Time Keeper review

Time, Space, and Soul

In Time Keeper you take the role of Tic Toc, an adorable wind-up robot who embarks on a time-bending adventure in order to save the very fabric of reality. The game begins with Tic Toc narrowly escaping the clutches of a time anomaly and landing in a world that simultaneously feels both unknown and familiar. Without any memories, both Tic Toc and the player will have to journey forward to understand the where, and most importantly the when of the location they have landed in. As you travel through the game’s initial levels you will familiarize yourself with the game’s foundational puzzle mechanics and you will encounter Time Keeper’s other main characters: the Guardian and Old-Timer. Soon after, you will begin to unravel the mysterious sequence of events that have endangered the universe, and you will forge a plan to repair the instrument that controls all of time and space, the Cosmic Clock. What I especially like about Time Keeper is how the entire game feels like a CGI cartoon from the 90s or early 2000s brought to life in the form of a game. And I say that on a very positive note as I have very fond memories of the animated movies and shows of that era. The world of Time Keeper evokes something strangely nostalgic while also being pleasant and playful. The game’s cutscenes are a big highlight of the adventure and a very impressive addition considering the fact that Time Keeper is a solo project. It is clear that a lot of time and attention to detail went into creating the cutscenes which all feel dynamic, fun, refined, and make the world feel alive and interesting.

There are many great sequences and cinematography techniques present in these cutscenes which reveal the author’s background and extensive experience in the field of animation. I thought the characters and their designs were also delightful, memorable, and a strong part of the game. The different environments found in Time Keeper are also distinct and interesting as they are filled with all kinds of machinations and silly gizmos with playful designs and fluid animations. Time Keeper hides a lot of charm behind its rusty mechanical gears, which is no doubt the result of a great amount of dedicated passion, time, and thought by the author. It is a game that gives you a warm fuzzy feeling every time you boot it up which is the kind of sense I always get when playing any indie game that has a great amount of effort and love put into it

Broken Mechanisms

Unfortunately, most of the game’s positive highlights end with the first paragraph. The gameplay experience that Time Keeper presents is one that suffers from numerous game design issues on a fundamental level. Let’s start with Time Keeper’s identity which I believe is the origin point of most of the game’s problems. Time Keeper presents itself as a puzzle platformer with “cause and effect” mechanical puzzles. However, the game is actually a hybrid between a puzzle and a precision platformer. There is a significant emphasis (both in the transitional areas and within the puzzles themselves) on timing your jumps, dodging obstacles, timing your movements, avoiding hazards, utilizing traversal devices within the level to get from one place to another, and more. And here is where the core issue comes in: the controls, movement system, and level mechanics are nowhere near polished and responsive enough to support a fluid and fun precision platforming experience. Precision platformers are notorious for being hard to get right as all the ingredients that contribute to making them enjoyable and interesting need to be pristine and executed on an almost perfect level. In most cases, the poor execution of such elements not only does not improve the overall experience but substantially takes away from it. And sadly, Time Keeper falls in that category. The implementation of precision platforming aspects feels like a burden to the game’s charming and clever side and makes the gameplay feel frustrating and, in many cases, even infuriating

g. Additionally, the puzzle design also suffers from similar choices. For example, the game expects you on multiple occasions to perfectly synchronize the movement and traversal mechanics with the physics system, both of which are clunky and not polished enough to create a satisfying result. Overall, this design direction draws a critical eye to many of the game’s weaker parts that would have otherwise gone unnoticed if Time Keeper was more dedicated to playing to its strengths. For example, there are quite a few smart logicbased puzzle sections that encourage the player to think, analyze, and plan the order of their actions without the use of timed physics or precision platforming. Additionally, in certain levels the game cleverly uses non-linear structures, allowing you to discover optional lore pieces that enhance the universe’s world-building, creating a sense of exploration and adding an extra layer of depth to the experience. These types of brain teasers and non-linear additions are certainly the most interesting and innovative parts of the gameplay experience but unfortunately, they are mostly overshadowed by the overall design direction.

Visuals, the Good and the Bad

As mentioned earlier, Time Keeper’s visual presentation has plenty of positives and distinct elements. For example, the cutscenes are fun, fluid, and high quality, and the character designs, as well as many of the object designs, have a lot of personality and great animations. However, there are also many negative aspects including scaling issues, mismatch in resolution quality between assets, lack of a harmonious color palette, particle effects that do not fit, and more. The biggest problem regarding graphics however is not aesthetics, as in puzzle games visual presentation is most importantly a matter of practicality. Graphics are a puzzle game’s opportunity to communicate its concepts and ideas in a clear and non-verbal way, making the experience of solving them smooth and enjoyable. And while in a few levels this is also the case for Time Keeper, in most instances the puzzles feel visually cluttered. For example, in many cases, the environmental background blends in with the interactive foreground. Or the labeling of the connections between levers and switches and their corresponding assets could have been done in a more clear and minimal way

The biggest problem regarding graphics however is not aesthetics, as in puzzle games visual presentation is most importantly a matter of practicality. Graphics are a puzzle game’s opportunity to communicate its concepts and ideas in a clear and non-verbal way, making the experience of solving them smooth and enjoyable. And while in a few levels this is also the case for Time Keeper, in most instances the puzzles feel visually cluttered. For example, in many cases, the environmental background blends in with the interactive foreground. Or the labeling of the connections between levers and switches and their corresponding assets could have been done in a more clear and minimal way. The establishment of a more well-thought-out color palette and some further visual refinement could have certainly helped Time Keeper achieve the level of graphical clarity that puzzle games need. Ultimately, while the game’s visual presentation also has its fair share of issues, it is not nearly as big of a detriment to the experience as the game design choices explored in the previous segment.