A Wise Use of Time

I'm surprised by the amount of positive reviews, as this is one of the weakest CoGs I've ever played. The plot lost me very quickly, at some points it moves way too fast to be enjoyable, at others it drags terribly. At least one really impactful choice is taken away from player (basically games decides for you, even if you disagree and then criticize you for decision, that wasn't really yours to begin with). It opens up really strong, but then gets worse with every minute. Also, writing (especially during first interactions with your roommates) goes to "obvious and bad exposition" territory. Sadly, I cannot recommend it.

A Wise Use of Time presents you with a fascinating story seed, and makes for a decent single playthrough, although several of your character's actions feel forced, out of character, or as though you had no good options. Multiple playthroughs, however, reveal little variance, often ignoring or contradicting the player's choices.

I loved this story, but it ended on a cliffhanger and four years later there's still not a sequel I'm aware of. Don't bother getting this until the story is complete, which it likely never will be.

Reviewing (mostly) every game (or DLC) in my library, part 608: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆☆☆☆ (6/10) Mmmm. Ehhhhh. Okay? Those words are pretty much my reaction to [i]A Wise Use of Time[/i] after finishing it. My "meh" reaction is colored by Jim Dattilo's prose. It's technically able, and I haven't seen any glaring mistakes, but (sorry to bro) I do not vibe with Dattlio's writing style at all. I loved his other work, [i]Zombie Exodus[/i], despite his writing, not because of it. The mechanics were so deep and fleshed out. However, in [i]A Wise Use of Time[/i], there are no cool RPG-like mechanics to hide behind. It's also a surprisingly slow, slice-of-life, and again, his writing is not strong enough to carry a slow-burning plot. His writing isn't bad, but it was painfully dry to me. He has mini-character arcs, but they are so [i]flat[/i] and unremarkable, I honestly did not care about their problems. On a more objective level, though, don't go into [i]A Wise Use of Time[/i] thinking you'll get a thrilling, kooky adventure. In truth, despite your awesome time powers, the game is leaning heavily into a cozy, slice-of-life category. I didn't hate it, but I was keenly aware of the more important (or fun) aspects of the story: FREEZING TIME, rather than angling for a promotion at a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ job. I also had a frustrating ending, which led me to give the game a thumbs-down. Still, thanks to the staff for giving me a free copy! [b][h2]Pros:[/h2][/b] ✅[b] (Some) choices matter.[/b] I liked how Dattilo approached each situation. While you are forced to tell your roommates about your powers, you can control your goals and emotions. When robbers try to break into a jewelry store, for example, you can decide to leave quietly, afraid of getting hurt. Or you can decide to stop the robbers and resume time so everyone knows it's you. Or you can even stop the robbers, then leave quietly as a Good Samaritan. There are many different ways to react to these moral quandaries, and I was pleased with the variety of my choices. There are also three important stats: Time Control, Stress, and Visibility. I liked experimenting to see how far I could push my Stress, for instance, and the narrative warned me when my Visibility was rather high. Pretty cool! [b][h2]Mixed:[/h2][/b] 🟨 [b]Slice-of-life setting.[/b] I have mixed feelings about this design choice (clearly). It's well-done and detailed—almost too much so. You are granted your powers early, but you can't focus on them 100%. Instead, you'll be stuck at your office job, which has its own plotlines. You can decide if you want to work towards a promotion or try to backstab your boss. The conversations with your coworkers, friends, and possible ROs are rather mundane. You'll literally ask how their day is going, how their family is, how their health is, etc. I'm not sure how to feel. On one hand, this does help the characters feel like normal people rather than genre archetypes. On the other hand, the slice-of-life focus sometimes dampens the excitement that the premise initially promises. [b][h2]Cons:[/h2][/b] 🟥[b] Prose.[/b] I really don't want to harp on such a subjective topic, but his prose feels workmanlike—clear and functional, but rarely evocative. The writing communicates events efficiently, but it doesn’t add much atmosphere or personality. To me, it's very much "This happened, this THIS happened, and you feel sad, but you move on anyway." I think the narration has very little voice; it reads almost like a neutral report of events. The prose lacks a distinctive narrative personality. This, incidentally, bleeds into the characters. I see the broad strokes of their characterization. You do get to spend time with them. But I didn't [i]connect[/i] with them. 🟥[b] Ending.[/b] I got a bad ending, so I'm a bit peeved. In the final chapter, there's an encounter with the Big Baddie, and you will have to fight him using skill checks. You can try to trick him, convince him, or use your powers. I passed one or two, but it seems I failed an important one. As a result, I died. I'm not opposed to this on principle—perhaps the choices could be clearer—but what I [i]was[/i] opposed to was having to restart. And play through 11 chapters if I wished to see a proper ending. I mean, not even a checkpoint at the penultimate chapter? All right, pack it up, chief. 🟥[b] Raj.[/b] I did not like this character (who is also a potential RO) at all. Frankly, I found him insufferable. Ah, yes, let's [spoiler]tell my impulsive roommate with a gambling addiction that I can stop time. That will surely end well.[/spoiler] Every character has their flaw and struggles—good! However, Raj's gambling flaw was so preventable and irritating to me. I especially hated how he kept asking for help covering his OWN debts and got upset when I told him "no." [hr] If you enjoyed this review, please check out my curator page to find more: [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45814768-Verdict-Play-or-Pass/]Verdict: Play or Pass. [/url] Also, please leave a like and visit [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/Indie_Gems]IndieGems[/url] and our [url=https://www.youtube.com/@IndieGems2]YouTube channel[/url] for more reviews like this one. [/hr]

I wish there was a neutral rating. I love the concept and the set up, the biggest problem is how unflexible it is. A small update adding a couple more days would be fantastic. All in all I didnt enjoy the ending, after about 3 options all leading to the same ending I just didnt feel like going through the game looking for more endings. It felt very pointless at the end because of this but I enjoyed some of the characters and scenarios. *edit* Remind me if this game gets an update, I really want to like this game.

I don't know how but I always manage to get the most frustrating endings out of these games. So either having good endings require too many specific choices, or I'm just bad at it. Either way, I'm salty, will never play these textual adventure games again, and will not recommend them to other people.

不管怎样都会把时间停止能力告诉室友也太蠢了（我甚至以为是选错了选项重开一遍验证）。对这部作品很失望，不顾玩家选择强行收线的剧本实在恶心

You have a few starting options, including your career path and a mystery you can choose to pursue. The story starts off right when your powers first activate. You have no idea what this is and you just go from there. You can be as evil or as good as you want. Become more powerful or just live an ordinary life. Pros: -Lots of choices and options, not too much text. -Stopping time is pretty awesome. Writer adds little details that really make you feel you're there. -Can't talk about my favorite parts, too spoilery. But the author creates these really terrifying moments. -Much longer than most CYOA stories. -Good replay options and mysteries to uncover. Cons: -Needed more action. The story can get too focused on everyday life, rather than this amazing ability you have. Although you can spice it up by using your ability recklessly. -I made a heroic choice early in the game and didn't think much of it. But the author assumed I wanted to play as a hero and kept describing all these heroic deeds I did in my downtime, without giving me the choice again. I would have liked to have the choice in this CYOA game, rather than someone assume this is how I wanted to play. -Would have like more puzzles and gambling opportunities. -Gambling was very disappointing. -Too much time spent on the boring characters and not enough time with the interesting ones. Overall -When it's good it's great, but there's times when the story just doesn't seem to move in the direction you want it to. I still think it's worth playing though.