Twelve Minutes Reviews

While it manages to side-step its shortcomings through clever design, Twelve Minutes ultimately feels like it’ll be one of those water cooler games that some will love, others will hate, but everyone will just want to talk about. It tells a cerebral story while demanding your full attention, along with an unorthodox wit, to best its cat and mouse puzzles.

A Groundhog Day-inspired time-loop murder mystery situated entirely in a humble, three-room New York City apartment, featuring a regular couple and a menacing detective that comes knocking. Do you have what it takes to push through the monotony and learn the truth?

Twelve Minutes was one of those games that you know practically nothing about leading up to release, but can’t help but be excited about its concept. The premise being that you’re stuck in a Groundhog Day-style time loop of twelve-ish minutes and need to figure out what is going on with everything around you. You’ll make bad choices, you’ll likely get frustrated, but in the end, isn’t it all worth it? Plus, Annapurna pulled out all the stops with the likes of James McAvoy, Daisy Rid...

There are, of course, multiple endings, and the minutes leading up to each resolution can be flavoured with violence and revelation, or laced with deceit. The question is: Do we care?

If you've ever played through an escape room, you'll be sure to have some fun with this interesting take on mystery adventure games.

As a big fan of puzzle games, this is literally the puzzle game I have been waiting for!

So with every repeated loop, and every new piece of info that leads to more narrative threads to pull on, Twelve Minutes is certainly fascinating to unravel. Some of it might start to feel a bit clunky, when dialogue starts mashing up against itself and characters move in awkward ways, but on the whole, it’s a puzzle I kept wanting to piece together, both fascinated and afraid of the answers I might find. It keeps the story driving forward, and if some deep, dark character drama set in a time loop sounds appealing, you’ll find what you’re looking for here.

Twelve Minutes is a celebrity-led adventure title, but its time looping mechanic and riveting narrative are the real stars.

Some devilishly clever puzzles shine in a unique take on the point-and click genre, but the game waits to the end to make its story truly interesting, which might be a little late if you're looking for an emotional investment to get you through some of the more tedious moments.

I don’t envy the developers of puzzle games. Surely there is no genre more fraught with unintentional pitfalls. There is a lot of skill that goes into finding the right balance of challenge, as well as providing a solid thread of logic to follow. Even then, a developer cannot guarantee a player will interpret things in the same way. Players may pursue other lines of logic that you, the developer, didn’t even consider. Such is the case when I played Twelve Minutes. It’s an interesting ga...

Twelve Minutes tells a gripping story through a unique, time-jumping point-and-click adventure experience. There’s a sense of thrill working out the narrative based on little clues but, unfortunately, getting this information to the other characters to progress the plot can become a frustrating task of trial-and-error in the last act. Overall, Twelve Minutes is an unforgettable experience that has been worth the wait.

While Twelve Minutes can be frustrating at times, the story and characters more than make up for it. Especially when backed up by the tight design and elegant visual/audio elements.

It makes sense for the medium really, since a lot of games are about repeating challenges and learning from them until you get better. And there has certainly been a more noticeable trend for time loops recently, from this year’s PS5 blockbuster Returnal to upcoming assassination shooter Deathloop, while another Annapurna Interactive-published game Outer Wilds repeats a solar system’s final 22 minutes until its destruction.

Twelve Minutes is an immaculate construction of narrative that manages to take an extremely compact apartment space and spin an incredibly substantial story in it. Every thread seems to lead to two more, and each one feels satisfying to complete as you head towards the final loop. The voice talents are on point, the gameplay fits remarkably well, and every loop is a new adventure. I implore you to take the time to check this one out, as Twelve Minutes is worth every minute you’ll spend with it.

Twelve Minutes' strong narrative and star-studded cast of voice actors make it a solid mystery thriller that is slightly held back by clunky movements and occasionally janky controls.

Getting stuck in a narrative time loop game is a unique sort of hell. On the one hand, being stuck creates a connection between mechanics, story, and player engagement rarely possible in video games; like your protagonist, you’re trapped, both caught in a never-ending cycle you are unable to break. On the other hand, the experience can be frustrating when you want nothing more than some shred of progress. So goes Twelve Minutes, a fascinating game that unravels its story 12 minutes at a time.

When a title gets a grand number, it’s a video-game worth spending your whole life in.

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It’s an incredible achievement for a solo developer, and thanks to its inclusion in Xbox Game Pass, something that plenty of players should at least try – you may find the performances, mystery and intrigue of this small urban apartment are some you just have to experience. Perhaps you can break the loop and discover what’s happening to you – and why.

All in all, I really enjoyed the tension Twelve Minutes implemented even with its sometimes wonky animation and frustrating elements. I found myself constantly thinking about it when not playing and trying to come up with new ways and ideas that would allow me to finally get to the crux of what was happening and why. It's also well worth getting another mind in on the action to help guide the storyline along in angles you haven't thought about which essentially turns it into a brilliant two-player game and a real talking point.

In the end, I enjoyed some of my time with Twelve Minutes. Its story is genuinely gripping, and the cast’s performances are excellent, solidifying the game as a believable world. In many ways, developer Luis Antonio has created something truly remarkable here. But so much of Twelve Minutes is an exercise in frustration and repetition. You’re going to need a lot of patience to keep going, and ultimately, I’m not sure if it’s entirely worth it.

Twelve Minutes' time loop puzzle is layered and weird, but its short time limit doesn't find the sweet spot between tense and frustrating.

12 Minutes is a point-and-click adventure in a clockwork world that's as expertly crafted as a Swiss watch.

Twelve Minutes features a compelling time loop story with strong performances that will keep players hooked, even when the lack of guidance brings that momentum to a halt. The mysteries of both the plot and gameplay will reward players who are willing to think outside the box, while the intuitive controls ensure that anyone can attempt to help the husband and wife escape their destinies. Fans of adventure games or anyone looking for a memorable story will find plenty to appreciate in the repeating world of Twelve Minutes, and the clock has already begun ticking on the wait for the follow-up to Luis Antonio’s impressive debut title.

If all else fails, die and die again.

All in all, Twelve Minutes is definitely worth a download with Xbox Game Pass if you're even the least bit interested in the premise, as both its story and gameplay combine to create a memorable thriller. There are a couple of downsides if you look for them, and the replayability factor will be pretty low after you've discovered everything, but we think you'll really enjoy your main playthrough regardless, even if you're not the biggest fan of point-and-click games.

Twelve Minutes is a deliberately introspective game that doesn't waste its breath on unnecessary exposition or dialogue. Wanting to see all it has to offer may take some effort on the player's part, but it's well worth the hard word and investment.

Twelve Minutes is a strong adventure game with a brilliant core conceit - and minor struggles with typical genre challenges can't hold it back too much.