Entwined Time

[b]9/10[/b] Very clever time manipulation puzzles with two characters. [b]What is it:[/b] A turn based and grid based time manipulation puzzle in which you control two different characters, each with their own limited action history. The protagonists, Heavy and Light, are two robots tasked with fixing the Chrono Station, which unfortunately suffered a critical breakdown, messing up their timelines. Now they can individually move back and forth through time, performing and rewinding actions at will. As their names imply, Light cannot push Heavy out of the way, but Heavy can easily push and carry Light around. Each time a robot moves, all the changes happening in the environment are recorded, and they can be undone at a later time, from a different configuration, if possible. Light can move left, and normally a rewind would just have it move back to the right, but meanwhile Heavy can move Light someplace else, or merely stand on the right, blocking the rightwards move, which means that Light is now one spot to the left without having spent an action point. And this is what makes the puzzles difficult: they have very few action points. Understanding how you can trick the rewind mechanism to gain free movement is key, since you often have to move many steps away with a robot that has two, one, or even no action points. But that is just the base mechanism. Later chapters add even weirder stuff, including one way gates, one way gates that also block rewind moves, boxes that do and don’t rewind, flames that kill and medicine that heals, spots where time doesn’t pass, and other wonderful mechanics. Can you solve all the puzzles and put back the Chrono Helix? Yes? Well, buckle up, even weirder stuff shows up in the post-game chapters. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3353191695 Even though the levels are challenging, this game is approachable by casual players as well, because it never forces them to figure out the solution on their own to proceed. The generous unlocking of levels, as well as the option to just unlock everything at any time, means there's always another level to try. If a level hides its intended solution too well, try a “gain insight” easier version of the level. If that’s still not enough, you can replay step by step the author’s solution to understand the trick. Even if you just watch the author's solutions, you’ll learn a lot about puzzle solving and puzzle design. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3353189968 Before being released on Steam, this had several months of availability on Itch, so it arrives in an already very good state, with few issues, great QoL, and an active community that already contributed many hundreds of levels. While Steam Workshop is not supported, it comes with great copy/paste sharing of both custom levels and the solutions of any level. Found a surprising solution or bug? Copy/paste it so anyone can try it. Need help with a level? Get a solution or a starting point from a friend and copy/paste it. This is a free game, so it's not made by a company trying to minimize costs and maximize profits, but a passion project from a puzzle lover for other puzzle lovers, and it shows. Most of the usual things I expect in a good game are present: unlimited undo, even through restarts, plenty of video, audio and gameplay settings, smart achievements, solution sharing, level editing, both smart hints and step by step solutions, good-enough-progress unlocking of chapters, full input customization, and so on. Excellent job! [b]How hard is it:[/b] Moderate to very hard. [b]How long is it:[/b] 12 main chapters and 7 extra chapters, 400+ levels in the main campaign, although almost half of them are “extra” harder levels or variants of standard levels. Most of these levels are doubled since they come with an easier “insight” version or a harder “remix” version. Tens, if not hundreds of hours needed to solve all of them. All standard levels in a chapter are unlocked. Unlocking the extra levels and the next chapter requires solving around two thirds of the standard levels. Many levels have a “gain insight” easier level for a gentle hint toward a solution, and most of them have a full solution which you can replay. There are also hundreds of community levels as well. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3353189595 [b]Level design:[/b] Great! Lots of levels with different mechanics, many with extra variants. Each chapter showcases a core mechanic and the many types of puzzles it can support. While there is no explicit rulebook, all the items are described in the level editor. Perhaps the abundance of mechanics may be overwhelming for some, but I still consider it a plus. [b]Quality:[/b] Excellent. Great mechanics and levels. Undo and redo, even through restarts, separate from the rewind ability. Solution saving and replaying. Good level select and menus in general. Good controls, fully configurable, works with either keyboard, mouse or controller (although the level editor requires a mouse). Level editor. Good [url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3353188182]settings[/url], including some accessibility. No cloud saving yet. Plenty of achievements, including tricky ones that require thinking outside the box. Small, fast and responsive. [b]Worth the price:[/b] A free game with hundreds of hours of good content? Of course! [b]Most positive aspect for me:[/b] Clever puzzles. [b]Most negative aspect for me:[/b] No quick access to a dictionary of all the mechanics. [b]What would make it better:[/b] Steam workshop support. Cloud saving. [b]Also consider:[/b] [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1880490/Meet_me_at_NooN/?curator_clanid=25928931]Meet me at NooN[/url], similar game with two characters moving back and forth in time, but which character moves each turn is predetermined. [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/381890/Induction/?curator_clanid=25928931]Induction[/url], use the actions of past clones to get to out-of-reach places, in 3D presentation. [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/499180/Braid_Anniversary_Edition/?curator_clanid=25928931]Braid[/url], choreograph backwards and forwards moving enemies in a platformer presentation. [quote]For more puzzle game reviews, news and everything puzzle-related, follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/25928931-Puzzle-Lovers/]Puzzle Lovers[/url] and check out our [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/puzzlelovers]Steam group[/url].[/quote] [quote]Follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/]IndieGems[/url] for more reviews like this one.[/quote]