Doctor Who: Lost in Time

About

"Doctor Who: Lost in Time" is a single-player Science Fiction Arcade game with a beautiful story and fabulous graphics. Players travel to classic locations from the franchise, collecting character cards and resources to power up and face enemies like Daleks and Cybermen. However, the game is hindered by frequent ads, grinding, and bugs that detract from the overall experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

66%

Audience ScoreBased on 2,000 reviews

story97 positive mentions

monetization210 negative mentions

The game features a great storyline and references to various Doctor Who characters, making it enjoyable for fans.
The graphics and art style are well done, capturing the essence of the Doctor Who universe.
The game allows for idle play, making it easy to progress without constant interaction.

The game is heavily reliant on ads and in-app purchases, making it difficult to progress without spending money.
Many players experience bugs and glitches that can reset progress or prevent them from advancing in the game.
The gameplay can become repetitive and boring, with limited interaction beyond tapping to collect resources.

story
232 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
50%
8%
The story in the game is generally well-received by Doctor Who fans, featuring engaging narratives and familiar characters, though many players find it slow-paced and repetitive. While some appreciate the integration of classic Doctor Who elements, others criticize the lack of depth and coherence, often feeling that the gameplay overshadows the storytelling. Overall, the storyline is seen as a highlight, but it is marred by technical issues and monetization strategies that detract from the experience.
- “I'm a huge Doctor Who fan and find the story interesting.”
- “The storyline is great.”
- “Excellent game, love the storylines and how well they integrate the characters' tone and quirks!”
- “The story is convoluted and bland.”
- “The dialogue is terrible, the plot is nonsensical and the canon is all over the place.”
- “The story makes no sense.”
monetization
229 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
7%
92%
The monetization strategy of the game has drawn significant criticism, with many players feeling that progress is heavily gated behind watching excessive ads or making costly in-app purchases. While some users acknowledge that ads are optional, the overwhelming frequency and length of ads, combined with the high prices for in-game items, create a frustrating experience that many describe as a cash grab. Overall, players express disappointment in the game's reliance on ads and microtransactions, which detracts from the enjoyment of gameplay.
- “While the missions are doable without microtransactions, it's extremely slow.”
- “The game is fun but slow to progress when you get to a certain point, leaving you tempted to do an in-app purchase just to progress faster or switch to the available event.”
- “It's a freemium game with all the expected microtransactions and multiple currencies to make you spend more money, but Doctor Who themed.”
- “It's borderline impossible to progress without spending money or watching an insane amount of ads.”
- “The sheer amount of ads to attempt to get enough rewards to push through the slog of boring gameplay makes me not want to spend even $2 on this game.”
- “The game is very pushy about in-game purchases; pop-up offers are frequent, and it goes to the point that completing some of the daily tasks involves making a purchase.”
graphics
71 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
65%
31%
4%
The graphics of the game receive generally positive feedback, with many users praising the artwork, character designs, and overall visual style, particularly the comic book aesthetic and faithful representations of Doctor Who characters. However, some players express concerns about gameplay overshadowing the graphics, describing the game as dull or overly focused on monetization, which detracts from the overall experience. Additionally, there are reports of a significant visual issue that can cause discomfort, highlighting a need for improvement in this area.
- “I will applaud the graphics and the dialogue of the game; each character looked and sounded like they should.”
- “The artwork is really nice, and the characters do look like their live-action counterparts.”
- “Great graphics with a fun Doctor Who story!”
- “There is a serious issue with graphics: as you download a kerblam box, you get a brief flash of a blazingly white screen which can trigger visual disturbance/migraine.”
- “No skill, no strategy, minimal content, eight-bit graphics.”
- “This game just is bad, it's just a tycoon game re-skinned to look like Doctor Who, that doesn't fit the Doctor Who aesthetic whatsoever.”
stability
66 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
2%
98%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with numerous users reporting frequent freezes, glitches, and lost progress, particularly during events and updates. Many players express frustration over the game's inability to load properly, leading to forced restarts and loss of in-game currency and upgrades. While some users initially enjoyed the gameplay, the persistent bugs have led to a decline in overall satisfaction, with many stating that the game is currently unplayable.
- “Fun, interactive, and runs great.”
- “In the last few days, there's a glitch in the game where you click an ad and it's unable to load, so it just freezes, locks the game up, and forces you to restart. It never comes out of the lock screen.”
- “I really enjoyed playing it; however, the game always freezes and glitches out, which I find pretty annoying.”
- “Game freezes whenever I try to move to the next level.”
gameplay
65 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
63%
