This review contains spoilers
12 Minutes is a generally solid yet sometimes frustrating game. The time-loop mechanic encourages the player to make different decisions, which is where the majority of my enjoyment came from. Many of my first loops were spent experimenting, seeing just how radical the story would become.
Progressing the story however at certain points feels tedious because the way the game communicates player progression is ambiguous at best. When some key information is discovered by the protagonist, his dialogue with the wife character changes to reflect that. In other cases though (especially towards the end of the game) where it should seem like the dialogue should advance, again, it does not. While I enjoyed the experimentation in the beginning, when it came to moving forward meaningfully, I was never quite certain whether a loop progressed my available options, and I think that is the game's key flaw.
As for the narrative itself, it kept me invested to the end, but I feel some of its major plot reveals get spoiled since they are tied to player decisions. For example, the final reveal of the nanny's name being Dahlia, which is the protagonist's mother's name, has this weight in the story like this monumental reveal. When I received the dialogue from the cop where he tries recollecting the nanny's name, I was like, "Oh, it's probably Dahlia, right?" However, I didn't have the baby clothes with me, so I had to do another loop to progress it, and so by the time I got to the reveal, it very anticlimactic.
12 Minutes is an ambitious, intriguing game that ultimately came and went for me. I don't have much interest in going back now that it's done, but I want to play more games like this because I think this is a genre brimming with potential.
2.5/5
Progressing the story however at certain points feels tedious because the way the game communicates player progression is ambiguous at best. When some key information is discovered by the protagonist, his dialogue with the wife character changes to reflect that. In other cases though (especially towards the end of the game) where it should seem like the dialogue should advance, again, it does not. While I enjoyed the experimentation in the beginning, when it came to moving forward meaningfully, I was never quite certain whether a loop progressed my available options, and I think that is the game's key flaw.
As for the narrative itself, it kept me invested to the end, but I feel some of its major plot reveals get spoiled since they are tied to player decisions. For example, the final reveal of the nanny's name being Dahlia, which is the protagonist's mother's name, has this weight in the story like this monumental reveal. When I received the dialogue from the cop where he tries recollecting the nanny's name, I was like, "Oh, it's probably Dahlia, right?" However, I didn't have the baby clothes with me, so I had to do another loop to progress it, and so by the time I got to the reveal, it very anticlimactic.
12 Minutes is an ambitious, intriguing game that ultimately came and went for me. I don't have much interest in going back now that it's done, but I want to play more games like this because I think this is a genre brimming with potential.
2.5/5