GamesRadar+ Verdict
Pros
- +
Excellent story
- +
Well-animated cutscenes
- +
Your enigmatic and adorable cat
Cons
- -
No real puzzles
- -
No choices to make
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Tap
- -
tap
- -
tapping mindlessly
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If you think of Time Hollow as a graphic novel on the DS, it succeeds brilliantly with a top-notch story and memorable characters. As a game though, which is what itās supposed to be, it fails miserably. You āplayā as Ethan Kairos, a boy who wakes up on his 17th birthday to find himself in an alternate reality where his parents disappeared many years previously. Tied to his cat Soxās collar is a mysterious Hollow Pen that allows Ethan to draw holes in time and alteš®r past events. With the Hollow Pen, he sets about tinkering with the past to restore his life to the happy existence he enjoyed for the first 17 years of his life.
The plot thickens immediately, as Ethan soon discovers heās not the only one whoš wields the power of a Hollow Pen, and it seems he has an enemy whoās trying to screw up his past in every way possible. Adding to the mystery is a young girl named Kori who apparently hasnāt aged in over ādecade; she knows about the pen and Ethanās flashbacks but appears completely helpless in the crossfire of competing timelines. With her help, Ethan must work to undo the destruction caused by his psychotic nemesis faster than said nemesis can create more trouble.
You canāt just whip out the pen willy-nilly though ā first Ethan must have a flashback of a previous event before he can return to that spot and open a hole in time. Even then, you canāt just start poking holes any old place youāve ą± had a flashback, because the game will only prompt you at specific times, telling you explicitly when youāre supposed to use it and what youāre supposed to do. Using the Hollow Pen is the closest Time Hollow ever comes to actual gameplay, so itās unfortunate that you donāt really use it much, and when you do itās always really obvious what youāre supposed to do, so thereās noš°t much of a puzzle element at all.
The problem with the game is that it really isnāt a game at all. Weāre not just saying itās too linear ā what little (very little) gameplay youāll find smattered throughout is completely spoon-fed to you. So if youāre expecting any kind of logic puzzles or clue collecting, forget it. Time Hollow makes Phoenix Wright look like a marvel of interactive technology. Still, if youāre looking for a pleasantly passive DS experience with a great story thatās more akin to reading a graphic novel, Time Hollow is quite enjoyable.
Oct 14, 2008
More info
Genre | Adventure |
Description | It makes Phoenix Wright look like a marvel of interactive technology, but despite Time Hollow's lack of real gameplay, its top-notch story still kept our interest. |
Platform | "DS" |
US censor rating | "Teen" |
UK censor rating | "" |
Release date | 1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK) |