The following is a reader-submitted review by Ted:
Time Kufc is the latest platform puzzle game from Edmund McMillen, whose previous works (Meatboy and Spewer) made us rethink the way we view 2D platformers. Meatboy focused on pixel-perfect wall jumping around obstacles. Spewer presented a character that propelled itself between platforms and over spikes by projectile vomiting. What does Time Kufc bring to the originality table? Multi-dimensional planes.
Time Kufc starts out simple enough. Jump with the [D] key to get to the gate. Then you are introduced to the plane. By pressing the [A] key you can switch planes and alter what is visible on the screen. Sometimes you can see the other planes while you are occupying the current one, but you can't see what overlaps between planes. This creates an interesting dynamic that involves a lot of guessing with your jumps, especially when he throws in movable blocks, which can be picked up by pressing the [S] key.
As with the rest of his games, McMillan includes a level editor with which you can easily access hundreds of user-generated levels ranging from not so interesting to awesome and easy to the most difficult thing you have ever attempted in your life. Seriously. The original Mega Man doesn't hold a candle to many of the hardest levels. Also implemented is the Newgrounds' medal system that keeps you coming back for more as well.
Analysis: The difficulty curve is moderate, and for a good part of the game you are interacting with only two planes at a time. Then the difficulty spikes suddenly, which may scare off some players. You will learn to quickly memorize and navigate five planes with trigger switches that flip the current plane (creating the mirror image), as well as switches that rotate all planes at once. And once you find yourself using movable blocks from one plane to break down walls in another, be prepared to spend a lot of time thinking about a single level.
Time Kufc makes up for the sudden difficulty spike by letting you skip two levels throughout the game by "sleeping". The story is minimal ("I'm the future you. If you want to live, get in the box."), but your future you keeps you entertained by talking to you from the sidelines as you are completing each challenge. The music gets annoying after a while, but you can turn that off in-game. Unfortunately, however, you cannot turn off the annoying voices during the cut-scenes.
While not the team's best work, it is definitely a fantastic Flash game that deserves to be given a chance. C'mon. Just get in the box.
Ed McMillen has earned a dual reputation for being both a creator of excellent games, and for being somewhat of a bad boy in the indie game world. Time Kufc does an excellent job of reinforcing both images, providing a solid platform based puzzler as well as some controversy as evidenced in our very own comments section below.
At its heart, Time Kufc is more puzzler than platformer with the primary challenges coming from figuring out how to navigate the increasingly complex rooms as opposed to actually doing it (don't get me wrong, your dexterity will be put to the test here and there, just perhaps not as much as your mental dexterity). This is easily Time's strongest point as McMillen And partner William Good did a remarkable job coming up with an innovative gameplay mechanic and then using that mechanic to explore a broad spectrum of creativity in level design. The actuation of the muli-plane concept is beautifully done creating an effect that is not unlike weaving together loose individual strands into a single, strong, braid. Preserving this effect wonderfully is a control scheme that is tight and responsive.
Unfortunately Time Kufc suffers from a heavy dose of feeling like it's been done before. There are so many aspects involved here that are familiar to other games that the deja vu is liable to be vertigo-inducing unless you are a newcomer to independent games. The floating head off to the right of the screen that continually spouts strange non-sequiturs is a fairly common convention seen in big name productions such as Metal Gear Solid 2 as well as obscure abstract indie titles such as Cactus's Mondo games or Falling Forever. It also brings to mind the darkly humorous voice in the Shift series. The similarities to Shift don't stop with the abstract voice, though, and continue on into certain aspects of presentation (ie. simplified dual-chromatic presentation), and gameplay (for instance the gravity changing switches).
But even where Time Kufc borrows off of other games to some degree, we find a happy conclusion to be made. These conventions aren't really conventions at all. From telling a story in a non-conventional fashion to challenging the boundaries and physics of the in-game world, Time Kufc stands as another game that explores both internally and externally the traditional standards of video games. If testing and breaking the norm is to become the norm, well, that's a good problem to have. In the meantime, Steve is getting impatient so I better get back to it.
Walkthrough Guide
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Walkthrough up to level 24: (though apparently, there is some randomness to it as well)
Room 1, Hello world:
Simple enough, just walk over to the portal.
Room 2, Tea Time:
Just press "a" to change layers and jump up to the portal.
Room 3, Junk Head:
DO NOT PRESS A YET! First, jump over the spikes, navigating your way down to the open section. Then change layers and enter the portal.
Room 4, Obelisk II:
Jump across, as though both platforms are there, and in midair, change layers, so you land safely by the portal.
Room 5, Ursa Minor:
Simple enough, just push the block along the tracks showing you its path. Once you reach the safe zone, change layers, push the new block left, and enter the portal.
Room 6, Bluebell:
Pick up the block on the right and place it beside the wall to the left. Jump on up and bring the other block down. Stack both blocks against the far right wall, and jump into the safe zone. Change layers and head on to the next room.