17%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it repetitive, dull, and heavily reliant on ads for progression. While some appreciate the simple mechanics and charming graphics, others criticize it as a cash grab with minimal engagement and frustrating paywalls. Overall, the gameplay is described as lacking depth and becoming tedious over time, despite some enjoyable elements for fans of the franchise.
- “Gameplay seems pretty balanced for an idle game.”
- “I find the overall gameplay simple but really enjoyable.”
- “No complaints, I like the art style and the story so far, the gameplay is easy to get the hang of, it's a pleasantly addictive experience.”
- “The sheer amount of ads to attempt to get enough rewards to push through the slog of boring gameplay makes me not want to spend even $2 on this game.”
- “The gameplay itself was not very interesting and didn't feel like I was doing much at all.”
- “It's extremely bland, the incremental mechanics are really basic, and in about an hour or two of gameplay you already hit the paywall where everything slows down to a slog and forces you to pay to continue at a reasonable pace.”
grinding
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being tedious and boring, with many players expressing frustration over repetitive tasks and the slow pace of progress. While some appreciate the storyline as a redeeming quality, the overall sentiment leans towards the gameplay being overly grindy and often requiring significant time investment or monetary expenditure to enjoy fully.
- “Tedious and mind-numbingly boring without VIP.”
- “The gameplay is outrageously dull which soon becomes tedious to even think about.”
- “Very disappointed it was fun for the first five episodes and then it got tedious especially with the way resources are retained...this is very much a pay-to-win game and would not recommend it to anyone, not worth your hard-earned money and valued time.”
music
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
33%
33%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the relaxed vibe and faithful representation of the Doctor Who universe, others find it boring and lacking in depth. Additionally, technical issues such as ad interruptions and the absence of volume controls detract from the overall experience. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as an afterthought by some, overshadowing the game's other elements.
- “The music is very nice to listen to, and the choice of locations is very well handled and is faithful to the Doctor Who universe.”
- “The music works well, with quite a relaxed vibe using composer Segun Akinola's music.”
- “The story part of the game is fun and interesting, the visuals are brilliant, the music is great, and the goals are challenging but not unachievable.”
- “The soundtrack comes as an afterthought.”
- “Even the music was boring 😴 definitely uninstalling this.”
- “Gameplay is rather boring and they couldn't even put in volume controls for music and sound effects, only on/off toggles.”
humor
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its quirky and true-to-original dialogue, reminiscent of Dr. Who's comedic style, which many players find enjoyable and entertaining. However, some critiques point to a lack of depth in British humor, suggesting it can be dull at times. Overall, the game is seen as a fun experience that effectively blends humor with strategic gameplay.
- “Game stories and dialogue are quirky, humorous, and true to the original.”
- “The storyline has all the fun Doctor Who humor and excitement, and the gameplay gets more strategic with trying to gain all of the rewards.”
- “Good time killer... Whovian humor.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
Users express significant frustration and heartbreak due to frequent game crashes, which detract from the emotional experience. The lack of engaging storytelling and technical issues have led to disappointment, even causing some players, like the reviewer’s daughter, to abandon the game altogether.
- “My daughter ran away from this game as soon as we could finally play it after the boring story background that makes no difference to the game.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
Reviews highlight that while the character design is praised for its quality and resemblance to the cast, there is a lack of depth in character development, suggesting that this aspect may not meet players' expectations.
- “I love it! I also really like the character designs; they look just like the cast!”
- “Only redeeming factor is the character design.”
- “I specialize in character design, so if you ever want to work together, let me know.”
- “I love it; I also really like the character designs. It looks just like the cast!”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, the game is well-optimized, delivering smooth performance and clean graphics that enhance the gaming experience.
- “The game runs smoothly, and I enjoy the clean graphics.”
- “It does run smoothly, however.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game's atmosphere is characterized by engaging cut scenes featuring Doctor Who characters, but the fragmented storytelling contributes to a perception of a money-driven experience.
- “I like the cutscenes in the game; it's nice to see a mix of Doctor Who characters, but the scraps of story don't do much to counter the money-grabbing atmosphere.”
- “The overall atmosphere feels hollow and uninspired, lacking the depth and immersion I was hoping for.”
- “Despite some interesting visuals, the atmosphere is marred by repetitive gameplay and a lack of engaging narrative.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Users express uncertainty regarding the game's replayability, indicating that it may lack compelling reasons to revisit after the initial playthrough.
- “I'm not sure where the replayability for this game is.”
- “The game feels like a one-and-done experience with little incentive to play again.”
- “After completing the main story, I found no compelling reasons to revisit the game.”