TimeMelters Review (PC)

A version of Teagan from the past is running around, a little disoriented, coming to terms with the situation and stakes. I know because I, as the player, was the one controlling her. I am a bit embarrassed by her quick death and plan to do better this time around.

She killed a few enemies that got us some mana, so I go into my spirit form, fly across the battlefield, and activate the spirit of a Great Oak and a fire spirit to take down a group of enemies who are threatening my mentor. I pause to take a look around and plan my next moves, move back into my body, and then deal with another group of monsters using my magic strike.

I forgot to place a teleportation spot, so I do that now. And it’s back into the spirit space, again using magic to draw away and exterminate the creatures blocking our path. Unfortunately, I miss a group and I have to rewind time once again. I let my two previous versions move ahead, pause again, and take a look at the battlefield. I need to find a way to deal with one big, armored enemy, probably using one timeline to distract it and another to deliver the killing blow.

TimeMelters is developed and published by Autoexec Games. I played on Steam on the PC. The title is also coming to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S. The game offers a mix of third-person action and strategy, with puzzle elements, all of them centered around time travel.

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Our heroine is named Teagan and lives in a world where magic is real and dark creatures controlled by a force called The Puppeteer are invading. She is close to being burned at the stake as a witch, narrowly escapes, and gets the voice of an older witch stuck in her head. But more importantly, she is now able to use magic.

Initially, she can draw from a pool of mana to deal with enemies but soon she also gains the ability to manipulate time. Teagan can exist and interact with the world in multiple timelines. This is the key to saving the world from doom, with gamers given extra details about her witch powers and the enemies she is facing as the heroine goes from challenge to challenge. The game offers the choice between a streamlined narrative, focused on gameplay, or getting all the details, which sometimes involves walls of text.

TimeMelters combines third-person action moments with top-down strategy elements, all well-seasoned with the spice of magic. Teagan is physically weak, but she can use her mana pool to launch magic bolts from her hands and cast a variety of other spells, including bringing trees to life to attack opponents or summoning a variety of elementals to help her. This can be done both in physical form and when Teagan turns into a spirit, which gives her a top-down view and makes it easier to cross levels.

Because getting touched by an enemy leads to death, she can also mark a location to teleport to when things get hairy (or to move quickly between important places). And, of course, there’s time manipulation which results in multiple versions of Teagan running around at the same time. Past one does exactly what players did before dying or choosing to rewind.

The idea is to take a look at each level, evaluate threats to our heroine and her allies, look for mana resources, and identify points of interest. Then choose a set of actions that will solve some of the challenges and execute them in one timeline. Use the rest to solve other pieces of the tactical puzzle or to undo mistakes.

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Initially, I tended to only rewind and activate a new timeline when I made a big mistake or was close to death. A better approach is to create a plan for each self and, if possible, discover ways to cross paths at just the right time or draw opponents’ attention to make them vulnerable.

TimeMelters is a generous game. Players get a specialized speedrun mode and a set of more complex challenges that unlock as they finish story chapters. The idea is to give fans of the core ideas even more ways to engage with them. Finally, the game offers a Friend Pass, which each buyer can gift to someone to play the campaign cooperatively or to attempt a speedrun.

It’s a good way of spreading the word about the unique mechanics and getting more players to try out the campaign. And everyone who buys the game should take the opportunity to get a friend involved. It does take a little time to understand how all the mechanics interact with one another, but the resulting experience innovates in ingenious ways.

TimeMelters is created by a small team and that shows when it comes to the graphics. Teagan herself is a little stiff, especially when moving, and the design of the demon enemies doesn’t impress. The visual effects are also a little flat. The title’s interface is strong, clearly laying out the timelines and what players need to do to deal with a particular challenge.

Not every line of dialogue is voice-acted but the main characters talk to emphasize plot points and bits of lore. Teagan sounds suitably distressed but also happy to have power that will let her save her brother. Other characters sometimes struggle to put emotion into their lines. The music is good, using Celtic folk elements to create a soundtrack that will lift spirits and encourage players to push through the monsters.

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The Good

The Bad

Conclusion