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GARDENARIUM (Windows, Mac, Linux) 

BY PALOMA DAWKINS AND KYLER KELLY

People have wondered about the potential healing properties of psychedelics ever since Timothy Leary tried curing alcoholics by giving them acid in the ’60s. To some, trippy drug-induced visuals are just hippie nonsense. To others, they’re an invitation to embark on a journey of weirdness and self-discovery. Gardenarium presumes the latter, presenting you with a twirling, swirling world that unfurls as you pass, like a blooming flower on MDMA. Tasked with reaching the summit of a psychedelic mountain, you follow the path set before you on the promise of spiritual sightseeing. But it’s not just the world of Gardenarium that gently pushes you forward on your quest: it’s the citizens, too. Character after character, you learn more about how this hypnotic realm came to be. Somewhere along the way, you might learn a bit about yourself, and what you brought you here in the first place.

Perfect for: Flower children, Woody Guthrie, aliens.

Playtime: Depends on how much you took, man.