A Hat in Time Reviews
Aside from its creative hats and hat-based abilities, A Hat in Time never exactly feels like an inventive platformer. But it does its job well, even while suffering from the occasionally awkward camera issues that 3D platformers are often known for. It stands out, though, for its infectious and endearingly goofy personality, its creative and widely different levels, and its enjoyable platforming. And, of course, all those hats.
Some scuff-marks aside, A Hat in Time is a creative, playful, and polished tribute to a genre that doesn't get nearly enough love on PC.
An adorable platforming adventure that steadily finds it own voice.
A hugely entertaining 3D platformer that channels the imagination and unpredictability of older games without becoming a prisoner to the past.
A Hat in Time feels like a labor of love from a team that adores classic platformers. Its negative elements, like the visuals and lack of polish, are overshadowed by the fantastic gameplay and silly sense of humor
Despite a lackluster beginning, A Hat in Time is a charming 3D platformer full of heart.
The selfless girl of A Hat in Time is not only a great role model, but she forges her own identity as a true mascot, with subtle notes of likable heroes like Dr. Who (complete with her own time-manipulating Tarvis). Any game that makes me smile while I'm glued to it is a great one.
A Hat in Time has certainly been well worth the wait, and is easily recommended to platformer fans across all formats. It sits nicely alongside Yooka-Laylee and offers a different take on the N64 nostalgia that both titles share. It's unlikely to knock Mario off his perch as king of the 3D platformers, but it is a more than acceptable pretender to the crown. It also has a central antagonist called Moustache Girl who is a girl with a bushy moustache. A Hat in Time opens up to be a real standout in the recent renaissance of the 3D platform game.
Despite some frustration with the camera and some platforming issues, A Hat in Time is a decent game that captures some of the magic of classic 3D platformers.
This is a game that, despite its derivative nature, manages to delight in the details enough to make me remember why I loved the games that inspired it to begin with.
Taking into account the stuttering, low resolution textures, and downgraded 3D models, this is still an incredible game. When I started playing, the game was a bit harder to look at, but as I continued and got back into the flow of its platforming I stopped caring about the visuals. While the glitches are still bothersome, it's a testament to just how good A Hat in Time is that I still adored the game in this compromised state.
Most of A Hat in Time feels like a modge podge of creative ideas only amateurly stitched together. The game teeters between delightful charm (like the time I encountered a Mafiosa who wanted to play patty-cake then deceptively punched me across Mafia Town) and blatant lack of polish (like a cutscene where certain characters' limbs seemed paralyzed in a T position.) If a lighthearted, collect-a-thon platformer is your jam, A Hat in Time will constantly please you with its fun platforming and nuanced, cartoony world, but don't go in expecting the finish and cohesion of the classic platformers it takes its inspiration from.
I find myself saying this a lot, but in this case it's the absolute truth - A Hat in Time is a perfect fit for the Nintendo Switch. Despite some glaring technical problems, A Hat in Time plays, feels, and sounds exactly like any other beloved classic 3D platfomer, but introduces enough new ideas to truly stand up on its own two feet. It's one of the most memorable games I've played all year, and I already want more of it.
A Hat in Time is a love-letter to the platform genre of the 90's. It's far from as perfect as Super Mario Odyssey, but it manage to be both charming and entertaining – and is almost a must-play for those who have grown up with this type of games.
Review in Swedish | Read full review
A Hat in Time is probably the best platformer released this year that doesn't star that one plumber guy.
A Hat in Time excels with an overwhelming charm in its writing and art direction that overcomes any missteps in these areas. Its core, smooth mechanics also benefit from promising ideas, but none of them prevent the game from being pulled into a wormhole of mediocre level design and objectives. The potential for phenomenal platforming and exploration is here, but for every positive, there seems to be a negative in A Hat in Time.
A Hat In Time is a game that is proud to wear its influences on its sleeve and largely does them justice.
Buckets of adorable charm and solid platforming fundamentals win out over some minor shortcomings to cement A Hat in Time as one of the best surprises of the year.