Twelve Minutes for Windows

Premium interactive thriller with time loops

Twelve Minutes is a paid adventure game that makes players find ways to end a time loop that has trapped them. In this interactive thriller, you play the role of a man living blissfully with his wife in a small apartment. His life instantly changes when a self-identified police officer accuses his wife of murder and kills her in an altercation.

Twelve Minutes is similar in its Groundhog Day-like time loop experience with games like Deathloop or Outer Wilds. However, this game by Luis Antonio and Nomada LLC lets you experience vastly different timelines based on your decisions.

Relive the longest twelve minutes

One aspect that makes Twelve Minutes engaging and addictive is the fact that you have to uncover the entire story yourself. While some players complain that the game offers no clue as to the story, others appreciate the mystery, which makes the discoveries more rewarding. As you relive the longest twelve minutes in your gaming life, you discover tidbits about your character, your wife, and more importantly, the policeman.

Gameplay-wise, the game suffers a slight setback since the environment has limited interactions. It has easy-to-use click-and-drag controls but is only usable for the objects that are relevant to the story. This makes limited options for some scenarios, although the game manages to make the story complex through the player’s decisions. This leads to different story directions in every twelve-minute loop.

One divisive feature in the game is its top-down perspective, which limits the view players can have from the players and their environment. In its defense, it helps players memorize the location and layout of each room and item, which is repetitive in the short time loop that the game offers. It also helps especially since the goal and objectives are not even explained, making the game more complex.

A suspense you won’t forget

Despite its graphical limitations, the state of cluelessness it creates, and the overall challenge of the game, Twelve Minutes remains one of the best games in the genre. It gives you the opportunity to build the story from scratch and explore various paths before ultimately unfolding the true ending–an experience matched only by a few games. Get ready for a frustrating, yet rewarding experience with this highly recommended gem.