Tales Across Time

About

Tales Across Time is a single player tactical role playing game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by CriticalGames and was released on April 18, 2016. It received positive reviews from players.

Tales Across Time is a story-driven RPG experience from the creator of 8-Bit Adventures: The Forgotten Journey. It uses the classic short-story format to tell the tale of three different characters...

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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82%

Audience ScoreBased on 60 reviews

story29 positive mentions

grinding7 negative mentions

Engaging and unique story spanning multiple time periods with well-developed characters.
Simple yet strategic and enjoyable combat system that focuses on resource management without grinding or leveling.
Charming retro pixel art graphics and fitting, evocative music that enhances the nostalgic atmosphere.

The game is very short, with a playtime of around 2.5 to 4.5 hours and limited gameplay depth.
Occasional difficulty spikes and some unbalanced boss battles that can feel tedious or frustrating.
Some story elements feel rushed or underdeveloped, with minor issues in dialogue consistency and character relationship development.

story
87 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
64%
3%
The story in "Tales Across Time" is praised for its unique, engaging narrative structure that spans three interconnected short tales across different eras, emphasizing character-driven and time-spanning adventures with a strong focus on storytelling rather than complex gameplay. While generally well-received for its atmosphere, pacing, and emotional impact, some find it brief, occasionally clichéd, and with a weaker third story that includes some forced plot elements. Overall, it's considered a compelling, story-heavy RPG ideal for players seeking a concise, narrative-focused experience.
- “A very cool way of telling a story of a powerful evil facing multiple generations of heroes.”
- “The story itself is also very interesting, as it consists of 3 separate tales across different time eras but they are all intertwined.”
- “This game has a very creative and engaging storyline.”
- “Well, the first two stories didn't really have build-ups either. The third story sort of has a payoff, but it mostly feels forced.”
- “Overall the story was kind of shallow but still somewhat interesting.”
- “The storyline was poor and I think the game is bugged because I literally spent 20 minutes on the first 'boss', trying all sorts of combinations of moves and ended up healing, getting AP, healing, getting AP, and so on.”
gameplay
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
70%
15%
The gameplay is simple and easy to learn, featuring streamlined combat without grinding, leveling, or inventory management, which fits the game's narrative focus. While battles require some strategy in skill and resource management, they remain straightforward and sometimes feel less consequential or drawn-out, especially in the final boss fight. Overall, the gameplay is accessible and enjoyable but lacks depth and complexity compared to more intricate RPGs.
- “The fighting mechanics were well made and they didn't feel like there were just endless amounts of encounters or repetitive; you really had to learn some of the patterns of the monsters and plan when you would use each ability.”
- “The combat mechanics have been simplified to make them easy to pick up, and there is no stat or inventory management, but that doesn't mean it's always easy.”
- “The game provides a very enjoyable narrative spanning across different eras and interesting, if cliched, protagonists for each story; the actual gameplay is very simple but works well enough to never get dull.”
- “It is not big on gameplay/strategy so do not expect too much in this matter.”
- “The only thing that made me frown a bit was the last boss of the game: the fight itself isn't hard as the mechanics are quite easy but it feels a bit of a chore due to its length and the fact you're simply asked to balance AP usage, healing and skills.”
- “The combat mechanics have been simplified to make them easy to pick up and there is no stat or inventory management, but that doesn't mean it's always easy.”
graphics
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
45%
15%
The graphics feature a nostalgic 16-bit, retro pixel art style reminiscent of classic RPGs like Secret of Mana, with well-designed monster sprites and pleasant artwork. While simplistic and low-resolution by modern standards, the visuals are polished for an RPG Maker game and effectively complement the story and gameplay. Fans of pixel art and retro aesthetics will likely appreciate the charming and fitting graphical presentation.
- “The graphic style is retro and looks like a Nintendo game.”
- “Graphics are your typical RPG Maker style, so the old school look of the 16-bit console games from the 1990s.”
- “The artwork is pleasant to look at, at times giving it as unique an appearance as you can find with the engine, and the utilization of the color palette constantly keeps in line with the story being told.”
- “The simplistic graphics may not be liked by everyone.”
- “Graphics are your typical RPG Maker style, resembling the old school look of 16-bit console games from the 1990s.”
- “Although the graphics are not high resolution (8-bit), the game itself is wonderfully made and I enjoyed it very much.”
music
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
88%
6%
6%
The music in the game is consistently praised for fitting the game's pixel art style and atmosphere, evoking classic 8-bit and SNES/PS1-era RPGs. Reviewers find the soundtrack engaging, well-chosen, and a standout element that enhances immersion without becoming repetitive or annoying.
- “The music sounds great and genuinely fits the atmosphere of the events in the game.”
- “The music and art direction are great and help create an immersive atmosphere.”
- “The soundtrack was well chosen and is consistent with the atmosphere of the story.”
grinding
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
54%
The game notably eliminates traditional grinding, leveling, and experience mechanics, opting instead for stat-enhancing crystals and fixed combat locations without random encounters. This design creates a focused, narrative-driven RPG experience free from filler activities like repetitive combat or resource farming. Players seeking story and strategy over grinding will find the gameplay engaging and streamlined.
- “Unlike other RPGs, there is no grinding involved, but the player can find special crystals that increase stats for each character.”
- “Combat occurs at set places, so there is no random combat and no grinding whatsoever.”
- “There's no grinding, experience points, levels, or equipment to manage.”
- “If you see the tag turn-based RPG and automatically think 'nope, I'm not a person who likes to spend hours leveling up or grinding for money', you've got the wrong idea about this game.”
- “Worthwhile small game, though I gave up on the last battle as it was tedious and difficult.”
- “There's enough variation between stories and special encounters to keep things interesting, and the lack of XP and leveling up means the game isn't padded with random encounters and grinding.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its immersive and fitting music, which, combined with strong art direction and storytelling, effectively creates a sense of anxiety, mystery, and tension throughout the experience.
- “The music sounds great and it genuinely fits the atmosphere of the events in the game.”
- “The story builds an anxious atmosphere of unknown danger and mystery.”
- “The music and art direction are great and help create an immersive atmosphere.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development is minimal and lacks depth, with some users also finding the character design, particularly the facial features, somewhat odd.
- “And that's pretty much it for character development.”
- “The character design, especially the face, looked a little bit weird to me.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game offers excellent optimization, delivering strong performance even on mid-range hardware, resulting in a great price-to-performance ratio.
- “A great price/performance ratio”