Minit, a game that pushes you to the limit by giving you only a minute to clear a stage. An intriguing concept that’s mixed with a very minimalist design and fast paced gameplay, Minit is a game not like many others. Minit is a game that has been developed by Vlambeer and published by Devolver Digital who are known for some fantastic titles like Hotline Miami, this game is out for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, OS X, Linux and Windows. A game described by some as “Classical Zelda without the bs” this game does feel a lot like it. So, is the 60 second panic inducer worth the time or should it just be lost to time, let’s find out.
Minit is an adventure title that is very similar in terms of the core gameplay to the original Zelda games. However, there’s one twist that changes everything. You play the game sixty seconds at a time thanks to a sword that you pick up which happens to be cursed and once the time’s up, you die and respawn at your home. While that may sound frustrating and annoying it isn’t. The game lets you keep all the progress that you’ve made and all the items you had before you died. This way, you don’t lose any progress besides doing some tracking back to get to where you were but that’s not hard since you probably have explored the place anyway. Once you find a new house, you start to respawn at that house once you die. It even has a button to kill yourself so that you’re not wasting any time doing nothing for 30 seconds or so. It’s one of those games where dying doesn’t necessarily mean failure, something that I learned a lot by playing the Dark Souls titles.
The game has you collect items as you progress which are items that work passively to help your character navigate the level. For example, the coffee mug has you drink coffee and permanently allows you to move around certain objects, similarly the garden glove allows you to chop down trees without getting splinters. One item which is unlike these is the gardening can which you require to solve puzzles, however due to the size of this object you can only carry the sword or the gardening can at once which adds a bit of variety. While on your quest to save yourself from this curse, you also interact with other characters whom you can help.
The visual style is a very simple 8bit-esque monochrome art style remnant of old DOS games on the pc. However, the game world still looks fantastic with easily distinguishable objects and environments and even characters who seem to have a personality of their own just from the sprites. The soundtrack consists of chiptune music which is cute and very enthusiastic sounding which is very much needed for a game where you die and respawn every 60 seconds.
Minit is a really fun game that doesn’t overstay its welcome as it lasts for about an hour during your first playthrough. It has a unique core gameplay mechanic that is used to the utmost in a way that doesn’t hinder the player’s experience but rather enhances it. While some might not enjoy the art style of the game, I highly recommend the game especially since it’s available for just $10.
