12 Minutes is another timeloop game – an emerging genre that's getting more popular nowadays. With games like Deathloop, Outer Wilds, The Forgotten City, and Majora's Mask, just to name a few, paving the way for an artistic game like 12 Minutes, timeloop is becoming more ubiquitous in gaming than ever before. But does 12 Minutes actually deliver in its promise of offering a complex and compelling timeloop puzzle? We take a look at 12 Minutes review scores over at Metacritic and see what the critics say about Annapurna Interactive's latest published game.
12 Minutes Review Scores on Metacritic: 79 Metascore
In 12 Minutes, you play a man voiced by James McAvoy, trapped in a 12-minute timeloop that leads to you and your wife (voiced by Daisy Ridley) dying by default. The crime is committed by a cop who barges into your house. Voiced by Willem Defoe, the cop tells that you're under arrest, alleging that your wife murdered her father, and uses force to get you down to your knees and your face on the ground.
With this simple premise, it's easy to dismiss 12 Minutes. But 12 Minutes review scores show that it's more than what meets the eye. A title like this benefits a lot from having the Annapurna Interactive title along with it, giving it more attention than it would otherwise have. Thankfully, 12 Minutes reviews have been kind, with a Metascore currently sitting at 79. That's not so bad, and we're sure that many puzzle and point-and-click adventure enthusiasts will dearly enjoy this game.
GamingBolt gave the game a 9/10
Review site GamingBolt gave their 12 Minutes review a score of 9. The good: Great environmental puzzles; good performance; and engaging storyline. The bad: Occasionally inconsistent dialogue choices.
“Twelve Minutes is a thrill ride through and through, constantly presenting players with new and interesting revelations in the time looping narrative that never fails to keep one guessing. It veers away from stereotypical point-and-click adventure tropes, and challenges players to bend its densely-detailed environments to achieve their goals. It’s not a perfect game by any stretch, but gets so much right that players even vaguely interested in the premise should definitely give this game a go.”
Shacknews gives 12 Minutes an 8
Review site Shacknews also gave 12 Minutes a favorable review. However, they noted that some animation hiccups and the trial-and-error way of solving puzzles in the game got in the way in their enjoyment. Again, the voice acting of the cast and the gripping narrative was praised by the reviewer.
“Twelve Minutes tells a gripping story through a unique, time-jumping point-and-click adventure experience. There’s a sense of thrill working out the narrative based on little clues but, unfortunately, getting this information to the other characters to progress the plot can become a frustrating task of trial-and-error in the last act. Overall, Twelve Minutes is an unforgettable experience that has been worth the wait.”
PC Gamer was disappointed, gives 12 Minutes a 53/100
Finally, we have PC Gamer‘s 12 Minutes review scores. While definitely not the only review site to be displeased by 12 Minutes, they definitely gave the lowest score amongst all critics at press time. The reviewer described the game as “A time-loop puzzle game… with *feelings*. While the game was clever and the narrative was interesting, the time loop mechanics of the game quickly descended to frustration.
“12 Minutes is an ambitious game for a small development team, but it ends up constrained by its main idea. I reached almost every solution by doing slightly different permutations of the same few actions, but with little of the creative reasoning or observation that better mystery games like Return of the Obra Dinn thrive on. Even when I did feel clever solving something, that satisfaction was dulled by repeating the solution.”
Conclusion
After reading through all of the reviews, what do you think of 12 Minutes? Do you think that it's worth the $25 prize tag? Is 12 Minutes worth it? Should you get 12 Minutes?
For us, the game seems to be perfect for those looking for a different experience from what they play on the regular. The game's a nice change of pace, which could help spice up your gaming library. However, it's also the kind of game that requires a lot of patience and commitment. It's the kind of game that you save an entire day or even an entire weekend to crack into and solve. It's not the kind of game that you'll go back to every now and then. If you're looking for a game to complete on one holiday weekend, then 12 Minutes is for you. But if you can't give the time and effort, then steer clear.
Follow Us
Subscribe