Comedy, drama, horror, intrigue. The science fiction subgenre that comprises the time loops It has been a constant in the cinema and also in video games. Trapped in time, Happy Death Day or Russian Doll are just a few examples of works that have played with this interesting storytelling mechanic. What brings us here today is the Twelve Minutes analysis, a game that chooses precisely to make use of time loops to get fully into an adventure full of tension and that never ceases to surprise at every step we take. Today we tell you what we think of the work of the Portuguese Luis Antonio, who began his career as the main artist of the puzzle video game The Witness and who is now established not only as the main person in charge of a title, but also as a narrator.
Clock, don’t mark the hours
Twelve Minutes puts us in the shoes of a man who returns home after a hard day at work. Fortunately for him, his wife has prepared a very special evening: his favorite dessert, a gift and a romantic dance await him. However, everything goes wrong when a police break into his house, accuses his wife of murder and attacks our character to death. What should be an end, however, is only the beginning. And it is that when our character “dies” will reappear entering the door of his house and running into the same scene over and over again: romantic evening, police breaking in, and death.
It will depend on our actions to be able to change what happens and unravel the mystery that has us stuck in this twelve minute time loop that does not stop reminding us of a traumatic event. Under this simple premise, Twelve Minutes manages to plot a brilliant story loaded with plot twists and where nothing is what it seems. Every detail, every object and every corner of the house will end up becoming our best allies to be able to solve an endless enigma. Literally.
Point and click
Indie storytellers have in recent times been enshrined in the misnamed genre of walking simulator, in which the narration of the story supports a flat gameplay and without much to offer (obviously there are exceptions). Luis Antonio’s work, for his part, takes us back to the 90s, to the golden age of the genre of point-and-click adventures, in which the interaction with the environment by investigating each of the elements on the screen is essential to discover how to progress. And he does it with a curious and effective overhead perspective, which places us above the heads of the characters and deliberately restricts the player’s point of view.
Manage to find hidden items or try different actions to those already tried previously is one of the keys to progress in Twelve Minutes. It doesn’t matter how crazy or wild you think what you’re going to do. Try it. Only then can you see new things, listen to conversations that give you more information or gather additional clues to reach the end of the game. Even if you get stuck for a few consecutive loopsTwelve Minutes never squeezes the player too hard until the end of the adventure, which allows us to move forward with ease and complete the story in about four or five hours, depending on how fast you are realizing what you need to do.
Conversations with the characters with another of the main sources of obtaining new information and as we discover more things we can also let these characters know, so we will create new situations. Repeating is the way to move forward in Twelve Minutes, so don’t be afraid to do the same thing many times. changing a single detail. Maybe that detail is the one that allows you to obtain the information you needed so much to unlock something new.
Adventure made in Hollywood
We cannot leave aside one of the great positive aspects of Twelve Minutes: its voice cast. James mcavoy (X-Men, Multiple), Daisy ridley (Star Wars, Chaos Walking) and Willem dafoe (Spider-Man, The Lighthouse) are the three actors who give voice to the main trio. The presence of Annapurna Interactive as editor and distributor of Luis Antonio’s video game has allowed the Portuguese creative to add enormous talent to his work, which takes it to another level. They all scratch at a huge level, although personally we would like to highlight Ridley, who probably has the most complex role and embroiders it to each scene.
The sound is also complemented by a original soundtrack very attractive and with licensed songs, specifically from the great Carlos Gardel. But we can not forget also the visual section. One that stands out, as we have previously commented, for its overhead perspective, but also for an elaborate and detailed artistic section that reminds us that Luis Antonio was already sublime in that sense in the aforementioned The Witness. Maybe Twelve Minutes not be entirely accurate in its control with command (sometimes we bolt the door instead of opening or closing it, for example), but it is one of the few things that we can put a but to an adventure that, for everything else , borders on brilliance.
conclusion
Twelve Minutes is not a video game for everyone. Its narrative-focused approach and point-and-click gameplay seem to take us to another era, but the quality of its story is universal. McAvoy, Ridley and Dafoe raise an already plot to the umpteenth power very well written and which we can only reproach for being too picky to reach the final end. However, the script twists, the ingenuity that asks us to solve according to what situations and the enormous variety of things we can do (even some very gruesome and ruthless) make Twelve Minutes an essential game and one of the great candidates to be the 2021 reveal.