Okay! It’s been a minute since I’ve last posted so I thought I’d rebreak the creative flow here with a short and sweet review of a short game I played that came out last year called Minit.
Before we continue, I want to quickly say, Minit is available on the Epic Games Store for free for 5 days (once you download it you own it forever) so I find it a funny coincidence that I recently played this game with that deal around the corner.
So anyway! Minit is a black and white colored top down Zelda like game where you die every 60 seconds due to a curse you get when you pick up a cursed sword. Progress you make like getting new items or changing the world will permanently roll over even after you die, but the rest, like enemies will respawn.
It’s this gimmick of dying every 60 seconds that made the game more interesting that your average top down. There’s even a button that let’s you die even faster! With how much this game is built around respawning, the map design as a result is very good. No more of dying in the middle of a dungeon and having to trek it all over again from waaaaay back at the start. Well there is that. But since you only have 60 seconds to accomplish anything, the frustration isn’t there.
In general I was worried this was a time pressured game since I don’t always like the pressure. But I actually found the flow was great. I knew challenges couldn’t be too time intensive since I didn’t have all that time.
Every time you entered a new home base, your respawn point changed to that one and the game plays for you a wonderful jingle! As you progress the world gets more and more connected.
The progression you get through the game was amazing and there were layers of roadblocks that required new items to progress.
If there’s anything I took away from all the damn moons in Super Mario Odyssey, or Korok Seeds/Shrines/etc all the spread density in Breath of the Wild, it’s that providing notable accomplishment stuffed frequently in short intervals for a game is smart.
This game has a TON of items you need to unlock more paths and it does so without holding your hand too much or leaving you in cryptic city.
The music is bopping and I love how the few tracks will be however far they are into their track wherever you are at whatever seconds you have left. This wonderfully increases the intensity of any moment despite where you travel, but since it’s not a suspense ridden song, rather it picks up, the game does a great job of adding pressure without it being a burden.
The NPCs themselves can be funny but overall they are not a standout nor are they a disappointment. You have a minute to live after all, so the story is appropriately spread in ” search it yourselves” ala Metroid style which I honestly prefer versus a slower in your face story.
Overall a great game with a solid gimmick and well thought out level design! Great for a short indie-like title. Highly recommend!!
huesteus 