Developer: Gears for Breakfast
Publisher: Gears for Breakfast
Rrp: £22.99 (Gog.com, Humblebundle and Steam)
Released: 5th October 2017
Available on: Gog.com, Humblebundle and Steam
Played Using: An Xbox One Control Pad
Approximate game length: 12 hours
3D platformers are not something I have a great amount of experience with, my history when it comes to gaming mediums is strange (at least compared to most people it seems) I had a Nintendo Entertainment System and a Game Gear, then I switched to PC for many years. After my PC became outdated and I couldn’t afford to upgrade I bought a Xbox 360 which I stuck with until the Xbox One was released where I switched back to PC. Why mention any of that? Because it’s the reason I really don’t have much experience of 3D platformers. In fact my first experience with one was on a borrowed Nintendo DS and with Mario 64.
A Hat in time is a 3D Platformer similar to Super Mario Galaxy or Crash Bandicoot. You play as Hat Girl (and before you ask, yes that is the only name we are given for her) who has had the misfortune of losing all her ships fuel while in orbit of Earth. Luckily the fuel you use are Time Pieces which you can easily collect once you find them, of course that’s the trick, actually finding them.
The game is separated into ‘chapters’ and ‘acts’, each chapter contains multiple acts that upon completion can be replayed at any time in order to find all the various collectibles. I find this a bit of an odd choice of wording (calling them chapters and acts) because in some cases you can’t complete an act in a previous chapter until you go to another act in a chapter further on and unlock a specific ability. You can select the chapter and act you wish to play by finding the right telescope on your spaceship.
Each chapter is a different location with various acts to be found within. The variety of tasks is impressive. In one I had to sneak through a haunted mansion without getting caught, in another I was leading a parade band and in another I was solving a murder in a western themed film noir murder mystery.
Hat Girl gains different abilities depending on what hat she is wearing, you can create these new hats by finding the specific yarn for it out in the world, for example; you need at least one Sprint Yarn, before you can make the Sprint Hat. You can change what hat you are wearing quickly through a radial dial that when accessed slows the world down to allow you to pick what hat you think is right for the occasion without overly rushing you.
Scattered throughout the acts of A Hat in Time are ‘pons’ these are small collectibles that (depending on which one you pick up) will act as currency, heal you or open a specific exit.
The green pons, which are the currency, are used to purchase badges, unlock new acts as well as certain bonuses upon your ship.
Badges are items you can add to your hat that will usually grant some passive ability such as absorbing pons from a short distance but in some cases they can be used to make the game more challenging (if you so wish).
Like every game, this one isn’t without its flaws. Such as what I can only refer to as ‘non-platforms’ what I mean by this is an object that looks like somewhere you can jump to and stand on and yet for no real reason at all, you can’t. It’s not all the time but just often enough to make a some puzzle areas more challenging than they would be simply from the confusion.
On the whole I really enjoyed my time with this game, it’s (for the most part) light hearted and whimsical and such a joy to play through. Honestly if you enjoy 3D platformers I highly recommend giving this game a look!
If this appeals to you perhaps try;
Yooka-Laylee
Crash Bandicoot N’sane Trilogy
Spyro Reignited Trilogy
