a videogame called Memento: 12 Minutes
The month of August each year is always loaded with new Indies titles to play especially on PC and this has been one of those games that I have been putting the eye for some time, 12 Minutes is a game that is based on a fairly simple premise that I have already seen in various media, infinite loops, and pulling this thread is that the Spanish video game has gotten quite a few interested looks, including Microsoft who have not hesitated to buy the distribution rights and integrate it into their Game Pass (which is slowly earning the title of the best of Microsoft in recent years) and has raised more than one player lover of mysteries to its universe, its art style and gameplay, the purpose of this analysis is to see the strengths of this game as well as how the indies have managed to dominate in a market full of blockbusters of millions of dollars, the PC market survives thanks to games like 12 Minutes.
I know 12 Minutes may seem like a short title especially for those who are used to productions that exceed 30 hours of gameplay, but when have you ever seen a AAA studio take a risk like this particular indie has? With a setting based only on an apartment where we walk around and that has an aura both in tone and in its narrative that grabs you from the first moment, it is a game that tells you a lot just with a zenithal perspective and its details, and although I have not been completely convinced by the art style of the game (which by the way has been designed by the artist of The Witness) I think it works well with what the story wants to tell, a claustrophobic plot where every time we fail to solve the mystery and return to the starting point we feel that the room suffocates us, the dialogues become darker and we feel this sense of urgency to solve what is happening before something horrible happens.
The plot of 12 Minutes I wanted to keep it to myself to avoid making any spoilers but I think I can summarize it in two aspects, there is a killer on the loose who is about to enter our apartment where we live with our wife and apparently whatever we do he will end up entering and killing us both, the point is that every time we die, in the style of Groundhog Day, believe me when I tell you that this is just the beginning for many other plots such as the secrets that the couple keeps, their relationship with the murderer or why we have this power to restart the day every time we die.
It is a Point & Click that pays homage to the great graphic adventures of a few years ago having all its controls designed to play with just a mouse, pointing to different points where we want our character to move and interacting using clicks, for me there is no problem that has not been integrated some key movement on PC but perhaps for other players less accustomed to this system of controls have to get used to perform all actions, such as selecting actions and dialogues only with the pointer, Its simplicity in the gameplay only focuses much more on what really wants to deepen this adventure, its plot, its characters and the mystery that surrounds the entire game, the trio protagonist and the diverse situations that are, in my opinion, the best thing about the game from start to finish, having many ways to deal with the inevitable situation that comes and even being able to be ourselves who cause it, the game gives you a certain freedom of where you go in that time before the murderer ends with us.
The overwhelm is especially present throughout the game, the anguish grows with every moment we see the killer approaching our door and some actions we can do during this timeout are quite sinister, we can try to organize an ambush, we can hide or end it all before it starts, each of our actions also allows us to explore the morality of our actions almost as if it were a set of puzzles where we are testing, Just when we think we are stuck a new idea comes to light and we are pulling the thread to discover each of the secrets, this is where the game has its best moment both in the plot and in the gameplay and makes worth every death, small details like moving objects from one side to another or simply touching them have an effect on what happens next and it is in those small but concise moments where I can say that this game is brilliantly polished.
The story is on point, the characters have high quality voiceovers that make the dialogues not look like they came out of an internet forum, the gameplay although it's a bit simple it fulfills the function of presenting the story and make us interact with it while the art design at times becomes sinister but for me it doesn't stand out enough to make it a special mention, 12 minutes is an indie that will give a lot to talk about in the coming months and I'm glad that Spanish authors have the opportunity to demonstrate their gifts and work with some of the heavyweights of the industry, and I'm sure that games like this will open many more doors for other creators.