Twelve Minutes Review
Played on Xbox One (base)
Developed by Luis Antonio, Nomada Studio
Released 19th August 2021
Twelve Minutes originally began its development cycle with Luis Antonio, a former Rockstar and Ubisoft artist, tackling a project with nods and inspiration from directors like Stanley Kubrick and Alfred Hitchcock, as well as films like Groundhog Day and Filth; all by himself. Between its announcement in 2016 and its actual release in 2021, Luis Antonio brought on a team of 5, introduced legendary actors like Willem DaFoe and James McAvoy into the project, and even removed some gameplay elements. To say the least, this game had an interesting progression behind it - it's a shame that the same can't be said about its entirety.
Story
The story is decent. Twelve Minutes has a great beginning, consisting of a time loop intertwined with a murder mystery. The focus pinpoints the protagonist reliving the same twelve minutes of an evening in which he has dinner with his wife and is given a pleasant surprise before having to deal with a shady police officer. Sounds quite bland, but the events that unfold are intriguing and have generally good twists. However, in the ending, after the player has uncovered all the twists, it all just feels so weird and uncomfortable to think about - unique, but uncomfortable.
Gameplay
The gameplay is designed in a peculiar way. What I mean is that all its point-and-click puzzles and their designs feel superb, as they all fall into place in a successive pattern, not being too difficult or easy. Yet, they are ridiculously repetitive. I understand that there is only so much this game can do with a time loop concept, but there should've been greater depth and vision for this game if that was the case. Perhaps if it went with its original idea of taking place in a small neighbourhood over 24 hours, I wouldn't be complaining so much. Additionally, the timing felt a little too strict at some points, meaning if the player messed up by being out of sync or dying, they'd have to sit through all the same dialogue and actions leading up to their subsequent attempt before trying again.
Characters
Considering Willem DaFoe is present among the cast, I feel obligated to give this game a 10/10 on characters and call it a day. Luckily, I can give it a similar score as the game has some convincing roles and performances by DaFoe, James McAvoy and Daisy Ridley, all exhibiting dialogue that feels like it's written by others who understand how actual human beings talk. I know this shouldn't come across as a surprise but the sheer quantity of games that have stiff and robotic voice acting, dialogue and body language feels offensive. Thankfully, this game makes up for the others’ sins.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere has some positives, but it's balanced out by problems, in my opinion. The optical aesthetic of the game has some great visual moments, especially with the lighting from the candles and the lightning: it's cool and atmospheric. However, the repetition of seeing the same room over and over again gets monotonous by the second hour and makes the game feel like an eyesore. The music is also decent. It has some fantastic haunting and enchanting ticking, reminiscent of a clock. It makes the whole experience feel cinematic and worthy to be put in a movie but as a result, it loses its memorability, as movie soundtracks end up being forgotten 9 times out of 10.
Story - 6/10
Gameplay - 5/10
Characters - 9/10
Atmosphere - 6/10
Mediocre
An experience only worth your time to see these brilliant actors do their brilliant jobs, but at that point, you're better off just watching one of their films.
