Time Knight Adventures

Not that great and feels like a massive step backward compared to ERMedia's previous games. The non-Euclidean level layout and poorly-designed storytelling make it really hard to enjoy. There are better retro-styled platformers out there.

Time Knight Adventures is a retro-inspired platformer developed by ERMedia and published by Plug In Digital. Built around classic side-scrolling action and exploration, the game pays tribute to the platforming adventures of earlier gaming generations while introducing a unique mechanic that constantly keeps players aware of the passage of time. Rather than relying solely on precision jumping and enemy encounters, the game creates tension through an ever-present timer that influences how players approach exploration and progression. The adventure places players in the role of the Time Knight, a hero navigating a colorful world filled with interconnected stages, hidden paths, upgrades, and dangerous enemies. What immediately sets the game apart from many other retro-style platformers is its focus on non-linear exploration. Levels are not simply straightforward obstacle courses leading from one point to another. Instead, they contain branching routes, secrets, and alternative paths that encourage players to thoroughly investigate every area. This design choice transforms the experience into something closer to a light exploration platformer, rewarding curiosity as much as mechanical …

Fun game! I disagree with the other reviewers -- I think this was good stuff with some flaws. I'll just list my thoughts so I don't have to bother with a structured review: [list] [*] It took me an hour to beat. There are 5 or 6 stages (I thiiink I saw "Stage 5" written twice, but I could be wrong). [*] I played using an Xbox 360 controller, which worked fine. I was even able to map R2 to take screenshots since it wasn't available via my normal screenshot key on the keyboard [*] I couldn't find a way to pause, which was frustrating when a trip to the restroom became necessary. Even after completing a stage, the game goes right into the next one after a few second pause [*] There's a storyline but some of it went over my head due to my skimming through the somewhat lengthy dialogue segments; the ending seemed pretty decent, but I wasn't really paying close attention by then [*] Most stages are maze-like in nature, but it's never anything too mind boggling [*] Jumping feels a little weird with high verticality / low horizontal range, but you get used to it. I found the game to be very forgiving, so my multiple jumps right onto a set of spikes didn't turn out to be too devastating. …

This game is just OK. I liked the music a lot, and the concept has a lot of potential, but the level designs are annoying, there's nothing to do but get to the end and the character controls are "bleh" to say the least. Each stage has three keys you need to collect to reach the end door. After collecting all of the keys you fight a fairly easy boss and move onto the next stage. There are six stages, some have a gimmick but really there's not much of any challenge. The game has a timer which the game keeps warning you about, but if it activates you only lose a single point of health. You get a checkpoint after each key is picked up so really the game sort of plays itself. Navigating can be annoying but once you understand the game's "flow" it pretty much plays itself. The character jumps like a flea which makes the game feel silly. Many parts feel like Castlevania (this dev has some Castlevania clones as well) and some assets are recycled from his other games which cheapens the experience.

It's not much chop. And there is only 1 hour of content, more than a few bugs: on the last level some enemys dont die, story glitched out with empty text boxes, Platforming has blind / dead drops.

Time Knight Adventures was one of those rare games that I bought on a whim. The premise sounded interesting. So I played it. is it any good? The short side of things? No. Long story? No, it isn't a good game though it has some ideas in it that never truly go anywhere. The story is very convoluted: You control a time knight who goes on an adventure to fix things and gather the time orbs to stabilize things. He meets his doppelganger and gives chase. That's it. And then the last 3 minutes of the game is a massive story dump. This game wants to be something more than what it is. However, the writing is bad as it's very tell-y instead of showing. It isn't very interesting. Gameplay wise is where it sort of is at. The game is a standard platformer with our hero stabbing enemies and jumping around obstacles. There is a timer going off and if the orange bar hits 0, then he'll take a point of damage and the bar will refill. What makes it interesting is how the game loops and how taking different paths leads to different parts of the map. The game really wants to be a treasure hunt: find the various upgrades to improve survivability and the keys to get to the next section of the map. How…