Random Video Game Review - A Hat In Time

Although I think too much nostalgia is enough nostalgia, we got another game that tries its best to keep the 3D platforming genre alive without using Mario in the name. Inspired by Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie and Psychonauts and possibly many others, A Hat in Time feels like a game that anyone can get into pretty easily without any need of experience in the platforming genre. The name looks like it will mean we're in for a good time and chances are that we very well may be. So let's have a look:

Set in space, we meet a girl named Hat Girl who is on a voyage to her home planet. Upon passing a planet, the planet's mafia try to have her pay a toll to go pass. She refuses and so the mafia force their way into her ship, causing the ship's fuel which runs on magical hourglasses to be depleted and land on the planet below. With no other way of getting home, Hat Girl lands on the planet where she meets mustache girl, a local troublemaker who hates bad guys. With their goals seemed aligned, the pair form an alliance to find the hourglasses while also taking down the mafia in the process, leading to a few buttons being pressed and some surprising events to occur. So as with many 3D platformers, the game uses Hat Girl's ship as the hub world while using various parts of the ship to access levels to get time pieces in. Some levels require some puzzle based action while others are just like your traditional Mario game where you just go through a level to get the timepiece or defeat a boss to get said timepiece. All the levels can be explored freely without any time limits and you start collecting Pons which act as the in-game currency to enhance Hat Girl's abilities and access some challenges along the way. Parts of the game are decison based which lead to Hat Girl returning to some levels and whatever you decide earlier on may have an impact later on in the game. Plus as well as what was said, many other collectibles can be found such as relics and hats with unique abilities.

Although some imagination could go a long way in this game, its a great callback to classic platforming games and was initially released on a platform where there is little to no love for platforming games so I hope that this game helps redefine the genre for PC gamers. Its very colourful and feels like playing out what could be a very fun cartoon.  May be too easy for the experienced platformer gamer, but its otherwise a fun game which as I said earlier, is indeed one where anyone can have a good time. 9/10