Kill The Clock Review Summary

An attractive art style, engaging story, and enjoyable dice gameplay are undermined by limited saves, an incomplete early-access narrative, and a weak gift-giving system.

Attractive and fitting art style: The art style is repeatedly praised as beautiful, fresh, and refined, with a simple yet effective retro early-20th-century European composition. It holds up well in-game and perfectly suits the atmosphere.

Engaging and interesting story: The story is described as interesting, hooking players and making them curious about what happens next. The plot is good and interesting enough to dive through.

Enjoyable dice-based gameplay: Players find the dice system tense, fun, and engaging, with dice-rolling TRPG mechanics adding randomness and meaningful character stats. The DnD-style randomization with customizable attributes creates varied outcomes.

Game is enjoyable overall: Players find the game moderately fun, enjoyable, and excellent overall. The game itself is very well done.

Compelling characters with roles: Characters are interesting, enjoyable, and feel like they each have their own role. They are pretty and add to the overall experience.

Save system limitations: The game has only one autosave slot that cannot be overwritten, and saving is disabled during dialogue and option choices, forcing frequent manual saves. Save/load is also restricted to the investigation phase only.

Incomplete story and early access: Reviewers frequently note the game is in early access with only two of four planned chapters available, and the story ends on a cliffhanger. Many feel the narrative is unfinished and may never be completed.

Poor gift-giving system: Gift-giving is blocked after talking to a character when it should be available, and story progression pulls characters away before gifts can be given. No accessible place to buy affection items exists, and it is unclear if relationship progress resets after a loop.

Weak detective mechanics: The mystery element is not strong, with deduction feeling boring and spelled out. Players can break into houses and chat with police without consequence, and the profession system is poorly implemented.

Lack of meaningful choices: Each chapter follows a fixed progression, so it feels more like following a story than deducing yourself. The game gives many hints and redos, so it does not scratch a puzzle itch.

Dice-based skill checks: Actions are resolved via dice rolls combined with stats, skills, and other modifiers. The game uses a TRPG-style system where roll results determine success or failure and affect story direction.

Character creation with professions: Players select gender and one of five professions (detective, reporter, athlete, salesperson/merchant, artist), which impacts initial skills and abilities. They also allocate stat points and choose talents.

Time loop mystery structure: The game features a time loop where the player relives the same week to solve a murder, and after identifying a culprit, time resets and the culprit and method change. Each chapter represents one loop.

Disguise and alias system: Players can set a disguise and alias for the protagonist to gather information. The system is used to escape and investigate after being framed for murder.

Multiple endings per chapter: The game is designed with multiple endings, with each small chapter containing several possible endings based on stats and success or failure. Players can collect endings.

Recommended for genre fans: Many reviewers recommend the game to fans of visual novels, detective games, murder mysteries, TRPGs, and the Ace Attorney series. They find it fun and engaging for those familiar with the genre.

Promising with interesting premise: Reviewers find the game promising and the premise interesting, leading to overall positive recommendations. They support the developers and look forward to future updates.

Mixed recommendation: Some reviewers can only recommend it with reservations, while others recommend against buying. One regrets buying without trying the demo first.

Wait for full release: Some players advise waiting until all four chapters are released to avoid incomplete content. They suggest waiting for the full version if you prefer to play everything at once.

English proficiency required: The game is only suitable for players with good English skills, or they should wait for a Chinese localization. Non-English speakers are advised to wait for an official Chinese release.

Community fair range: $15.00 - $25.00.

Game completion: 2.0h.

Mystery Visual Novel Story Seeker: Reads visual novel scenes, makes relationship and investigation choices, and replays short chapters to see different outcomes. Motivation: Uncovering the truth through a branching murder-mystery narrative and collecting multiple endings. Stance: buy.

Dice-Check Build Experimenter: Customizes the protagonist's class and attributes, then relies on dice checks and success rates during investigations. Motivation: Testing character builds and stat-driven dice rolls to influence investigation outcomes and increase replayability. Stance: buy.

Aesthetic Atmosphere Reader: Reads and listens attentively, appreciating scene atmosphere, art direction, and interface design alongside the story. Motivation: Immersing in the game's mood through music, character art, and a polished visual novel presentation. Stance: buy.

Early access two chapters: The game is in early access with only the first two of four planned chapters available. Many reviewers note this limited content.

Ace Attorney comparisons: Reviewers compare the game to Ace Attorney, noting similarities in investigation and mechanics, but some find the UI less clean and story worse.

Future chapters planned: Chapters 3 and 4 are not yet released but are anticipated, with more content expected in the future. Episode 3 is planned for December.

Developer Happy Slugs: The game was developed and published by Happy Slugs. The developers are described as efficient, dedicated, and responsive to feedback.

Responsive developer updates: Developers responded quickly to feedback, adding 25 save slots and a chapter select, and changed the color of the bug report button. They are transparent about progress.