Timespinner

 PC
User Score
6.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 44 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 44
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 44
  3. Negative: 11 out of 44

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  1. Ozma01
    Jul 28, 2020
    0
    Graphically its very well done, but nearly all of it falls short of its potential.

    The comparisons made to SotN are understandable but misplaced. In SotN you get a whole huge castle to explore while in this, its basically one level, connected to another with a very long hallway. Time traveling is between the past and the present. The one section you showed is probably one of only 3    Graphically its very well done, but nearly all of it falls short of its potential.

    The comparisons made to SotN are understandable but misplaced. In SotN you get a whole huge castle to explore while in this, its basically one level, connected to another with a very long hallway. Time traveling is between the past and the present. The one section you showed is probably one of only 3 separate occasions where time travel is needed or utilized. This is one of the biggest problems with the game, you have too many undeveloped gameplay features. You can stop time, you have different orbs, you travel through time on occasion, you have up to 3 different pets. You can level up items. All of it is shallow, and all of it is unbalanced. Nearly every boss after the first one is a gigantic push over because of how OP you become early on. You might have several orb types but there isn't any real reason to ever switch from the first 3 you get. Since you only have one level that you explore twice because of the two time frames, the game is over (about 5 bosses defeated) in less then 3 hours.

    Finally, and this is more of a personal issue, the ham-fisted identity politics of the game ruin it as well. There is a character you talk to through out the game that turns out to be a trans person, and this reveal is a bonus for 100 percenting the game. Yes, you're reward is not a new item or power, it's someone's gender identity. You may also notice that nearly everyone in this game is brown, however the main villain is a white guy. The other villain is a woman, who after you defeat her is allowed to live despite the lore stating she at this point was basically a warmonger. Also she is a lesbian and her lesbian love triangle is what causes the war of planets, and this too is revealed in the journal entries. By the way, all the lore text and journal entries are high school level in writing and composition, it's frankly embarrassing.

    By that point i had myself played through too much of the game to warrant a refund on steam, but I can still tell others to steer very clear of this one, its not worth your time. Play Order of Ecclesia instead.    … Expand
  2. Yaman1648
    Oct 14, 2018
    0
    Short repetitive game that has identity politics shoehorned in and tries normalize things like polygamy. Every character is defined by their sexuality and are thus nothing more then a token, the story suffers from this and is just as badly written as the token characters.
    The developer never told backers on his Kickstarter about putting politics in the game, it just ended up as a nasty surprise.
  3. Hawkknot
    Sep 12, 2020
    3
    The game has really good pixel-art graphics, and tight, responsive controls.
    But - the level design is uninspired (which is REALLY BAD for a metroidvania-style game).
    it's also WAAAAAY too easy, and there is no way of increasing the difficulty without beating it on normal first. So you're stuck in Journo-mode unless you feel like beating the game twice, at which point you're so powerful    The game has really good pixel-art graphics, and tight, responsive controls.
    But - the level design is uninspired (which is REALLY BAD for a metroidvania-style game).
    it's also WAAAAAY too easy, and there is no way of increasing the difficulty without beating it on normal first. So you're stuck in Journo-mode unless you feel like beating the game twice, at which point you're so powerful that you're just breezing through the game on auto-pilot, and the point of having a higher difficulty is moot.

    The story is complete **** and full of identity politics - gays, lesbians, trans and asexual NPCs galore, and that's all there is to them. They are cardboard cutout characters with [insert x sexuality here] written all over them, and that is all there is to them. Boring as **** and the story writing isn't any better, I mean, the game has you symbolically killing the patriarchy for ****s sake... It's THAT bad...

    Save yourself the cringe and play Hollow Knight instead.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. Meristation
    Nov 2, 2018
    70
    A strange metroidvania in that it puts its story wholly at its front, Timespinner is a unique time-travelling experience whose subject matter is more mature than it may seem. Plus, you get to have a partner dragon.
    Read full review
  2. Eurogamer Italy
    Oct 30, 2018
    80
    A lovely Castlevania-like adventure with intriguing time-control mechanics. It also looks and plays great.
    Read full review
  3. PC Gamer
    Oct 9, 2018
    70
    The pixel-art is faultless and the gameplay is pleasingly reminiscent of the classics, but Timespinner doesn't offer much that feels new.
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