Time Bandit – Part 1: Appendages of the Machine

I feel really, really bad giving this game a thumbs down. At it's roots, I think I should love this. It has great writing, a cool aesthetic, an overt anti-capitalist message (a big thumbs up from from me), and an interesting central gimmick; it's a Sokoban-like block pusher, except it takes half an hour of real time to move each block. How novel! But... Do you ever have an idea that sounds really great in theory, but in practice is awful? This is a Sokoban-like block pusher, where [b]it takes half an hour of real time to move each block[/b]. This is the most prominent of multiple interlinked systems which all serve the same purpose; to make actually achieving anything in this game a frustrating and time-consuming experience. And, like, that's deliberate, let's be clear. from an [i]artistic[/i] standpoint, 10/10, doing a great job. But I'm less than 3 hours in, and somehow it feels both like I've spent so, so much longer than that on the game, and that I've achieved so, so little in that time. The worst bit is that, because of the nature of the block-pushing puzzles, doing the wrong thing, or even just not doing the most efficient thing, is far more punishing than it otherwise would be. Push a block the wrong way? Welp, in the [i]best[/i] case, you're now going to waste an extra hour, and a day's in-game wages in fuel, on fixing your mistake, and it can be far more than that. I get this is all intentional, but... For me, that doesn't really mean much. If you punch me in the groin, you don't get a pass because it's what you [i]meant[/i] to do, punching me in the groin was the [i]point[/i]. I'm still not going to recommend being punched in the groin. As far as I know, the game does at some point unlock ways to ease this pain, cutting down the waiting time. I just don't have the time or patience to get that far. The capitalist hellscape this game is about, where most of your time is taken up on busywork for not enough pay with just a little free time before you need to sleep, is far too close to my actual reality to spend another minute booting this up in order to set my forklift going again. I wish the devs well, I really do. I hope this game is selling great, and that they get to make Part 2 that maybe goes even harder than this one, and that it's received really well. But the question a Steam review is asking is a simple one; do I recommend it? And I don't. I can't imagine anyone I know giving it as much time as I did, let alone the amount it probably deserves. I'm judging this as a game, not a political statement, and as the former, I think I'd rather just play old-school Sokoban, ...I wonder if anyone's done a speedrun of this?

Runs well on Steam Deck. I'm looking forward to part 2!

nothing like it. incredible

Absolute peak

Edit: finished the game at 10.6 hours. May not seem like much, but that's over many days and a few weeks of consistent gameplay. It takes a great game to hold someone's attention for that long imo, and this is that game! I enjoyed it throughout and more people need to play it. --- This game runs well on Steam Deck via Proton! I haven't finished the game yet, I've just enjoyed it so damn much I needed to leave a review early. Time Bandit is a game you can play in any number of ways. Clock in during real time hours, do your job, clock out. Go back to your hellhole bed in your work provided [strike]cell[/strike] room and repeat the cycle. Again and again. Or... get stealthy. Lighten your boss's wallet and deepen your own instead. Engage with the Marxist theories the game talks about and seize the means of production, comrade! Spend a while working out the most efficient way to maximise your limited resources with the least number of moves. Or don't, and just move boxes at a chill pace while you bop along to the cute music. Actions are time-gated, but it never becomes annoying. Smaller actions like moving a box can take 30 mins. But planting a tree can take 24 hours. This is the perfect game to play in between others. Do an action and take a break. Decompress whilst sticking it to the bourgeoisie! There's so much more to this game. The radio calls are brilliant, I really enjoy seeing what characters have to say [spoiler]try calling people from your bed![/spoiler] Sneaking past cameras is great fun, and so is [spoiler]dodging their bullet hell attacks[/spoiler] if you screw up like I did. In terms of progression and without major spoilers, [spoiler]the starting area will expand somewhat as you progress, and you will find helpful items.[/spoiler] Time Bandit may have hints of other games, but I can't think of a single game just like it. I mean sneaking around as a protagonist with t-rex arms and one facial expression, all with a low poly PS1 aesthetic? Beautiful. I mean it, I love everything about it. If you want something truly *different* that doesn't demand too much of your time or with reams of text, this game is for you. There is no hint of pretention here, just a game that takes the best of several genres and packages them in a brilliant way. Stop reading reviews and just buy it already!

cool game

So many great ideas here! The real-time mechanics are some of the most interesting recontextualisations of the mode of play I've seen, and the few cutscenes that are here are all very fun. I do think the dialogue can get a little overbearing at times – but maybe that's because I'm already the perfect communist.