and Frendt, as they fall into a mysterious world of beautiful garden islands. They wake up in a vibrant dreamlike world that represents their significant memories from an adventurous friendship since becoming next door neighbors. You control and manipulate time itself to help Arina and Frendt solve puzzles and unlock the secrets of the gardens. Together you explore their blossoming friendship through their memories, all culminating in a climactic ending that I won’t spoil for you. 

It’s a very unique game. The story is told without words or text. Instead the story is conveyed ambiently through the abstract and surreal environment, the characters’ emotive reactions and their growing friendship. Observation is key to understanding the story. It results in a welcoming, peaceful experience with no time pressure, fail states, or complex user-interface to learn.

The game has been described as “the simplest deep game possible”, and a “masterpiece of minimalist storytelling” – descriptions we’re very proud of.

Ok, let’s dig into what’s new!

DualSense wireless controllers 

The DualSense wireless controllers on PlayStation 5 are just fantastic. The new high fidelity haptics give a precise tactile sense, which inspired us to entirely rebuild the haptic moments in order to fully take advantage of the new technology. These new bespoke haptics are exclusive to the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller!

The haptics we’ve added are designed around the experiences of Arina and Frendt in the gardens. We asked ourselves “what sensations would they feel as they navigate the lush gardens?” The deep rumble of thunder. The ephemeral wisp of light floating into the lantern. The crunch of placing the lantern onto a stone surface.

We also support the responsive triggers of the DualSense controller. Push on any obstacle blocking your forward motion through time and you will feel time pushing back.

Graphical leap

Thanks to the power of PS5, The Gardens Between looks and feels better than ever before. The upgrade to HDR (on capable screens), combined with a true 4k resolution at 60 frames per second, and temporal anti-aliasing (shipping first on PlayStation 5) the game is both crisp and fluid. We then unleashed the full texture resolution where it was lacking, enhanced line rendering, increased shadow precision, and perhaps spent an unreasonable amount of time adjusting the water reflection shaders 🤓. It looks sublime!

This week, virtual photographers across Twitter and Instagram braved the Forbidden West to photograph the menacing machines encountered during Aloy’s newest adventure. Let’s dive in:

@ChowellCw gets dangerously close to a Stalker doing what they do best

@UYScuti10 witnesses the silhouette of a Tallneck bathed in sunset

@TheNanoWarrior is caught in this Watcher’s sights

@ArtofVP says “… It’s right behind me, isn’t it?”

@coalabr14 captures the burning rage of a rampaging Slitherfang

@i-am-the-z combines hunter and hunted to create this stunning composition

@MdeavorVP catches a Clawstrider in the midst of a chilling cry

Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week? 

THEME: Horizon Forbidden West: NPCs

SUBMIT BY: Wednesday 9 AM PT on June 1

Let’s hear it for the supporting cast of Guerrilla’s latest! Whether it’s a sneaky candid or a posed portrait, capture your favorite NPC’s good side for a chance to be included in next week’s Share of the Week lineup.

Greetings to all the fans and supporters of Final Fantasy XI Online (FFXI)!

Earlier this week, the game celebrated its 20^th year anniversary, and we couldn’t be prouder or more honored by the support of all the fans and countless memories that we’ve built together during this time! To be able to say that we’ve continued to provide service for players around the world since May 16, 2002 is a remarkable achievement for us and we’ve been so happy to celebrate this moment with you all.

Continuing with the celebrations, a few of us from the FFXI development team shared our thoughts on the past 20 years.

Akihiko Matsui: I’m Akihiko Matsui, a “second generation” FFXI producer. I was part of what you might call the early team, and while working on the international version of Legend of Mana and thinking about our next project, Sakaguchi-san told me to do my research because we would be making an online game next. I joined the FFXI team in the beginning as a battle planner. 

Yoji Fujito: I’m the current director of FFXI. I have been supporting what can be referred to as “lifestyle” content, the best-known of which may be the mog gardens and chocobo raising, as well as system-related aspects such as the chat or storage systems. Originally, I joined as a planner for the development of Einhänder and Parasite Eve II at the SQUARE Osaka development department (currently the Osaka office). After that, I answered the call for developing FFXI, and have been involved in the development ever since. 

