Crushed In Time Review Summary

Stunning visuals and creative puzzles are let down by unhelpful hints, frustrating action sections, and game-breaking bugs, despite an engaging story.

Puzzles are excellent and creative: Players consistently praise the puzzles for being well-balanced, creative, and engaging. The puzzles are described as challenging but not frustrating, with fresh and novel elements that surprise players.

Game is highly praised: The game is frequently described as amazing, excellent, and a phenomenal experience. Reviewers express strong overall satisfaction and enjoyment.

Visuals and art direction are stunning: The art direction, visual effects, and graphics are consistently praised as gorgeous, stunning, and well-done. The visual presentation is a key strength.

Story is engaging and well-written: The story is engaging, well-written, and captivating, with multiple reviewers highlighting it as a strong point. It contributes significantly to the overall positive experience.

Voice acting and soundtrack are excellent: Voice acting and soundtrack are highlighted as stellar and excellent, adding to the game's quality.

Unhelpful hints and unclear puzzles: Many players report that the hint system is misleading or useless, and puzzles are often unclear, illogical, or require specific thinking that is not explained. This leads to frustration and confusion, especially when hints fail to mention key mechanics like hat usage.

Frustrating timing and action sections: Timing-based events, quick time events, and sections requiring precise actions (like shaking or rapid clicking) are widely criticized as frustrating and out of place in a puzzle game. Some segments, like the train chase and wormhole, are described as agility tests that ruin the experience.

Game-breaking bugs and crashes: Multiple game-breaking bugs are reported, including crashes, corrupted save files, and soft-locks in Chapter 7 (e.g., bathtub and gear puzzle). Skipping cutscenes too fast can also trigger bugs that break rhythm sections, making the game unplayable for some.

High price for short length: The game is considered too expensive for its short length (around 5 hours), with many players recommending waiting for a discount. Lack of regional pricing further exacerbates the value concern.

Missing chapter select feature: The lack of a chapter select feature forces players to restart the entire game to hunt for achievements or collectibles, which is seen as a major oversight for a game that encourages replayability.

Point-and-click adventure with humor: The game is a classic point-and-click adventure with comedic elements and lateral thinking puzzles, often compared to 'There is No Game' for its meta-humor and unique mechanics.

Drag and pull mechanics: Several reviews highlight drag-and-release, pulling, and flicking mechanics, similar to Angry Birds, suggesting a physics-based interaction style beyond traditional point-and-click.

Lateral thinking with hints: The puzzles are described as lateral thinking challenges with a helpful hint system, ensuring they are challenging but not too obtuse, guiding player logic.

Meta and nonsensical elements: Reviews note meta aspects, metafiction, and nonsensical meta experiences, including humor with characters from the 1800s and absurd staging, enhancing the game's quirky tone.

Unique puzzle interactions: Creative puzzles feature stretch mechanics, squash-and-stretch style, and device switching, offering varied interactions beyond standard point-and-click.

Mixed performance feedback: While some users face crashes and lag, others experience smooth, buttery performance. This suggests the issues may be hardware or configuration-specific.

Critical crash and performance issues: Players report frequent crashes and performance problems that require workarounds like windowed mode. These issues severely impact the gaming experience for some users.

Recommended for adventure fans.: Many reviewers recommend the game to fans of point-and-click adventures, highlighting its clever puzzles, comedic writing, and charming design. The game is praised for its humor, meta moments, and lateral thinking puzzles.

Strong buy recommendation.: Many users enthusiastically recommend buying the game, calling it a must-have with phrases like 'buy it,' 'trust me,' and 'TAKE MY MONEY.' This reflects high satisfaction and confidence in the purchase.

Worth waiting for a sale.: Several reviewers advise waiting for a discount before purchasing, suggesting the game is not worth the full price. A fair price point of $25 is noted by some, but discounts are recommended to maximize value.

Play without spoilers.: Players strongly recommend experiencing the game blind to maximize enjoyment, as spoilers can diminish the impact of puzzles and story reveals. Playing in English for those with basic skills is also advised.

Need accessibility and chapter select.: Some users request a chapter selection feature and accessibility modes for less skilled players. A note suggests starting with simpler games like hidden object games for those struggling.

Game completion: 6.5h.

Story completion: 6.5h.

Comedy Meta Adventurer: Solves puzzles using lateral thinking, appreciates breaking the fourth wall, and engages with characters for their humor. Motivation: Enjoying clever meta humor and comedic narrative in a puzzle context. Stance: buy.

Mechanics-Focused Puzzle Solver: Drag-and-drop oriented, appreciates technical polish and novel interactions, and enjoys solving puzzles that feel distinct from typical point-and-click. Motivation: Experiencing unique, physically engaging puzzle interactions and creative use of mouse controls. Stance: buy.

Disappointed Purist: Prefers consistent controls, narrative coherence, and dislikes punishing timing elements or perceived narrative missteps. Motivation: Expecting a faithful continuation of series mechanics, respectful character adaptation, and polished localization. Stance: no buy.

Language support awareness issue: Players are unaware of Korean language support until after finishing the game, indicating poor communication or visibility of language options. This suggests the UI or settings menu could better highlight available localizations.

Cinematic subtitle language fix: Players discovered that restarting the game after changing language settings allows the opening cinematic to display Japanese subtitles. This workaround may confuse users who expect subtitles to update immediately.