12 Minutes Reviews
There are, of course, multiple endings, and the minutes leading up to each resolution can be flavoured with violence and revelation, or laced with deceit. The question is: Do we care?
Overall, Twelve Minutes is an excellent game, with an interesting concept and story. But, it is let down by rigid and stale gameplay, which hold it back from being a must-play...
Twelve Minutes show us why video games are a powerful medium to tell stories that cinema cannot. With great voice acting, outstanding creative decisions and original mechanics, Twelve Minutes is everything mystery games enthusiasts could ask for.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
An overall fun experience with a distinct atmosphere, If you turn a blind eye to its bad gameplay. You can play it on Xbox Game Pass, or for a more practical option.. watch a full walkthrough on "YouTube"!
Review in Arabic | Read full review
"12 Minutes is the car crash you wince at, but can’t help but crane your neck to stare at. The game’s premise was brilliant, the concept trailer was masterful, and the cast couldn’t have been better. But none of those components make up for what is, ultimately, a game founded on contrived mechanics and underwhelming storytelling."
Twelve Minutes is a production that stands out for its originality and what it wants to do, but the dialogue should have been more diverse.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Twelve Minutes plays like an escape room on extra hard difficulty and with higher stakes. As an intriguing albeit small-scale thriller with many twists and turns that can sometimes be frustrating, ending the time loop is ultimately somewhat worth the effort.
I doubt that Twelve Minutes will go down as a crowd pleaser. If the revelation fails to move you then all that came before it was for naught. But if it catches you unexpectedly, as it did me, then Twelve Minutes may linger in your mind as an unusually effective high concept piece.
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.
I really wanted to like 12 Minutes. It's a compelling concept, but the game's rigid structure and lack of options make it feel less like a game about a time loop and more like a narrative adventure where I kept having to sit through "Game Over" screens because I didn't make the specific choice necessary. As a result, it feels like the most irksome elements of Capcom's Ace Attorney series, without the rewarding aspects. At times, I was genuinely surprised by the options made available to me, but far more often, I found myself feeling like the game's concept was basically just window dressing. 12 Minutes feels far too limited for its concept, and that makes the game feel like a chore far more often than not.
A manual Must Play if you enjoy investigative cinema, it is difficult to give a verdict for readers without incurring spoilers, what is clear is that this story should be told in the form of a video game and Luis Antonio manages to carry intelligently and with an excellent script tells an unconventional story of a crime that is worth being solved.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Twelve Minutes desperately wants to be seen as an edgy, adult thriller. But it mistakes shock value for substance and ultimately has nothing of value to say.
Twelve Minutes is a bold adventure, one with shocking revelations, tense moments, and some very human interactions. It’s a point-and-click title that doesn’t do much to add to the genre, but there are enough encounters to make it worth playing. It’s a visually distinct game, with an excellent cast that truly makes up for an unforgettable experience.
Twelve Minutes is one of the best indie experiences of the year. History and freedom for the player are its strengths. Still, there are a number of decisions that affect the bottom line.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The fallout of that ending makes what had been a wafer-thin murder mystery with a gimmick into an exercise in psychological sadism, where the player is nauseatingly complicit. Despite the immense pool of talent giving their all to breathe life into these characters, Twelve Minutes is a game thoroughly lacking in humanity, in any sense of the word.
A simple and unique game as a proposal. Loops that subtract more than they add to both the game and the plot.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Twelve Minutes begins with a pure idea, and in the first minutes, it depicts everything it takes to shock the audience. Over time and into the player's own hands, game maker Louis Antonio unraveling the knot of the mystery of his game's tortuous storyline and immersing us in an interesting narrative with shocking twists.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Twelve Minutes should be considered as one of the most creative and special titles whose vacancy is strongly felt in today's game world.
Review in Persian | Read full review
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
Twelve Minutes is an engrossing adventure that is more about the journey than the destination. It’s not the most thrilling or thought-provoking story out there, but it still satiates that mystery craving. The star-studded casting elevates the atmosphere, and the involvement of the player is a unique way to take on the classic point-and-click genre. Though you’ll have to suffer through lengthy moments of tedium and irritation, there’s a lot to unpack and discover in this intriguing tale.