The Timeless Child - Prologue | Game Brain

The Timeless Child - Prologue Game Cover

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JOIN OUR DISCORD About the GameThe Timeless Child is a 2-player puzzle-adventure coop game with first-person view. Start an exciting and engaging adventure, a tale about family, bonds and secrets. You will explore Wells Manor, an ancient 16th century villa full of history and secrets, living the experience from two different temporal perspectives. Whether you decide to take on the role of Chri…

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The Timeless Child - Prologue screenshot

73%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,776 reviews

story71 positive mentions

optimization12 negative mentions

The game features interesting and challenging puzzles that require good communication between players.
The atmosphere is engaging and adds a sense of suspense, making the gameplay more immersive.
It's a free game, providing a fun experience without any cost, making it accessible to a wide audience.

The game ends abruptly without a satisfying conclusion, leaving players wanting more context and resolution.
Some puzzles, particularly the dining room puzzle, are poorly designed and lack clear instructions, leading to frustration.
There are performance issues, including lag and bugs, which can detract from the overall experience.

story
216 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
62%
6%
The game's story is often described as intriguing but ultimately underdeveloped, with many players expressing disappointment over its abrupt ending and lack of clarity. While some found the initial premise engaging and the puzzles enjoyable, the narrative feels incomplete, leaving players wanting more context and resolution. Overall, the story serves as a prologue that hints at potential future developments, but many reviewers hope for a more fleshed-out continuation in subsequent installments.
- “The story was interesting and the mechanics were intriguing.”
- “Very fun and challenging game, the story is catchy and I liked that the puzzles need good communication with your partner.”
- “The game was really enjoyable with an engaging story and well laid out atmosphere.”
- “The game ends incredibly randomly without giving much context on the end of the story.”
- “I was very disappointed by the ending though... you don't get to know anything about the story and it's really abrupt.”
- “The story doesn't make any sense.”
atmosphere
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
33%
8%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its spooky and engaging qualities, effectively creating a sense of tension and unease without relying heavily on jump scares. Players appreciate the well-designed soundscapes and visuals that enhance the overall experience, although some feel that certain areas lack depth or creativity. Overall, the combination of a creepy ambiance and challenging puzzles contributes to a thrilling gameplay experience, making it enjoyable for fans of atmospheric games.
- “The atmosphere of the game is fantastic, and the only negative I have about the game is that some parts of the puzzles aren't explained in great detail. I wanted to play even more, but since it's the prologue, content was limited.”
- “The game's spooky atmosphere added an extra layer of excitement, making the adventure even more thrilling.”
- “The atmosphere builds up to meeting the 'beast' the entire time; you even get to see the basement, which is shown as if it's a completely new area.”
- “All atmosphere was lost.”
- “Overall, the atmosphere was a bit dull, didn't feel creative.”
- “Atmosphere and such was fine but unfortunately, as the game stands now, I lack confidence in its ability to satisfy as a puzzle game and therefore do not recommend.”
graphics
61 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
52%
5%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the art style and overall visual quality, especially for a free title. However, several users report significant issues such as lag, glitches, and subpar optimization that detract from the experience. While some find the visuals to be impressive and atmospheric, others feel that the graphical performance is inconsistent and can hinder gameplay.
- “The graphics are pretty good.”
- “Very good graphics and I felt ready for a jumpscare at any moment.”
- “The visuals are gorgeous, the way that you interact in the same space without seeing each other would be really promising for a co-op game.”
- “Better or more consistent artwork would’ve prevented a lot of frustration and would've left us with a much better impression at the end.”
- “Firstly, when we spawned in an undisclosed location, my video game was rather laggy and the graphics were glitching all to hell.”
- “My computer is even above the recommended requirements, I even set the graphics to low quality, but it was still stuttering a lot.”
gameplay
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
64%
7%
Gameplay reviews highlight a mix of engaging puzzles and intriguing mechanics, though many players find the execution lacking, with clunky controls and shallow experiences. While some appreciate the cooperative elements reminiscent of the "We Were Here" series, others criticize the simplistic puzzles and server issues that detract from the overall enjoyment. Overall, the game offers potential but requires improvements in mechanics and puzzle complexity to enhance the experience.
- “The timeless child is a fantastic video game with challenging puzzles, engaging gameplay, and a spooky atmosphere.”
- “With its engaging gameplay, difficult puzzles, and spooky atmosphere, it's sure to provide hours of fun and excitement.”
- “For being a free prologue, the ambiance, co-op puzzles, story, design, and overall gameplay makes it worth getting.”
- “Boring gameplay; I normally enjoy these kinds of games, but this one was boring as hell.”
- “Weak entry into the 2-player cooperative puzzles genre; low effort was placed into rooms outside of the main ones you enter, including hallways, simple puzzles that take very little effort to solve, and then puzzles where the entire mechanic is reliant on the other player to solve the puzzle while the other just presses buttons.”
- “The mechanics were disappointing; the game looks amazing and has an interesting story so far, but the gameplay did not meet my expectations.”
music
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
50%
