Incredible plot and an amazing basic idea not perfectly developed, but still a good game.
Limited and boring game experience or time-bending exciting game?
Just as for much things of this world, the truth could be half way between this two positions. Time Hollow offers a great plot, a perfect package and a gameplay original and exciting, unfortunately non perfectly developed.
Game hero, a normal high school student named Ethan Kairos, after he won the contest for the most stupid name for a videogame character, he awake a morning and find his life totally changed. His parents, present until last evening are now disappeared… from years (!!!).The boy lived last times with his uncle, but no one except him seems to notice the change happened. Same day, another incredible thing occurs: he find a time-space hole in his room (in my house happen everyday) and the family cat with a strange glowing item shaped like a pen. Thanks to the mysterious item, called Hollow Pen, Ethan find possible to close the wormhole; maybe his parent's disappearance and the change to the reality are linked to it?
The boy soon discover the incredible powers of the Hollow Pen. the glowing item can literally open windows in the past allowing to manipulate and change past events.
This game mechanic, define it "time digging", work in revolutionary way.
Thanks to the classical graphical adventure investigations you could piece together past events in order to modify it; once you got enough info on a specific event (generally the exact location and the right time it happened) you could try a digging simply circling some spot on a location and opening windows over the past. This shall allow you to manipulate some variables in order to change some events (ex: to save a girl crushed by a fridge fallen from a truck you could go back at the time the means of carrying was parked and tighten the secure belts on the home appliance). This system is really great and allows a plot evolution absolutely engaging inspired to cult movies like "Butterfly Effect" and "Donnie Darko". Here too, changing some past events can results in a change of the present so massive to can speak of alternative realities. Unfortunately, at this point the game waste this genial system offering a plot rigidly anchored to predefined rails.
Given the basic theme of the game and should be appreciated a more open story able to use better the time-bending plot offering more ways to resolve a trouble and multiples ending; as well as the possibility of modify some minor variables just to change some present feature non related to the plot.. The game, instead, offers very limited interactions with the past only in specific moments, and two ending very similar between them.
However, the plot is still engaging and well wrote though the continuous reality's twisting can result confusing. Less impressive the psychology of some characters, often pretty bleak.
Technically this game is top-notch with a character design extremely cured and well colored (though a bit stereotyped and maybe too "heroic") worth of a Japanese anime. Location's design is also great with a masterly use of colors and a maniacal detail's attention. Also we have some impressive movies (the intro is incredible) with good voice acting and a powerful and inspired soundtrack. Spare two words about the menus layout design, absolutely astonishing, and about the main character behavior. Ethan should be a simple teenager, but he's able to overcome practically every situation: from parent disappearance to the twisting of reality and time; even a charge for dual murder is not enough to crack his composure. Definitely out of line.
Final Line
Time Hollow is perfectly packed, but the game mechanics waste partially the wide possibilities offered by the plot and the amazing time digging system. However the great plot and the high level technical realization grant him a good final score.
Final score 8