No Time to Explain (2011)

TinyBuild’s debut release has virtually become an icon for the team. With a simple cartoon character from the future being grabbed by a giant crab claw, hints of flash cartoon hilarity seemed apparent from the trailer’s viewing.

The graphics are along the Flash quality and the controls are pretty simple. On the other hand, the game mechanics, that require of your timing and coordination with your laser gun, define the challenge that accelerates with each level completed. I can compare it with Super Meat Boy as there are more than a few levels that took many tries to finish; nevertheless satisfying to some level.

The game does get rewarding as the plot unfolds with unpredictable results, considering its dark, humorous nature. Took a few hours to finish it and can be recommended to challenge-seeking fans of platformers, who also appreciate some fresh content of hilarity, and… yes, hats!

After watching a TotalBiscuit's video on this game, I was sold within the first 10 seconds. "I am you from the future, there's not time to explain." Then a giant claw grabs future you, and you pick up his future gun. Fucken. Sold.

The basic idea is that you use said future gun to move around by shooting down, propelling you up, like a jetpack. Of course there are more dynamics added later, all of which are different but in a similar vein yet just as fun. The levels are all very well constructed and you can collect a bunch of hats. Tons of hats. The graphics look great and match up with the feel of the game, as does the sound. But by far, the best part of the game is how outrageous it is. From the very first line, to the sounds of your future self screaming hilarious quotes while in the hands of some monster, to the artsy-fartsy level about whether or not game are "art", to the fact that the Space Bar is literally the "dance" button: the game knows it's wacky as hell and damn well loves being it.

In terms of gripes, I found the bosses to all be incredibly boring. Even after figuring out how to beat them, it just seemed tedious. The level select screen was annoying in that you could only select a "world", not individual levels (or I guess "stage" would be the better word); so if there's a hat on 5-7 or you quit one stage before the end of the world, you have to play through all the prior ones to get up to the one you actually want to play. It's not horrible, but I didn't understand the point. I was, however, massively annoyed by the screen shaking that happened throughout much of the game; it was most obvious at the level select screen, after shooting up a level ball, but also very noticable throughout the failed clone level in which the screen shakes every 2 seconds constantly for the entirety of the level. Lastly, a few parts of some of the levels seemed to be lacking in creativity; they were challenging, but in a way that almost seemed lazy by taking it to the extreme rather than thinking of something clever. It'd be like saying "throw this penny into that cup 50 yards away". Yeah, it's hard, but not clever. Or fun.

But, nevertheless, I'd have to give this game a full recommendation. It's not the best puzzle platformer I've ever played, but it's a very solid one and it's hilarious.