Time Loader Review
Release Date: November 3rd, 2021 (PC), March 10th, 2022 (Consoles)
Developer: Flazm
Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch (Reviewed), PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5
Price: $14.99
The concept of time travel has always been something that's fascinated human beings for what feels like centuries among centuries due to the curious nature of what it would be like to experience things you either weren't alive for or weren't present at. Having that God-complex of being able to manipulate time at will and witness or be a part of something from the past or gain perspective on the future of events that have yet to happen is certainly a tempting notion when the gripping curiosity gets the best of you. However, there's no denying that anything you change in the past will likely affect the future, as the slightest change can alter the course of events on a timeline that's already been recorded. Some would use it for good, some would use it for bad, other would use it for science, but it’s a precarious and volatile field that will never be easily explained, and because of its naturally convoluted concepts and theories, it can be a dangerous field to play around with when time travel is being used as a narrative hook and feature. More often than not, things fall apart because the idea gets taken advantage of and the narrative begins to have what feels like an endless supply of plot holes that it can cause those that consume the particular piece of media walking away confused, disoriented, and frustrated. When playing around with time and space, anything is possible and can be made malleable, and Time Loader takes this concept of time travel and sits in this odd sort of in-between when it comes to being a puzzle platformer adventure that's worthwhile but also dull by the end. Thankfully, it doesn't try to overcomplicate things, but it's another example of taking on an already ambitious and complicated theory and not being fleshed out enough due to the lack of preparation for a concept or tool that is too delicate and easily abused.
Time Loader's story premise is simple despite the time travel fiasco, and thankfully this works to its benefit as a lot of the focus is put more so on the puzzles and scenarios you'll be handling throughout its humble 3-hour time frame, and telling more of what's going on through a bit of environmental storytelling. While we've seen puzzle platformers since the dawn of time, Time Loader stands out a bit as you'll be playing a small little robot in the 90s looking to change the course of certain events to prevent something tragic from happening to a boy named Adam and his family. It's not an overly detailed robot and really just looks like a standard rover with a large crane in an almost RC-car sort of fashion, but it's enough to feel like you're playing a robot that has enough personality in it to give out a bit of charm as you play. It helps that on occasion while you're going through the game that it'll occasionally speak and do certain emotes through a small screen that pans over towards the player as you're navigating both the indoors and outdoors of the family's residence. The way everything is sized and presented gives off vibes to earlier games I played on Nintendo 64 and PlayStation through the likes of Toy Story and Army Men, and it's really pleasant to see the scale of everything from a smaller perspective and being able to utilize the equipment, toys, objects, and more around the various environments and rooms you'll find yourself going through to achieve certain tasks.
Time Loader's story admittedly is one that didn't even need to exist. This could have been one of those cryptic puzzle platformers like Inside or Little Nightmares, but Time Loader insists on telling a story that ultimately falls flat through all the puzzles you end up doing. The payoff isn't particularly worth it, and add that to the fact that there are multiple endings of which you feel very little incentive to go back to uncovering. These endings are also locked behind not just the optional puzzles and switch's you interact with, but hidden symbols that cover the entirety of the house you'll mostly find yourself in. Most symbols are cleverly placed and with a bit of exploration or getting sidetracked you'll uncover, and more often than not I found myself saying "a-ha!" once one was found, but there are others that are hidden in some of the most nonsensical ways that I highly doubt one would be able to find them all in one blind playthrough. I'm sure a game like this would be fairly worth it to uncover all it has to offer with achievements behind it, but on Switch you're already looking at a fairly gimped version of the game that already provides very little reward and locks any good ending behind symbols you find (which isn't explained), so at the very least an achievement system whether in-game or natively through the console itself would have provided more enjoyment and incentive to see all Time Loader has to offer.
