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Annapurna Interactive is one of the leading distributors in the indie scene today, and with each new release both gamers and critics are already eagerly awaiting an “out of the box” experience. When Twelve minutes was announced, back in 2015, it was no different. After all, it is a thriller with a narrative based on time loops with the central cast of the game being formed by great Hollywood stars. All the ingredients for another hit, right? Wrong!
Twelve minutes it's a rare example of a game that manages to get the toughest aspects right, but destroys everything it has built so hard by delivering shocking twists to players. In fact, as we advance in the game, we understand that we must make morally wrong decisions to progress, regardless of how traumatic it is to actively participate in these situations.
History
Provoking from the start, the premise of Twelve minutes is: you control a man who is arriving home—or rather, apartment—after a long day at work. His wife has special news, celebrated at a romantic dinner. Suddenly, a policeman starts knocking on the door and accuses your spouse of murder, then kills you. Now, you must repeat the same day over and over again until you figure out how to break this curse and move on with your life.
Everything was perfect until…
As mentioned above, everything is exciting in the plot, the cinematographic references - ranging from Alfred Hitchcock a Stanley Kubrick –, the details in the apartment and the dialogues, which are fundamental points for the progression of the game. What's more, the game is effective at making you feel, for better or worse, that you're stuck in time.
You can feel that the Spanish developer LuĂs Antonio worked hard, especially on the game's script, to deliver a cathartic work. Unlike a movie, however, a video game is an interactive medium, and that changes everything when the work makes you a direct agent of harassment and violence against women.
is there any game with dialogue options when your character is racist/homophobic and the game doesn't give you the choice not to say racist/homophobic things? or this is not explicit in the option you mark and when the answer comes out it says etc.
- Marcia Effect (@trostes) August 22, 2021Answering the tweet question, in Elysium disk, a game in which, as well as Twelve minutes, the narrative overlaps with the gameplay, there is the alternative to not having racist dialogue. This proves that LuĂs AntĂłnio did not think about how much he could hurt players in scenes that the husband (controlled by us) sees, hidden in a closet, his wife being killed. Or dope her with medicine. Both choices, besides being possible, are fundamental for the game's progression. What makes it worse is that, because it's in a loop, the game actively endorses making such choices with the false feeling that everything is fine in the next loop.
Gameplay
As this is a narrative-driven point-and-click game, we can't expect fluid or addictive gameplay. It is what it is for: functional. The aerial view may not be the best either, but it also works in this context, to give us an idea of ​​all the spaces that we can interact with in the apartment.
Actuations
If LuĂs AntĂłnio's script decisions are questionable, the same cannot be said of the game's dubbing cast, composed of James McAvoy, Daisy Ridley e Willem Dafoe. The three deliver performances that do not owe anything to the cinema. Especially Dafoe, who manages, just through the dialogues, to transform himself into a terrifying villain, with traits that even resemble villains from slasher movies — and of course, this is because of the loop: when we are repeating, we await with great fear the inevitable arrival. from the policeman to the apartment.
James McAvoy e Daisy Ridley, even if not shining, they deliver good voice acting and convince us as a couple that has been together for some time. The curious thing about the choice of the duo is that both are British and had to force an American accent for their respective roles'.
But it's good to remember that this is a game. So it's not fair to compare it to movies. A character can keep repeating certain ready-made phrases by the player's choice and for the sake of this progression and repetitions, even with the excuse of the loop, it can sound quite artificial.
After all, is it worth it?
Twelve minutes it is a game with a lot of potential and that delivers a lot of technical quality, but the narrative choices, added to the climax, which takes place well before the endings (yes, there are more than one!) give a feeling that the game could do more. Also, some people—especially women—may be bothered by some immoral possibilities within the game that are mandatory for you to advance in the story.
In the end, I got the impression that the time I invested in the game could be worth it if I hadn't explored all the endings (a decision I made for the sake of this review). So the recommendation is made with reservations, even for those who are movie fans. Having said all that, the talent of LuĂs AntĂłnio is undeniable, who has worked for industry giants such as Ubisoft e Rockstar. Now that he can venture into the indie scene with more creative freedom, he must also take more responsibility—and be held accountable—with his upcoming narratives.
Twelve Minutes was released for PC (Steam) for BRL 51,99 and for Xbox One, Series X / S for R$92,45 – also available via subscription to the Game Pass (Console and PC) at no additional cost.
