Time Master Review - LadiesGamers

Game: Time Master
Genre: 3D Puzzle, Platformer
System: Steam (Windows & Linux)
Developers | Publishers: MorpheusZ Games
Controller Support: Full
Price: US $14.99 | UK £11.39 | EU € 11,99
Release Date: January 18th, 2022

Review code used, with many thanks to Vicarious PR.

Time Master is a 3D story-driven puzzle platformer by a solo developer and founder of MorpheusZ Games.

Time Master

Zeno is a talented wizard, and after discovering he has accidentally sent his sister Sophia to a prison vortex, Zeno has vowed never to take up his wizard’s staff again. Not that talented then since he has sent his sister to prison! Anyway, a mysterious voice appears out of nowhere and instructs Zeno to take on the trials of the Ancients.

Through these trials, Zeno will seek to recover time fragments (with your help, of course) and use the fragments to set his sister free and defeat the evil wizard Lucix.

The Trials

You must guide Zeno through a wide variety of timed puzzles that require strategy and skill to get through them. First, you have to collect the fragments, spread out on each level, and you can rewind time and freeze time. Rewinding time makes a second Zeno appear on the screen to help you overcome obstacles in the way. Finally, Zeno must make it to the end of the puzzle with all fragments collected and make his way to a portal like platform where he is taken to the next trail. I really like the use of the rewind and fast forward time, it adds to the puzzles and really makes you think to solve them. It has also been well implemented in the game by the developer.

The puzzles do require some thought, and like most puzzle games, they start pretty easy. However, the puzzles soon become a challenge, especially when new mechanics are introduced to the player. Such as objects blocking the path, which Zeno can make disappear by standing on a switch. Zeno can use his magic wand to blast blocks, stopping his progress in later levels. The game is fun and enjoyable as you work out your strategic moves to get Zeno to the portal. As Zeno can only jump one block in height, his movement is restricted.

Strange Hint System

Puzzles can be re-played at any time to beat your original time. You can also skip a set amount of puzzles in the game if you get stuck on one. However, there isn’t a dedicated hint system to help you if you get into trouble and can’t solve a puzzle. Some hints do appear on the screen, but they are control instructions and not hints to help with a puzzle.

There is a hint button, but it takes you to the developers’ Discord channel when it is pressed. You can then ask for help in the Discord channel to solve the puzzle you are stuck on. Do I hear you say…What!? That was my first reaction when I discovered Time Masters hint system. I have never played a puzzle game or any other game genre with this kind of system for hints or help.

Discord

Here are my thoughts on why I think having a hint system tied to Discord is not a good idea. What if a person does not have or want to sign up for Discord? Would they want to ask for help if they have a Discord account, as some people might be embarrassed to ask for help? That would mean they could be permanently stuck on one puzzle forever and waste their cash on a game they can’t complete.

So to me, it would make much more sense to implement a proper hint system into the game. It would work so much better for the player to enjoy it and play the game to its fullest without asking questions from other folk and waiting for their question to be answered on Discord.

Visuals and Controls

Visually Time Master is beautiful with lush opening scenes at the start of the game and fully voiced acted as well. Each puzzle is set out on its own individual diorama, which can be turned so you can see all aspects of the puzzle. As you play through the puzzles, the surroundings the puzzle is set in change, keeping each puzzle fresh and interesting for the player.

Controls are either by a controller or you can use the keyboard controls. I played using both control systems and they both work as they should. One thing I did notice when playing the game on Steam, each time I stopped playing the game and exited back out of the game to the Steam menu, the game continued running in the background. This happened on more than one occasion and I had to force close the game to shut my laptop down.

Conclusion

Time Master is a lovely game with some devilishly difficult puzzles to complete. It offers a great challenge to any player or lover of puzzle games. If a proper hint system is incorporated into the game, without the need to leave the game and go to Discord, it would improve the quality of gameplay for the player.

Final Verdict: I like It