12 Minutes Reviews
Twelve Minutes has an intoxicating premise about a man stuck in a time loop, backed by a Hollywood cast of voice actors that immediately presents the game with a veneer of cinematic prestige. But just as it quickly captivates the player with the tantalising promise to unravel all its mysteries, it also loses all that steam just as rapidly with its unbelievable twists and unspeakable violence, resulting in a conclusion that's as mind-boggling as it's nauseating. In the end, Twelve Minutes can't seem to rise above its film influences, as it grinds to an unsatisfying, disconcerting halt.
So with every repeated loop, and every new piece of info that leads to more narrative threads to pull on, Twelve Minutes is certainly fascinating to unravel. Some of it might start to feel a bit clunky, when dialogue starts mashing up against itself and characters move in awkward ways, but on the whole, it’s a puzzle I kept wanting to piece together, both fascinated and afraid of the answers I might find. It keeps the story driving forward, and if some deep, dark character drama set in a time loop sounds appealing, you’ll find what you’re looking for here.
I would not call Twelve Minutes just an experiment, because the result is convincing in every aspect and the perfectible parts are absolutely minor. The experience packaged by Luis Antonio and Annapurna is another excellent example of the possibilities that videogames can offer, both in narrative and interactive terms.
Review in Italian | Read full review
A clever and idiosyncratic time loop detective thriller with top notch voice acting, which suffers from circular gameplay that quickly descends into monotony.
Twelve Minutes tells a gripping story through a unique, time-jumping point-and-click adventure experience.
Experimental and unique, 12 Minutes forgoes some classic gaming standards in favor of a stylized, cinematic approach.
Twelve Minutes starts off well but eventually descends into chaos. The game’s premise of trying to rewrite 12 minutes of a couple’s time is a great idea but the execution varies in success. Twelve Minutes starts well with a convincing story loop and gameplay that makes sense. Unfortunately that story loop becomes confused with a controversial twist that muddies timelines and morals. Gameplay starts to lean heavily into trial and error and some will give up before they see some of the later outcomes. Those that persist will likely remain confused. Luis Antonio seemingly had a lot of ambition with this one, but it hasn’t completely paid off.
Despite taking place solely in a tiny apartment, 12 Minutes delivers hours of captivating mysteries.
There's a lot to like in Twelve Minutes, but when you start to get into the puzzles at the core of the game, things begin to get bogged down.
Twelve Minutes unravels its mysteries so well as to leave you pondering long after you finish the game — I’m still trying to wrap my head around the ending, and I know I’ll be thinking about it for a long time to come.
This stylish, twisted take on movies such as Rear Window and Chinatown marries noir sensibilities with puzzle gameplay
Luis Antonio's smart timeloop starring James McAvoy is an absorbing yarn... if you can see past its frayed edges
I really wanted to like Twelve Minutes, but by playing through it multiple times I've come to understand that in order for the timeloop to concept to really work in videogames, it needs time to breathe - both in physical game world terms and also in the various elements that it requires players to solve and master in order to progress. As it is, Twelve Minutes is an undeniably stylish looking and sounding thriller that finds itself summarily undone by poor writing, unwieldy controls and a shoddily frustration execution of its overarching timeloop concept. A shame.
James McAvoy, Daisy Ridley, and Willem Dafoe do an absolutely fantastic job at bringing the three main characters to life but even they can’t lift the frustration and tedium of having to repeat the same actions over and over again. Unfortunately, by the time you finally figure out how to change the outcome of the loop, the ending will make you wonder if it was even worth it.
Twelve Minutes takes advantage of a time loop to tell us an intricate story, managing to motivate player's creativity in trying to prevent seemingly inavoidable situations. Featuring a breathtaking voiceover, it lacks in credibility when it tries to amaze and horrify at any cost, while successfully managing to blow the audience away. It will give you a fulfilling afternoon, and if you love point and click adventures you shouldn't miss it. You can easily see the first two or three endings, but unlocking them all needs quite an effort.
Review in Italian | Read full review
While I was intrigued by the narrative, and enjoyed the performances, Twelve Minutes was an experience I’d had enough of by the time I completed it. There are just enough seams, jank, and clunk around that the act of playing the game felt like a task at times. I absolutely applaud the effort though. Twelve Minutes is an audacious first crack at a unique narrative structure, and one that will certainly lead to more refined and robust takes on this style of experience.
It could have been one of the most impactful indie games of 2021, it will be one of the big disappointments of the year. Despite an interesting concept on paper, Twelve Minutes completely misses the execution. Between obscure, sometimes abstruse puzzles and illogical actions, we hoped that the narrative would raise the level but it is not so.
Review in French | Read full review
Twelve Minutes is atmospheric and hugely ambitious within its tight time limits, although the game is held back by unsatisfying narrative payoffs.
Twelve Minutes is a nice little point-and-click adventure game that will leave you stunned. Some points of frustration can make the game longer than it needs to be. Can get tedious at times if you're stuck.