4/5 ★ – Sefferson's review of Timespinner.

Timespinner does just about everything I need from a Metroidvania, though leaves a bit to be desired within its range of mechanics. I wish there was more variety in the two worlds you bounce back and forth from, more things that were interconnected between them. The puzzles that were present that altered the other world were so infrequent that they felt frustrating when they did come up. The concept of freezing time and using enemies as platforms to reach new areas, or using the ability to freeze time to increase your chances of avoiding enemies attacks was super cool, but unfortunately felt a bit half-baked. Aside from one platforming challenge towards the very end of the game, that honestly would be better just to wait to get the Super Jump to attempt, it never really pushes you outside of your comfort zone, which is a bit of a bummer. Difficulty-wise, this game is very easy. None of the bosses or enemies really made me sweat or anything, and honestly all kind of blurred together in the end, but the unique way of mixing and matching your attacks with different loadouts made for a good time. Albeit, I do wish this mechanic was stretched out a bit more to make it more engaging as well, but it isn’t bad by any means. Where Timespinners really shines is its music, world building through lore, and gorgeous pixel visuals. Visually, it reminds me so much of Chronotrigger, and thematically it does as well. The side quests are alright, unfortunately they are relatively grindy and feel like busywork more often than not given the enemy drop rates for items you need for them, but that’s kind of to be expected with a more Igavania styled Metroidvania. I really enjoyed this game, just wish it pushed itself a bit further from time to time. As it stands, it’s a pleasant Metroidvania that does a lot of things solidly, but excels at not a whole ton, beyond its world, music and art. It doesn’t overstay its welcome, and had I not gone for 100% that would have been even more true, I was able to roll credits at about half of my recording playtime, but just chose not to. I recommend Timespinner to anyone who has already played the heavy-hitters in the Metroidvania genre, and for anyone who is looking for an interesting fantasy world with a surprising amount of depth.