[REVIEW] No Time To Explain

Mat Paget
(PC [REVIEWED])

Steam Greenlight is no doubt a questionable process; however, it does bring us games that most might not see, so it can’t be all bad, right? Unfortunately, it can also give the okay to developers to release unfinished games for a price — although Steam hasn’t needed Greenlight to do that in the past. Even though that’s not exactly the case with No Time To Explain, it is still a game that could have used a bit more time in development; it has a lot of the right pieces to be a great game, but those pieces aren’t always in the right places.

The game begins with you dancing in your home when, suddenly, “you from the future” crashes into your house, and is subsequently kidnapped by a giant enemy crab. This is where the actual gameplay starts, introducing the player to the primary mechanic — a gun that acts more like a highly-limited jetpack than a weapon (although it is certainly used as one at times). There are other mechanics introduced throughout the game, such as a gun that explodes in the direction you aim it and cake that turns the character cartoonishly obese, allowing you to roll through certain walls. But these are far and few between, which is a real shame, as some of them are actually a lot more fun to play around with than the jetpack gun. The main issue with the jetpack gun is that, even though there is variety platform-wise, it just feels like you’re doing the same thing every level.

The game’s premise may also reveal that it has quite a bit of charm to it. The voice acting, although obviously not professional, fits the game’s tone exceptionally well. It shines most when in pursuit of some giant behemoth that has “future you” captive — the panicked cries of help are hilarious and are, thankfully, not overdone. However, the mouths of the characters don’t always move, and sometimes it’s hard to discern which voice belongs to who, making it very easy to be confused and have everything just end up sounding like noise. Adding to the game’s charm are the collectible hats you amass throughout the course of the game. These range from a red baseball cap, to the head of a velociraptor — be prepared to wear the velociraptor head exclusively.

Aside from hats, I also encountered many bugs and saw exactly how unpolished the game is. Now, it’s not completely broken and unplayable, but there was a bug that I encountered several times that impeded my progress. There have been times where the game wouldn’t break, and I’d make it through to the next level. However, going back to that level, I encountered the same bug I originally encountered. It seems to be an unfortunate toss-up that hopefully won’t affect many players. The unpolished parts revolve mostly around the fact that the game doesn’t feel like it has evolved much past a flash game, failing to justify a price tag.

It’s one of those times where I feel like a parent to a game because I’m just so disappointed. No Time To Explain could be so much better than it is. It’s a game that has a great amount of potential that just wasn’t fully realized — I would love to see a sequel that is given the time to meet its potential. I can’t help the soft spot I have for it, but I also can’t recommend this at the price of ten dollars to just anybody. Its occasional, momentary mechanics outshine the core mechanic, which is further bogged down by glitches that range from clipping through walls to breaking the game and impeding progress. If you’re interested in the game at this point, and see it in a sale at a comfortable price, pick it up. Otherwise, you might want to practice some heavy consideration before throwing any money down.