Hourglass
- October 21, 2021
- hourglass
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Hourglass" is a single-player historical platformer game with good graphics that transports you to an alternate ancient Egypt filled with advanced technologies. Your unique ability to record and replay your actions allows you to solve creative puzzles as you explore a remote temple and discover foreign worlds. The game offers a captivating adventure that challenges your problem-solving skills.
Reviews
- The game features beautiful visuals and a calming atmosphere, enhancing the overall experience.
- Puzzles are well-designed, providing a good balance of challenge without being overly frustrating.
- The time-recording mechanic is innovative and adds a unique twist to the puzzle-solving experience.
- Many puzzles rely on precise timing, which can lead to frustration and repetitive gameplay.
- The game lacks a compelling story and can feel monotonous due to limited mechanics and environments.
- There are technical issues, such as unchangeable key bindings and occasional glitches, that detract from the overall experience.
- gameplay65 mentions
- 12 % positive mentions
- 82 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The gameplay is centered around a core time manipulation mechanic that evolves throughout the game, offering a mix of engaging puzzles that challenge players' problem-solving skills. While some players appreciate the clever design and gradual introduction of new mechanics, others find the gameplay repetitive and occasionally frustrating, particularly with timing elements. Overall, the game is visually appealing and provides a solid, if not groundbreaking, puzzle experience reminiscent of titles like "The Talos Principle" and "Braid."
“It's not a one trick pony either, it keeps introducing multiple new puzzle mechanics and interactions throughout the game.”
“Great puzzles using a fun mechanic that keeps you on your toes all the way to the end.”
“The time mechanic is used in different ways to keep you changing up your thought process on how to solve them.”
“This game made me sad because I didn't want to use my brain to solve the puzzles. I found the puzzles frustrating and hate time mechanics; sad because I won't get those 4 hours of my life back.”
“The game is rather short, and the levels and puzzle mechanics are quite monotonous.”
“There's no real story, a lack of mechanics, and in my opinion, the above-mentioned mechanic gets boring quickly.”
- graphics34 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising its appealing art style and aesthetics reminiscent of titles like "The Witness" and "The Talos Principle." However, others criticize the visuals as bland or simplistic, with issues such as poor character animations and excessive brightness affecting playability. Overall, while the game features some nice visuals and a charming atmosphere, it lacks the depth and polish found in its inspirations.
“The game looks quite pretty, with low poly graphics.”
“Great indie puzzle game with great visuals and most of the time great puzzles.”
“The atmosphere and the art style is so pretty.”
“Bland puzzle game with janky level design, boring visuals, and comedically bad character animation/voice acting of the father.”
“But the graphics, with its extreme brightness and inability to tone down the contrast, makes this one unplayable for me on both of my PCs.”
“Poor graphics and repetitive puzzles.”
- story30 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally considered minimal and lacking depth, often described as serviceable but not engaging, with many reviewers noting its simplicity and lack of significant twists. While some appreciate the subtle storytelling elements, others find the narrative weak and unremarkable, with a few mentioning plotholes and a disjointed presentation. Overall, the consensus is that the game functions well without a strong story, focusing more on puzzles and gameplay mechanics.
“The story was very interesting and intriguing; the ambiguity of it all made it just as good.”
“The graphics are very appealing and the story is very engaging.”
“The story is minimal but serviceable.”
“There's no real story, lack of mechanics and in my opinion, the above mentioned mechanic gets boring quickly.”
“The story isn’t really worth mentioning as there are only a couple of short cutscenes.”
“There is not much story, and moreover the plot is very sloppy with at least one plothole.”
- music14 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally described as underwhelming, with a sparse soundtrack that often lacks presence during gameplay, relying heavily on ambient sounds instead. While some players appreciated the occasional ambient music and found the Egyptian-themed tracks enjoyable, many felt that the overall musical experience was repetitive and could have been more prominent to enhance the atmosphere. Overall, the sound design is considered fitting but not remarkable, with the best music being featured in the trailers rather than in-game.
“Good gameplay, makes you think, great music and art style.”
“The atmosphere in this game is amazingly well done, with the great ambient sound/music, the lush footsteps in the sand, and the absolutely gorgeous colors and textures.”
“As a fan of ancient Egyptian mythology, I really enjoyed the puzzles, but what really sold it for me was the Egyptian music.”
“You get ambient music occasionally for a few moments, but most of the time there is no music, and you just get ambient sounds from the environment.”
“There's only music during brief cut scenes which is a bit of a shame as I think it would benefit greatly from some throughout.”
“My only critique is that it can feel a bit quiet due to a lack of background music and noises while doing some puzzles.”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its calm and mysterious qualities, creating a relaxed experience without a sense of urgency. The Egyptian setting enhances the overall ambiance, complemented by beautiful art style that contributes to its immersive and atmospheric feel.
“The calm atmosphere is one of its strong points, and you never really feel rushed.”
“The Egyptian setting fits well into the overall atmosphere.”
“The calm atmosphere is one of its strong points, and you never really have the feeling of being rushed.”
“The atmosphere and the art style are so pretty.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is well-optimized, delivering smooth performance and a compelling storyline, though it is capped at 60 frames per second.
“Good optimization, but the game is locked at 60 frames per second.”
“So a very good performance there too!”
“Runs smoothly and has a great storyline.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and unengaging, as the puzzles are perceived as overly simplified and lacking in genuine challenge. Many feel that the repetitive nature of the tasks undermines their sense of accomplishment and fails to respect their time, leading to a frustrating experience.
“Makes it tedious.”
“These puzzles are dumbed down and boring; the point seems to be to give you a false sense of accomplishment because the solutions are just tedious, not challenging.”
“Your time is not respected, since most of the solutions require tedious steps that are neither challenging nor fun to complete.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The stability of the game has been criticized for featuring puzzles that often feel glitchy, leading to frustration when players must repeatedly attempt solutions due to timing issues and graphical errors. This detracts from the overall experience, as the intended puzzle design is overshadowed by technical problems.
“A few later puzzles felt more like glitches than solutions – maybe indeed they were glitches and I’d solved them 'wrong' – while others required a bit of timing, which in and of itself isn’t bad, but becomes quite galling when you have to repeat your actions despite having figured it out.”
“All this puzzle design gets basically tossed in favor of creating weird graphical glitches.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game offers some replay value, making it worth considering, especially if available at a discounted price.
“I'd give it a shot if it's on sale; it does have some replay value.”
“The game lacks enough variety to keep me coming back for more.”
“Once you finish the main story, there's little incentive to replay it.”
