Twelve Minutes

An ingeniously minimalist time loop game that is at once very satisfying and very frustrating.

It's a masterpiece in terms of the breadth of narrative expressed with such a limited and narrow set of tools. The puzzle of its plot is exquisite. When all is put together and the credits roll you will clap your hands, tip your hat, and yell "bravo".

But you might not have the best time getting there. It's a very short game if you just measure the amount of content, but unless you figure things out effectively you will repeating a lot of it, a lot. Experimentation is the only way to get ahead in this game, but it will punish you with repetition as often as it rewards you with something new. And though the repeating segments have an upper limit of 12 minutes, which seems like not a lot, even a few repeated minutes can feel tiresome when you do them five times in a row.

On this, two things to say. First, the game is just short enough that the frustration doesn't overstay its welcome too much. I got annoyed, yes. But not enough that I didn't want to keep trying. There are online walkthroughs, too, and don't be afraid to use them if the alternative is to rage-quit.

Second, the game suggests more than it can deliver. It's so great in anticipating the various combinations of actions that you might assume it's smarter than it is. A few times I came up with some great ideas on how to solve a problem but the game could only offer a select few options. You can only do what it lets you do, and that's intentionally minimal. You need to play it at its own terms, as a puzzle rather than a sandbox.

Recommended for time loop puzzle fans!

Note that the use of famous actors is 100% a gimmick and would have no effect on your experience. These expensive actors are not any better than other video game actors. If anything, the voice acting is just mediocre.