Timelie Review Manipulate Your Timeline The Nerd Stash

Title: Timelie

Developer/Studio: Urnique Studio

Publisher: Urnique Studio & Milk Bottle Studio

Genre: Adventure, Indie, Strategy, & Puzzle

Available on: PC (Steam)

Official Site: timelie.urniquestudio.com

Release Date: May 2oth, 2020

In a world thrown into chaos, 2020 has been a wild year; so wild in that many have stated that the year’s storyline was possibly written by Chris Van Allsburg, the man who wrote Jumanji, Zathura, and The Polar Express. While many are fighting for social justice, others are waiting out the Corona Virus storm and continuing to abide by social distancing practices. Those who are staying inside may be feeling isolated and looking for new avenues to express themselves. Luckily, Urnique Studios has recently released a game called Timelie, a single-player game with Cooperative elements. Coordinate between your counterparts to solve puzzles and explore the mysterious world.

A Deeper Meaning?

As we were playing through Timelie, one specific quote kept coming to mind and at first I did not understand why. As the game progressed the specific quote started to make more sense. The quote that kept resonating through our mind is Shiro Amano’s Kingdom Hearts quote.

Now you are probably saying to yourself, what does Kingdom Hearts have to do with Timelie? Directly there is no correlation. Kingdom Hearts is an adventure RPG that has players traveling from world to world. Timelie is a time manipulation narrative that focuses on puzzles and music. In a way, Timelie is closer to Remedy’s Quantum Break or Control rather than any Kingdom Hearts title. So why this quote? The underlying premise of these three games is to find something that has been lost and to correct things that have gone wrong.

Is Time A Linear Journey?

In TimeLie, you play as a girl who has the ability to manipulate the timeline. What first appears to be an attempted escape becomes more as the game unfolds. Along the way, the girl is accompanied by a cat she rescues. The player can control the cat and use it to slip into tiny spaces, stand on buttons, and distract guards. As the game progresses, the player is left to wonder whether this is a breakout or a memory. The game becomes even more confusing when you start seeing double. In the end, you are left wondering, was this all a failed escape, a convoluted dream or a symbolic story about depression and the inability to change the past.

The Mechanics & Controls in Timelie

The controls of the game are rather simplistic. Players utilize only the left side of their keyboard and two mouse buttons. Sadly, the game does not offer controller support but is easy enough to play. The mouse controls the character’s pathing (Left Click) and moving the camera to look at the level (Right Click + Drag). The player can control the flow of time either by using the A & D key or scrolling the time bar at the bottom of the screen. The player utilizes the tab button to switch between the girl and the cat. This can become confusing when trying to path the characters.

The goal of each level is to reach the white door. As the game progresses, the levels become more difficult and require multiple rewinds to get the timing right. At first, the levels are easy to complete with the player having to avoid only one or two guard bots, activate one switch, or rebuild a bridge; on the higher levels, the player has to navigate all of these plus more. As we alluded to earlier, the player has to rebuild bridges in order to complete some of the levels. This can only be done by obtaining white fragments. Once the white fragment is gathered, the girl can use her ability to rewind time to build bridges; however, some bridges can only be rewound by purple fragments. Collecting a purple fragment resets the stage and can change the robots’ paths.

At times it is necessary to use the cat to distract guards with its meow; the cat can be used to stand on buttons to open doors. Sadly, the fate of the cat becomes uncertain and the player must decide what happens to the cat.

Time Splitting Soundtrack of Timelie

What really makes TimeLie enjoyable is its soundtrack. The game does not have any dialogue, instead, emotions are conveyed by the musical score. When the girl finds the cat, the music becomes uplifting and feels like you can float on air. When the girl or the cat is being chased, the music’s pace becomes faster and gives the illusion of danger. Finally at the end of the game, once the player has completed the four doors, the music becomes gloomy yet determined. This attention to setting and atmospheric soundtrack makes Timelie creates a deeper understanding of the current circumstances rather than laying it straight out.

The Conclusion or a New Beginning?

Although Timelie is a relatively short game, it is a thought-provoking game. Yes, it is an adventure puzzle game but it also has a deeper meaning. How many times have you asked yourself, What if I did this instead? Have you ever replayed the moment and thought of all the ways it went wrong what you could have possibly done to make it better? This game gives a visual aspect to that. Other games like Quantum Break, Timeshift, and Kingdom Hearts 3: Re Mind, use time manipulation as a plot hole for linear progression, whereas Timelie uses it as a core gameplay element.

Verdict: Timelie is ultimately a game that I will only remember playing in 2020. The game itself may have a beautiful soundtrack like that of Persona 5 and Doom (2016), but the gameplay did not wow me. This indie title definitely is thought-provoking but it feels a little too short. The game could benefit from a DLC since the ending is open to interpretation. Timelie is an enjoyable but at times infuriating puzzler. The game isn’t a must-have unless you love musical compositions and puzzlers but it is definitely worth picking up down the line. I would recommend listening to the soundtrack before you buy the game and saving the bundle to your Steam wishlist.