12 Minutes Reviews
When Twelve Minutes was first announced along with incredible star power, several gamers took interest. Besides, we often gravitate toward new ideas in a world full of rehashes. It is too bad that creativity doesn’t ooze into the gameplay. This results in a head-banging experience that hardly ever feels satisfying.
While it manages to side-step its shortcomings through clever design, Twelve Minutes ultimately feels like it'll be one of those water cooler games that some will love, others will hate, but everyone will just want to talk about. It tells a cerebral story while demanding your full attention, along with an unorthodox wit, to best its cat and mouse puzzles.
Twelve Minutes ends up going for shock value and loses the small character moments and choices that made it so engaging. But pulling my hair out to solve the apartments puzzles was reward enough for me to want to see the loop closed.
Some devilishly clever puzzles shine in a unique take on the point-and click genre, but the game waits to the end to make its story truly interesting, which might be a little late if you're looking for an emotional investment to get you through some of the more tedious moments.
Twelve Minutes is a game of dualities. It is very economic in how it presents itself. The focus is tight on three characters, in a small apartment that houses the few instruments of change at your disposal. This allows each little detail to have a nauseating amount of depth to it, including the fantastic performances of the characters and their backstories. The downside to this is that it can lead players astray, due to the limitless possibilities and comparatively limited guidance. Regardless, Twelve Minutes is a tidy and reasonably well-told pressure-cooker drama with few divots, provided you can follow the path.
Twelve Minutes is a thrill ride through and through, constantly presenting players with new and interesting revelations in the time looping narrative that never fails to keep one guessing. It veers away from stereotypical point-and-click adventure tropes, and challenges players to bend its densely-detailed environments to achieve their goals.
Twelve Minutes isn’t perfect, but it’s one of the very few games I’d recommend everyone should play. While it’ll offer an experience many won’t enjoy, understand, or figure out, it’ll stays with you for a long, long time–even if its repetition results in Pavlovian conditioning. I now can’t hear my doorbell without thinking I’ll be choked to death within 60 seconds.
Twelve Minutes is a videogame that is fantastic in every area, except being a videogame. There's a lot to love, and I think people will overlook its faults. Sadly those faults are there, almost completely tanking an otherwise excellent piece of fiction.
Twelve Minutes is a truly phenomenal experience hindered only by forgivable a few gameplay bumps and the immense patience it takes to succeed.
By the time the credits rolled, I sat back and reflected on the overall journey which was well-crafted, intriguing, and unique.
Despite not being a natural fit on console, Twelve Minutes provides a consistently engaging story that kept me tied to my controller until the very end. A strong voice cast and interesting central conceit make it worth checking out, especially if you can play it for no additional cost via Game Pass. I’m still not sure the story fully comes together, but it provided enough to think about that I know I won’t stop thinking about it anytime soon.
Twelve Minutes is a celebrity-led adventure title, but its time looping mechanic and riveting narrative are the real stars.
Twelve Minutes is a clever and well written psychological thriller, but in the end it chooses to abandon the logic and forces the player to act in a forced way.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Twelve Minutes is a must-have game for lovers of good stories and also for those nostalgic for point-and-click adventures. Its voice cast is magnificent and helps to elevate the already excellent story of Luis Antonio and Annapurna.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The time loop implied a nonlinear gameplay, but Luis Antonio wanted the player to get the right answer. Therefore, the game flows in the direction that the developer himself wants to say.
Review in Korean | Read full review
A unique graphic adventure, sometimes thrilling and sometimes frustrating, that makes the most out of three characters and a time loop. Not a game for every kind of player, but definitely worth a try.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
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
In the end, my time with Twelve Minutes was time well spent. The puzzling narrative will have you constantly seeking answers while also raising even more questions. While the gameplay isn’t perfect, it works for this style of game with a visual design to match. The performances are a major highlight, and really push this game higher in the production department. I would honestly watch this if it were a movie. Overall, it’s a fantastic study of the human mind and how it adapts to patterns and acquiring information.