Room 7, The Maw:
Jump and change layers in midair. Grab the key, change back, and go in the portal.
Room 8, TheBlueRoom:
First change layers to pass through the wall, then bring all the blocks over to this layer. Stack 3 of them up against the wall, and the other one just left of them. Jump on up to get the key. Fall down on the left, and change layers to enter the portal.
Room 9, The Sun:
Jump into the gravity switch, and retrieve the keys. Make sure you are in a safe zone and change layers. Hit the gravity switch, change back to the first layer, and enter the portal.
Room 10, Carrion:
Touch the gravity switch, and wait for the blocks to break. Jump in either pit to hit another gravity switch. Collect both keys, touch the switch again, and head on to the next room.
Room 11, The Gash:
Walk over to the block, and keep changing layers while touching it (and in a safe zone) until you reach the bottom. Put the block against the left wall, change layers one last time, and jump in the portal.
Room 12, Interlude:
Hold right as you walk in the first black hole. When you land on the ledge, change layers and walk through the passage. Drop down and get the key. Hold left while walking into this black hole to get back up (you have to switch layers again to touch it), and head on over to the portal.
Room 13, Stasis:
Push the block in the hole, and as soon as it starts to drop, change layers. Walk over to the left (where there aren't spikes above you), and switch back to the first layer.
Room 14, Handshakes:
Press the first button (on the right) to let the block fall. Take it with you to the other layer, and place it on the other switch (on the left). Fall through the door that is now open, and go into the portal (switch layers in the safe zone).
Room 15, The Braid:
Fall down and stand on the middle "gear tile." Change layers twice, get get off the gear tile, change again, and get the key. Jump up to either gear tile on the side, change layers, jump up again, change layers again, and jump all the way up to the portal.
Room 16, Ambien:
This level can be a little annoying, but basically, just keep standing over the spot where a hole was a second ago, and it will switch back momentarily. Do this until you reach the bottom and retrieve your key. Now for the irritating part, time your jumps so you make it through the gap, and immediately run to the middle of the row, where a gap never opens. Keep doing this until you make it to the top and jump in a portal.
Room 17, Alice:
This level takes a bit of practice. Align yourself with one of the keys (where there are no spikes), and wait until you collect that key. Repeat for the other key on the left. Change layers, jump across, and repeat for the keys on the right, finally, change layers again, and enter either portal.
Room 18, Jux:
Jump onto the platform to the left. Jump again and change layers in midair. Jump across the gap, hitting the level flip in midair so you have a platform to land on. Again, jump and change layers in midair. Jump up to the gravity switch and retrieve the two keys. Jump out, hit the switch again, and head on to the next level.
Room 19, Just:
Push the block all the way to the right and change layers while touching it. Push it one more space, and change layers twice. I think you get the idea here, so keep this up until you reach the portal.
Room 20, Tic/Tac:
For this level, simply jump up all the blocks, get the key and wait in the chute on the left. When the block on the right falls all the way, gravity will switch, and you land on the portal. If you are having trouble, you may want to try bringing all the gear tiles to the other layer, so you can climb back up while the block on the right is in stasis, but it makes it even harder to make the jumps because you must change layers in midair, so I recommend trying without that first.
Room 21, 8 sideways:
First, move the block sitting in the middle so the falling one stops. Go through the black holes and retrieve the other blocks, including the one that was falling. While you retrieve them, DO NOT PLACE THEM ON THE BUTTONS ON THE LEFT. If you place blocks on the bottom two switches and fall in the portal pit, you cannot get out and must restart. After gathering all the blocks to the left of the portal pit, stack 3 of them against the left wall (placing one in front as a stepping stool for placing the third one), and fall down to the portal.
Room 22, The Heart:
Jump into each level flip until you reach the block. Pick it up and stand under the black hole so it lands on the switch. Jump in, GET OFF THE BLOCK, and switch layers. Touch the gravity switch, collect the keys, change layers back, and head for the exit.
Room 23, Time Decay:
First off, DON'T PANIC. By rushing, you miss more often. Jump onto the first gear tile and change layers. Jump up to the next one, and change back. Jump one last time, and change again. Bring both of the blocks down to the ground (no layer-changing necessary), placing them on top of each button, and climb up again. Jump toward the key, and change layers in midair. fall back down, and bring the blocks into the appropriate layer to press the buttons. Finally, jump up to the portal.
Room 24, The Tip:
Walk over to stand beneath the first gear tile. Jump through it, and while you are above it, change layers. When you land, change back to the first layer. Repeat for the other two gear tiles. Go up and touch the level turner, jump across the pillars, and jump down the spiked pit to the portal.
I would do more, but I got bored and distracted, so I'll just post this.
Posted by: Phoenyx
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September 5, 2010 6:21 PM