15%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its ability to create a tense and eerie atmosphere that enhances the gameplay experience, while others find it repetitive or annoying. Many appreciate the soundtrack's contribution to the game's ambiance, describing it as foreboding and well-designed, though a few criticize it as amateurish or overwhelming. Overall, the music is noted for its role in setting the mood, particularly in horror-themed contexts, but opinions vary widely on its execution and impact.
- “The soundtrack is amazing (if a tad loud at first) the puzzles were quite challenging for my wife and I too!”
- “The music and ambiance was great, and this felt like the perfect example of how our minds fill in the horror that's not actually there.”
- “The creepy audios and music created just the right amount of suspense.”
- “Music was atrocious.”
- “It was very boring and the music sucks.”
- “There is truly no aspect of the game that doesn't feel amateurish - game design, graphics, music, voice work, story, writing, puzzle design.”
optimization
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
32%
55%
The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with many players experiencing frequent frame drops, stuttering, and lag, even on high-end systems. While some users noted that performance issues could be mitigated by adjusting settings, the overall consensus is that the game is poorly optimized, particularly for low-end PCs, leading to a frustrating gameplay experience. Despite these issues, some players still found enjoyment in the game, suggesting that improvements in optimization could enhance its overall appeal.
- “Optimization issues: minor hiccups but not game-breaking.”
- “Slightly poorly optimized but it works - 7.5/10 experience.”
- “The interior decoration is a bit meager and performance can sometimes be iffy, but the game was fun nonetheless.”
- “On top of that, the FPS drops are unbearable, turning an already frustrating experience into a stuttering nightmare.”
- “One downside is the lag - even with my 3070, this game dropped frames quite often which leads me to believe that it isn't optimized.”
- “Poorly optimized, very laggy and stuttery!!!”
stability
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent bugs, glitches, and performance problems such as low framerates and freezing. Players have reported difficulties with in-game voice chat and puzzle clarity, which detracts from the overall experience. While some users found ways to mitigate these issues, the consensus is that the developers need to address the game's numerous technical shortcomings for a smoother gameplay experience.
- “Graphics are good for a free game, but man, is it glitchy/buggy as hell.”
- “Servers are always full and the puzzles are very buggy and some of them don't make any sense.”
- “I got heavy freezes and frame drops as soon as I started moving around and it made the game completely unplayable and left me no choice but to uninstall it.”
grinding
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
19%
75%
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be largely tedious and unfulfilling, with many describing the puzzles as convoluted and lacking in rewarding elements. While some challenges require teamwork and can be enjoyable, the overwhelming sentiment is that the experience is marred by bugs, vague instructions, and a lack of engaging content, leading to a frustrating grind.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Nothing about it feels rewarding, just tedious and broken.”
- “Tedious and buggy.”
- “Very little direction, worse than the vast majority of other escape room games; puzzles are extremely obvious after all clues are found, answers are almost too obvious and are tedious.”
emotional
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players report a wide range of emotional responses to the game, from feelings of confusion and frustration to moments of realization and satisfaction. Many express that the challenging puzzles can evoke strong emotions, including tears of both joy and distress, highlighting the game's ability to create a tense atmosphere. Overall, the experience is described as a rollercoaster of emotions, making it both engaging and occasionally overwhelming.
- “Made me feel so dumb lol but it was good - took about 2 hours to play with a friend and we're looking forward to playing the full game <3”
- “If you love simple yet challenging puzzle games or just want to try playing a new game, and want to bring a friend into a journey of constant emotional switching from confusion to realization, I recommend trying this one out!”
- “Also, just don't, I cried. The first couple puzzles were okay but omfg the last two required more brain power than either of us possessed.”
replayability
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
33%
33%
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players appreciate the potential for varied experiences and the fun of exploring different perspectives, others criticize it for lacking randomness and offering little incentive to replay. The concept of existing in separate realities adds a layer of intrigue, suggesting that players may find value in experiencing both sides of the story. However, the consensus indicates that replayability may be limited for those seeking significant changes in gameplay.
- “Great find though, and it is replayable a few times when you try to rope new friends into this genre.”
- “It has decent replay value (even if you know the solutions), and each player respectively getting a slightly different experience is a neat idea.”
- “The gimmick of existing in separate realities is really fun and allows for some degree of replayability.”
- “Has zero replay value as everything is the same and not randomized.”
- “That's cool, whatever, maybe it would give a little replayability to the game by urging you to see both sides of the coin.”
- “It could add a bit of replayability as one might want to see the other side of the story as well.”
humor
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is generally well-received, with players finding it funny and enjoyable, especially in a multiplayer setting. Many reviews highlight the unintentional hilarity of the voice acting and the amusing nature of the puzzles, although some note that the overall gameplay may not be engaging without the comedic element provided by friends. While the game is short, it can still provide a few hours of laughter, particularly when played cooperatively.
- “Really interesting and funny game.”
- “Very good game, the puzzles were smart and funny to complete.”
- “The voice acting was unintentionally hilarious, to the point where I was questioning if the locale was Georgia, the state in the USA, or the country in Eastern Europe.”