Time Loader [Nintendo Switch] | REVIEW

The idea of time travel isn’t new in video games, but sending a robot through time in order to prevent a childhood accident from occurring does feel pretty unique (they’re usually sent to kill John Connor but that’s another story). That’s the concept behind Time Loader, the physics-based puzzler from developer Flazm that is making its debut on consoles following its PC release last year. It’s a really great game too, with the quirky but clever platform-puzzling complementing the surprisingly emotional story.

Check out a gallery of screenshots below:

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Time Loader tells the story of Adam, a scientist who is confined to a wheelchair after slipping on a toy car and falling out of his treehouse when younger. The accident didn’t stop him from being a brilliant man though, with his expert knowledge in… uh… ‘time travel’ allowing him to devise a time machine out of a microwave (it doesn’t work in real-life, I tried). Thus, he looks to send his remote-control robot ally through time in a bid to stop the accident from happening in the first place, though this brings with it some repercussions of its own…

I don’t want to go into depth about the narrative of Time Loader because it actually stood out as one of the most unique and memorable aspects of the game. It can be pretty emotional too, with the story progressing in often tragic ways that caught me off-guard. Whilst it looks like a jolly platforming-puzzler that simply sends players on a nostalgic trip through the 90’s, there’s a whole lot more to Time Loader that might genuinely surprise players. A lot of detail is found within the world itself too, so it’s certainly worth taking a closer look at the environment around you if you want to learn more about Adam’s life during the journey.

“Whilst it looks like a jolly platforming-puzzler that simply sends players on a nostalgic trip through the 90’s, there’s a whole lot more to Time Loader that might genuinely surprise players.”

The gameplay is more quirky and light-hearted, with the player controlling the little robot and sending it through all sorts of different obstacle-filled areas in a bid to complete its goal. It’s pretty versatile too, with it able to jump across gaps, drive up small walls, throw items across the environment, push and pull heavy items, and even grapple onto objects in order to swing back and forth. Players will get access to even more tools as they progress through the game, with things like the screwdriver, harpoon, and spring-powered wheels ensuring they have more tricks up their sleeve when it comes to both traversal and puzzle-solving.

And believe me, Time Loader certainly delivers when it comes to puzzles. Utilising the environment in all sorts of zany ways, there’ll be plenty of instances throughout the game where players will have to be a bit clever with their toolset and objects around them in order to bypass any obstacle in their path. The obstacles themselves feel befitting of the world too, with an array of every day objects causing problems for players when it comes to getting around. And, of course, your pet cat causes PLENTY of trouble too, because why wouldn’t it want to disrupt the path of a little robot?

Admittedly, there was nothing too challenging to face in the game and the smaller environments meant that the solution is typically right in front of you, but the puzzles were always fun to figure out. There are plenty of objects to interact with in varying ways too, with the actions you take affecting the outcome of the game; there are four different endings available in total, so there’s definitely an incentive in place to play through the game multiple times to see how much of a butterfly effect your actions really have. My first playthrough took me around two to three hours, though subsequent attempts to get different endings were much shorter.

“The house is full of recognisable sights like old console controllers, a toy railway track, a toy DeLorean, a Godzilla figure, and even a Tamagotchi, whilst the amount of detail placed in making it feel like a real lived-in home full of clutter felt oddly familiar.”

One of the best things about Time Loader was its world design, which is something I could ESPECIALLY appreciate since I’m a 90’s kid myself. The house is full of recognisable sights like old console controllers, a toy railway track, a toy DeLorean, a Godzilla figure, and even a Tamagotchi, whilst the amount of detail placed in making it feel like a real lived-in home full of clutter felt oddly familiar. We’re all guilty of keeping junk on our shelves, but getting up-close and personal with it as this little robot felt charming here, as did going through the likes of a kitchen full of plates and utensils or climbing up a cat’s play tree (that’s what they’re called, right?). The way the robot can react to things is cute too, and whilst he might not be able to talk himself (an AI narrates the tale), the reactions on his LED face are worth a million words at times – especially during the game’s more emotional moments.

It plays pretty well on the Nintendo Switch too, with the simplified visual style looking good on the handheld’s screen. Don’t get me wrong, it’s probably a bit prettier on the other consoles, but it still looked vibrant and detailed, whilst there were no performance issues either. The only nit-pick I did have was that it could be a little fiddly lining up some of the precision throws at times and the physics could be a little clunky when climbing some obstacles, but there was nothing that caused any real issues when playing.

Developer: Flazm
Publisher: META Publishing
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch (Reviewed), PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Website: https://metapublishing.io/ongoing/time_loader/