If you like clockwork level design, shoot this game directly into your veins.

On the surface, it involves a lot of backtracking to try and figure out the core objective of the game -- but the levels are so intricately laid out, dense with stuff to do, and genuinely interesting to scope out at different times of day that you won't mind going back and forth. Almost every time I ran through a loop, I was finding something new; an objective, a secret, a weapon, a fun bit of dialog, an alternate means to do an objective I thought I already knew how to do.

The only place this really stumbled for me was the third act, where fetch quests to kick the final event into gear felt like a bridge too far. For two thirds of this game, I relished every run; combing the map for trinkets. For the final third though, I was sort of ready to end it and got frustrated with the repetition. It feels like the new textbook example of how the line between good and bad pacing is razor sharp. It really felt like one specific mission was just over the line for me, and took the wind out of my sails. Other criticisms are relatively minor; boneheaded AI and some stuttery performance are relatively minor in the grand scheme of things. The audio visual package is very strong, and while the story isn't top tier, it's a fun, pulpy time loop romp.

At its core, 12 Minutes is more of a typical point-and-click than I was expecting; and that's just not my genre.

I had some real frustration early when I knew a piece of information, and my character knew a piece of information, but I had to figure out the video game's very particular way of making him say it -- which frustrated me to no end. But, the game's very delicate way of letting you solve its puzzles has its positives too. There is a realistic social dynamic here that I'd love to see other games ape. Other characters will not simply wait while you meander around the environment looking for clues; you do not dictate the pace of progress in this game, and I like that. Failing to sit and eat a meal promptly with your wife after she sets the table will cause her to be offended and block off potential conversations. Phoning a character 30 seconds into a game will yield different results to making that same call six minutes later, depending on the NPC's schedule. The clockwork nature of 12 Minutes' world is about the only one of its ambitious elements that really hits.

The story, unfortunately, feels shlocky from the get-go, and descends into complete Quantic Dream parody at the end. The diarama aesthetic is undercut by a handful of ugly textures and first person shots that do the game no favours. Most surprisingly; the A list cast is a huge disappointment. Defoe is solid, but McAvoy and Ridley could be any two amateur voice actors from any video game -- thoroughly unremarkable performances, and I like both in their film roles.

A cool premise, well engineered clockwork design, and a nice score are all that redeem this one. One of the most disappointing of the last five years.