Masaru Taniguchi: My name is Masaru Taniguchi and I’m in charge of battle content. I have been involved in the development of FFXI since the Wings of the Goddess expansion. Before FFXI was released, I was in the QA department and worked on debugging the game.

Iori Watanabe: Hello, I’m Iori Watanabe. I joined the team as a tester during the beta version and got the opportunity to become involved as a planner from the second half of the Wings of the Goddess expansion pack. I oversee system modifications to enhance convenience with respect to fishing, mounts, and storage slips beyond Abyssea. Recently, I worked on storage expansion-related designs.

Yasushi Yamazaki: My name is Yasushi Yamazaki. As far as introductions, it would probably be easiest to understand my role if I say that I am in charge of Trusts, Ambuscade Chapter 1, and more recently, A.M.A.N. Trove. I was originally an FFXI player, but when I saw Producer Matsui’s passionate message to recruit development team staff, I applied for the position and joined the team.

Takashi Hisagi: I joined

We’re thrilled to announce our latest DLC for Jurassic World Evolution 2. Developed in close partnership with Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment, Jurassic World Evolution 2: Dominion Biosyn Expansion is inspired by Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment’s Jurassic World Dominion so you can bring all-new thrills, excitement and chaos to the ground-breaking management simulation game. The Expansion features an immersive campaign, new prehistoric species (including highly requested feathered dinosaurs), an original Chaos Theory scenario, innovative gameplay mechanics, and more.

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First up is Campaign mode. Immerse yourself in a thrilling new story expanding on Jurassic World Dominion. You’ll work alongside iconic characters from the franchise including Claire Dearing (voiced by Bryce Dallas Howard), Dr. Alan Grant (voiced by Sam Neill), Dr. Ellie Sattler (voiced by Laura Dern) and Lewis Dodgson (voiced by Campbell Scott). You will construct Biosyn Genetics new research compound, sending scientists to retrieve amber-encased DNA, synthesise and incubate stunning new species, and observe their diverse behaviours.

Develop the Biosyn Genetics Research Compound through multiple stages of construction and use a range of film-inspired buildings to build out the facility; dig deep into amber mines and unearth rare genomes to create all-new prehistoric species; instruct scientists to synthesise and incubate awe-inspiring dinosaurs such as new feathered species; and release them into your parks. In addition, there’s a faster way to move staff around your facility with the Hyper Loop transport network.

Next, is the thrilling new Chaos Theory scenario. Now, in Jurassic World Evolution 2: Dominion Biosyn Expansion, you can play through a gripping new scenario inspired by the epic events of Jurassic World Dominion. Build your very own facility to house dinosaurs in a diverse Sierra Nevada environment featuring majestic pine forests, snowy hills and sweeping plains. Use dinosaur-wrangling mechanics to corral herds of animals quickly without needing to tranquilise and transport them and ensure their safety with new security measures. When rustlers try stealing your dinosaurs, fend them off by blasting high-powered floodlights and speeding to intercept their vehicles. However you choose to manage the scenario, in the expansion’s new Chaos Theory mode, you’ll see how events unfold when you take control.

The Dominion Biosyn Expansion wouldn’t be complete without four spectacular new prehistoric species. These include eagerly anticipat

It’s been more than two months since our last State of Play – who’s ready for a new one? Tune in live next Thursday, June 2 for nearly 30 minutes of announcements and updates from the world of PlayStation.

We’ll have some exciting reveals from our third-party partners, plus a sneak peek at several games in development for PlayStation VR2. Watch over at Twitch or on YouTube starting 3pm Pacific / 6pm Eastern / 12:00am CET.

See you next week!

Regarding Co-streaming and Video-On-Demand (VOD)

Please note that this broadcast may include copyrighted content (e.g. licensed music) that PlayStation does not control. We welcome and celebrate our amazing co-streamers and creators, but licensing agreements outside our control could interfere with co-streams or VOD archives of this broadcast. If you’re planning to save this broadcast as a VOD to create recap videos, or to repost clips or segments from the show, we advise omitting any copyrighted music.