Story and puzzles aside, there are a lot of platforming elements in this game as you'll be jumping, grabbing, swinging, boosting, and more in just about every area you're in as you'll need to navigate or circumvent the everyday objects that dwarf you. Being physics-based, Time Loader does a mostly okay job handling the properties of each object and acting and reacting in the way you would expect them too, however there are many instances where even traditionally light objects tend to feel extremely heavy, and this topped on with the fact that your robot can feel clunky and unresponsive at times you need it most. Needing to jump then grab certain objects to swing over to another area can typically work fine, but when there are multiple interactable objects around, it can tend to have a bit of a stroke on itself, making it sometimes impossible to get anything done unless you move something around (if movable) or try to rethink about the scenario and simply cheese it. Having to harpoon onto certain areas or grab a pole of some sort in succession can often times prove problematic as there's this sense of delay from the heaviness of the robot and the inputs themselves, and your main use - the crane - can easily glitch out and end up way behind you or in front of you in inopportune angles that practically make it useless. Many times I found myself going through a tube, vent, or small crevice only to either have the crane block the path forward when it was absolutely imperative I go that way, or be stretched into an odd long string reminiscent of a shrimp's intestinal tract that would stretch indefinitely.
Admittedly, while a lot of the platforming itself was janky, unresponsive, or felt unnatural, it was still really nice being able to ride and jump around and see such a detailed environment filled with memorabilia and products of the 90s that oozes out of the screen in an authentic way, bringing back personal memories as someone who was born and grew up in that era. I've played other games that have said they take place in the 90s, but few actually nail the feeling and nature of the decade like Time Loader did. Unfortunately for what it does excel at, the Switch version of the game plays in a less than optimal way mechanically, visually, and technically. Time Loader doesn’t look horrendously bad by any means, but there is a certain flatness to it that makes the overall creative direction and vibe feel banal and lifeless. A lack of shading, responsiveness, reflections, or proper lighting make it feel like it's still in early stages of development, though the use of depth of field is a nice way to cover up some of the misfortunes in both the foreground and background of its set pieces. Arguably one of the worst things about Time Loader as whole, however, is that it takes its name almost a little too literally and takes its sweet time loading. While the environments are rich with 90s items and the like, each area and room is fairly small in the grand scheme of things despite the size trying to deceive you. I do believe this is something that could be fixed through patches, but there are just a lot of things in general that need to be optimized as a whole for Time Loader to truly be a must-play experience for those looking to get into another puzzle platformer - especially one that's physics-based - or wanting to be transported back to a simpler time in the 90s.
Time Loader is certainly a throwback title that authentically recreates the 90s feeling through its imagery and use of certain objects and devices that were in a more prominent position during that time. While the Nintendo Switch version of the game tends to overemphasize its name and take its sweet time loading from level to level and chapter to chapter, also sporting less than pleasant visuals that lack any real shading or depth, Time Loader at least is a decent enough puzzle game that won't ask much of your time or your brains, though natural frustrations will occur thanks to being a physics based platformer that may or may not always make sense depending on the object (or yourself) being manipulated. Time Loader won't blow puzzle fans away by any means, but it's a nice and relaxing enough trek through a time period that's so vastly overlooked in favor of the decades between the 40s and 80s we typically see so much of, though its caveats and slow-paced nature will likely bore more than entertain, and it's a shame when a lot of detail has clearly been put into its level design despite the lack of graphical fidelity on Nintendo Switch, but it’s certainly worth a try on other platforms if those options are available to you.
PROS:
All 90s references are authentic, genuine, and immediately recognizable if you were born or grew up in that era
None of the puzzles are every overwhelmingly difficult, with everything feeling just right.
The music is relaxing and helps with the focus of the puzzles
CONS:
Even with a short playthrough, it can feel like a bit of a drag with a lack of events and slow speed of the robot
The Nintendo Switch version of the game is less than optimal, causing immense load times, poor visuals, and a struggling framerate.
(screenshots provided are not from Nintendo Switch build of the game)
Thank you to META Publishing and Postmeta Games Limited for providing us a copy of the game for the purposes of this review!