Without meaning to sound like a jaded so-and-so, the one problem with reporting on video games is that they rarely have the ability to surprise. As an infant, this particular editor used to relish trips to underground game stores where shelves of import titles gazed gleefully back – every single one of them a mysterious entity with a story to tell. These days, there’s not a lot that this ageing scribe couldn’t tell you about the PlayStation 4 and its predecessor, which means that it’s extra special when we happen upon a title that we’ve never heard of before.
Minutes is one such release. Poised unassumingly in the upstairs section of the EGX 2014 showfloor, its cramped booth’s PlayStation branding quickly confused us – as we’d never actually heard of it before. We’ve since learned that the arcade-inspired escapade’s the work of Richard Ogden, a fairly noteworthy figure in the Sony Computer Entertainment scene for being one of the co-founders of the now sadly shuttered first-party outfit BigBig Studios. With a slew of strong titles already to his name – including a personal favourite, Pursuit Force – it’s no surprise that this underpublicized PlayStation 4 and Vita outing is shaping up nicely.
Anyone that’s ever actively enjoyed messing around with Photoshop’s eraser tool while jamming to thumping techno tunes will feel right at home here. Described as a “twisted form of bullet hell”, the title ostensibly sees you controlling a non-descript circle through hazardous scenes, with the objective being to avoid deadly black matter, while scooping up coloured matter instead. It sounds very simple on paper, but the underlying genius comes from the fact that you can change the size of the circle, increasing your score multiplier in the process – but also the likelihood that you’ll make a mistake. As the name suggests, you’ve got a minute to hit a required score quota, with each level boasting a trio of targets Angry Birds style.
To add an additional layer of complexity, the full version will also boast power-ups, but because we were playing the early levels, we didn’t get to see any of these during our brief hands-on demo. The trailer embedded below hints at screen clearing powders and a particularly potent shield, however, so expect plenty of variety over the course of the title’s 60 single player levels. There’ll also be a daily challenge, which – surprise, surprise – will randomly generate a stage every day, giving you a reason to keep returning. Well, for a minute or two at least.
The game’s currently targeting a 29th October release date, which doesn’t give the title’s one-man developer a lot of time to get the message out. Selfishly, though, we’re delighted that we hadn’t heard of this hidden gem prior to playing it, because, for 60 seconds or so, as we guided an inconspicuous circle around an enormous television screen, we remembered what it felt like to be surprised again.
Have you got time during this busy holiday season for one more downloadable game? Do you also miss happening upon titles that you’ve never heard of before? Take a minute to leave a comment in the space below.
Comments 12
Ooooh
And yes, Pursuit Force, Pursuit Force ftw!
I'm down! I'll pick it up on launch to show support. This looks really interesting.
More great music, its a bit too minimalist and the colours could be a bit more vibrant, still pretty interested though, more great music from the 'Indies'.
Right on! Sounds like a novel concept and will hopefully be a pretty fun game.
I'll buy it.
I recently had a similar experience with Pixel the Cat thats just been added as a cross by between the PS4 & Vita. My friend played it first and said it was just another rip off of a previous game (A term I hate as most devs use ideas taken from other games) that was titled the very famous Pac Man. I loved Pac Man way back when and have to say I actually enjoyed Pixel the Cat (It may actually be called Pix the Cat) as it came as a complete surprise.
I think games these days show far too much before release with Destiny being a great example. I guess the Internet is partly to blame these days.
I miss the good old day of getting a games magazine once a month and talking about it at school the next day with my friends as that was hype enough. I think in the case of advertising a game less is more. Games devs and publishers these days get us way too hyped for a game that gets our expectations way too high. I find the less I know about a game the more I enjoy it. All I really look for is a little bit of information on the game type, maybe a rough release period and a good honest review.
There was an indie game on the XB360 (I think it was also on ios) which was called "The Impossible Game" which had very little colours and around three different shapes, the main character being just a square. The rest of the level was made up of circles, squares and triangles. It was a very simple platform game which used only one button which made your square character jump. You had to jump over increasingly difficult objects (triangle,squares and circles) but the further you got the the better and more intense the music got. Its cost less than £1 and was also one of the most addictive games I've played in my 30 years of gaming.
It just shows that how having millions of pounds, hundreds of people, great graphics, complex contol set ups and a rich story doesn't insure your game will be a success or even fun to play.
"the one problem with reporting on video games is that they rarely have the ability to surprise."
In the mists of time, when men were real men, women were real women, and real games came on CD's, Playstation games used to surprise me so often I had to replace my monocle every week.
Remember on the PS One, when...
I'm sorry but this means absolutely nothing to me, this must be the worst crap I read in a long time but I do apologize in advance 😚💨💨💨
@SuperCat I remember it all very well. Brings a tear to my eye.
@NAZA-187 Haha, I'm sorry you felt that way. Hopefully you gleaned some useful information about the game, even if the opening paragraph or so wasn't to your tastes.
Think about what you're saying next time, otherwise it'll be the chop for you - get2sammyb
Actually psycho mantis read your memory card that's why if you removed them he got nothing and switched your controller to port 2 he could touch ta lol
I'm not a fan of most indie games however recent PS+ dust an alysian tail was amazing so if we get more of that quality I may consider getting them
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