Hack the System: A Review of Time Rift

*Review copy provided by publisher Dolores Entertainment

Time rift is an action based puzzle shooter set in a time where a global tech corporation, VaultCo is working on a secret project that will change the course of the modern worker. The game started as a student project that gained success at Gamejolt where it obtained 10,000 downloads and moved forward to a full release. As Alex, a hacker hired by VaultCo to test their security systems, you work alongside your liaison, Sarah, to test the company’s new security systems that protects the classified work that she is secretly having you steal for the betterment of the public.

The story progresses via narration from Sarah (voiced by Lorraine Ansell) between levels, and a chat room conversation with other employees that are helping you with your goal to stop the corporation they all work for in encrypted levels where they can speak without fear of their bosses hearing them.

Each level starts with an entry point that fires you out into a linear level where you will collect crypto while avoiding the enclosing “firewall” of the system that you are hacking. With each level, new mechanics are introduced to give you the ability to control time by rewinding, slowing, and stopping the speed of the firewall system. With each new mechanic, the game gives plenty of practice to learn the new gameplay with a few levels to test your understanding of the new power before upping the difficulty and returning the challenge of the firewall and maze-like levels. The game’s three chapters, which divide the 60+ levels and story sections, give plenty of variation to the game from the first chapter’s basic collect and escape, to the third chapter’s on rails traversal mechanics where you have to press the action buttons on your controller in the direction that you want your avatar to move via nodes that lock you in play requiring quick actions as the firewall is still closing in.

Starting off, I didn’t know much about the game as Dolores Entertainment reached out to me for the option to review Time Rift as it is releasing on March 8, 2024 for the PS5. Having previously released in 2022 on the Xbox and Nintendo Switch, I requested a copy for my Xbox and watched the trailer provided in my press kit. The quick gameplay, energetic music, and bursts of color and light drew me in and I was not disappointed with the game after just a few levels. The mechanics were easy to learn, but I found myself having to replay sections multiple times using the rewind ability to map out the section before me as I avoided the firewall and other obstacles like deletion cannons and defense bombs. I was surprised at what could be obvious solutions to others, and had to learn to push some mechanics and traversal triggers in the levels to gather all of the crypto and make my way to the exit point.

At the end of the level you are given a record of your time and collection progress as well as the option to read data packets from particular levels that reveal the true nature of VaultCo’s end goal. Finishing the game and finding the plot twists in the story left me entertained and happy to share my thoughts on Time Rift. For $9.99 on the current gaming platforms, I think the value of what took me three and a half hours to finish was worth it (if I had purchased the game). I would recommend Time Rift to people who are a fan of puzzle games, mazes, and sci-fi dystopian stories. The levels are replayable and the game would be great for the speed-running community with its time tracking for each level, taking less than a minute or more than ten depending on your skill level.

Time Rift releases March 8, 2024 for PlayStation 5 and is available currently on Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and Steam.