Timeless Trials

Fun game with a nostalgic feel. I enjoyed the interesting game mechanism with the shifting map and solving mini-puzzles.

Entire game is themed around "Time". Core gameplay loop revolves around manipulating space. Bravo devs.

[What worked] A cute little Zelda-like with a DIY-style Dungeon Room Moving system that a few indie teams are starting to latch on to! I quickly came to appreciate the details of this mechanic. You can only move rooms around via control nodes, which are immovable. Each dungeon puts the control nodes in a different place. I found myself charting course from one control node to the other, trying to collect as many golden Cogs as I could on a single trip to maximize my efficiency. I stuck the landing (most of the time)! Some rooms have self-contained puzzles to unlock a Cog, and later in the game, I found a handful of multi-room puzzles. Not only do the wires need to connect across rooms, but you need to ensure the exits of each room line up too! There's some good depth here. And the tunes score the gameplay perfectly. [What didn't work] I ran into a few minor issues during gameplay. TimeCalibur (the player's sword) has a strange hitbox placement that makes it difficult to attack enemies close to you. Certain powers you unlock will alleviate this somewhat. A Cog in the final dungeon wasn't removed from my map after it was collected. Nothing game breaking, but it's noticeable. In the same dungeon, certain tile elements showed above the player, and it wasn't clear if they were walls or not. You'll like this game if you're willing to tolerate such issues. [Conclusion] I really enjoyed Timeless Trials despite some rough edges! The puzzle mechanics were interesting and continuously introduced. It's short but sweet. I especially love the price and the game's scope. I played this game in 30 minute sessions after a few long work shifts. Getting cozy in bed with a coffee, my Steam Deck, and a neat little collection of Zelda dungeons was a vibe. And it costs less than the coffee!