Minit is a 2D adventure video game published by Devolver Digital that was released earlier this year in April on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. I played it on the PS4. Minit is obviously based on past Zelda games and it looks like an old game. It reminded me heavily of the style of the first Legend of Zelda because of the use of a sword and you collect hearts to add to your health. However, Minit adds a twist to the classic and nostalgic adventure game: the main character dies every minute, leaving the player only able to play the game in 60-second intervals with some progression remaining after each death. Either your time runs out or you can press O to make the character die before the timer runs out. Every time you die, you are brought back to a home hub, where there are multiple in the world that you need to activate in order to awake there. The quest of the game is simple; go to the sword factory and figure out how to get rid of your curse. Dying every minute complicates this. Simple describes Minit in many aspects and sometimes simple is better.
First, I want to talk about the graphics of the game. The game is completely in black and white and is one-bit. It is very simplistic and actually needs to be because of the gameplay. I spent my time walking from screen to screen as quickly as the character could go because there is no time to spend to look at the environment. For me personally, this was especially frustrating because I love to explore games and thus had to sacrifice watching the timer go down to further explore. But when I did allow myself time to explore despite impending death, Minit has so many secrets and mysteries lurking in it that would satisfy a completionist. Through the game, you learn more about the narrative through interacting with other NPCs who have been wronged by the sword factory that made the sword that cursed your character, who is never named. It is no longer about just saving yourself because you become a hero for everyone in this world. This game definitely made me feel good and happy to be playing this character. I felt very few negative emotions while playing.
The music of the game was a perfect fit. When outside, an inspiring adventurous tune plays that changes based on the location. When inside a dungeon, there is silence except for sound effects like for discovering an item. The most noticeable sound in the game is the ticking that begins when there are only 10 seconds remaining. The adventure music serves as a distraction that leads you to forget you have a limited life-span. I kept forgetting I had a time limit until the loud ticking begins to sound. When the ticking begins, my adrenaline and anxiety increases and I try to explore and accomplish tasks as quickly as I can, even when I know it’s futile to do so. The limited life-span is very nerve-wracking and introduces a new way to think of gameplay for adventure games as a genre. One instance that really stood out to me is at the beginning of the game when I was barely getting used to the time mechanic. I talked to an NPC whose text box appeared very slowly, and thus only allowing me to know what they say if I talk to them with enough time left. I thought this was a funny and clever introduction to the way the game would test my ability to manage time and remember where to go as there are no obvious helpful objectives.
The game thrusts you into it with little training. The only buttons that are usable are the joystick to move, the X button to use an item like your sword, and the O button to die or respawn. The controls of the game are simplistic as well, but despite there being limited actions, it feels like you can do so much and I got used to the controls very quickly. The game made it very easy to figure out how to play it. It also helps that there is no real permanent death, so you have unlimited times to correct mistakes. The amazing level design shines through when you encounter puzzles that require precise timing. Nothing feels more satisfying that activating a new hub home or finding an item right at the last second! Its strange use of time also transfers into real life because it felt like I played Minit for hours when in reality I played it for 40 minutes.
This game-changing game mechanic is so refreshing to play because it makes you take a step back and strategize on how to play an adventure game. This game mechanic adds a puzzle element to the adventure game. Every single task I completed in the game felt like such a victory because I managed to do it before the clock ran out. Using death as a mechanic is very interesting because that is usually a state that players don’t want for their character. It becomes a state that you need to induce in order to play quickly and efficiently, like when you know you don’t have enough time to reach a destination. I learned how to use this unfortunate gameplay mechanic/curse to my advantage in order to solve puzzle and progress in the game in order to break the curse and finish the game. Death is not permanent and is not a punishment in Minit, defying the gamer’s normative expectations of how death works in games. Minit challenges this and presents death as a reset button and changes the way one thinks of gameplay and death in games.
I think that Minit is trying to show how defining one simple game mechanic can be and how it can change how to play a classic genre that you thought you already knew how to play. You don’t need amazing graphics, complex controls and coordination, and a long storyline to have a great game. The way it makes you figure out how to play and interact with a unique game mechanic reminded me of Braid and Problem Attic. It is a really fun and interesting quick game (2 hours but can easily become 4 hours) that was super enjoyable to play, cute to look at, and fun to listen to. I recommend it, especially if you like indie games that experiment with game mechanics.
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