Timespinner Game Sample - PC/Indie
31Hey! It's Castlevania... wait, no, it's Chrono Trigger!... wait, not quite... Megaman X? Castle Trigger?? Chronovania X??? Aww, what the hell; I'll just meet the devs halfway and say it's primarily a love letter to three masterpieces with a sprinkle of its own identity here and there... that HEAVILY imitates Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. "Timespinner" is the long-awaited title by Lunar Ray Games (published by the controversial Chucklefish Games) that had a mildly successful Kickstarter campaign four years ago and has endured a long development process which would've killed the average crowd-funded effort, but this game is anything but average.
Timespinner features beautiful pixel graphics and animation that'll take you back to the greatest hits of the 32-bit era, music that delivers that Gothic itch by Jeff Ball (who composed for "Tiny Barbarian DX" as well as play the violin for "Steven Universe") and a story that taps into the past, present and future with its characters, setting and progressive LGBTQ notes, anyone who has ever played any of the aforementioned titles will truly come to appreciate what was accomplished with this game, as it looks, sounds and plays almost as fine as the titles it draws inspiration from.
In the game, players control a young Qaelan woman within the Erneah galaxy, Lunais, who is gifted with the ability to manipulate aura energy, telekinesis and the sands that control time itself. Qaelans are a group of nomadic guardians who protect the sacred apparatus, Timespinner, from those who would use it for evil. Most are lacking in combat ability and their numbers are small, causing them to constantly jump through alternate timelines to evade their captors, leaving the memories of their current families and friends in the process to avoid a time paradox, but on Lunais' 20th birthday, they come closer to being captured than ever before when they invade their Winderian encampment and Lunais narrowly escapes through the Timespinner.
Now in an area she can only assume is the empire's home turf of Lachiem, she tries to regain control of the Timespinner, learn more about the alternate timelines and her circumstances, and exact her revenge against those who have caused her people so much grief. There are a few neat twists and turns to the plot which are accentuated more by the game's world-building; Timespinner is an important side-story to a bigger interplanetary plot that has been in development for a mind-numbing eighteen years. There's plenty of secrets to uncover, dozens of different adversaries to face, multiple endings depending on actions taken, post-game content with additional difficulties, and even a novel two player mode by utilizing familiars (something that isn't mentioned often enough). In spite of this, the game is fairly easy outside of the highest difficulty and can be initially completed in four or five hours.
Describing the gameplay... it really is like C:SotN and the DS titles: players can dash evasively, swap weapons, shop, gain levels and even use familiars in combat. A few systems have a mild touch added to them such as weapons gaining levels or enchantments for gear, and the ledge grabbing mechanic and mid-to-long range abilities do add a bit more of a shooter vibe, but there's a decent amount to experiment with here. The level designs aren't as ingenious as the games from the big developers (and ironically, Castlevania Requiem (SotN + RoB) releases later next month), but considering this is an indie game, it's nothing short of impressive. It's also worth mentioning that you reach a hub area later in the game where you can take on a few side quests, which offer more goodies and a glimpse into other character motivations.
I'd be remiss to say the game is problem-free. The PS4 version is fine and the PC version still has the usual early-launch bugs to iron out (compatibility issues, driver issues, controller and resolution support issues, data management etc.), but the bigger issue stems with the current Vita version, which suffers numerous freezing issues and framerate instability. It's not game-breaking, but the experience certainly takes a hit, so I can't recommend it wholeheartedly, but the other versions are a go.
Anybody remember "Black Sigil"? Probably not, but it's another title that flew so close to the sun (and is one of the more sought-after Nintendo DS games too). Timespinner isn't the best title out there, but I give it two thumbs up. If you like what you see, which is just a general 30+ minute teaser, the game only gets better from there, and I'd advise any interested parties to pick it up. You can get the the game at:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/368620/Timespinner/
https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP0426-CUSA11926_00-TIMESPINNER00000
Enjoy.
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