Minit (2018) [Steam]

And you run, and you run to catch up with the sun but it’s sinking

–Time, Pink Floyd

Minit is a monochrome indie adventure game by a dream team of creators, Jan Willem Nijman, Kitty Calis, Jukio Kallio, and Dominik Johann. It comes with a nicely compact core concept as black and white as its visuals. In it, the player character retrieves a sword on a seashore, pure fantasy for any adventure game fan and just one of many Zelda motifs. Unfortunately, it turns out the sword is cursed. Your character can now only survive for one minute before dying and respawning at home. That means starting over constantly. A no-death run is maybe impossible. With every resurrection, you get to keep the items you’ve received and the passageways you’ve unlocked, although figuring out where to go next can be tough as the timer ticks down to zero.

In a longer or more complex game, this would be positively infuriating. However, Minit’s world is bite-sized. It’s plotting out navigation in the most efficient manner that provides intrigue. Stepping across the threshold of a new home creates a new spawning point. Underground labyrinths connect various regions on the surface. NPCs offer helpful hints and acquisitions to aid you in a timely manner.

No adventure game is worth its weight in cheekiness without some tongue-in-cheek humor, so there’s that to navigate as well, sorting through the comedy and the clues. As with many indie games, Minit oozes distinct personality, despite its obvious derivative nature. What’s unique about Minit is just how much it crams into such a small world, with such small characters and such a small concept in such a short amount of time.

I’d tell you more, but speaking of time… we’re out of it. Did that take you a minute to read?

Red formerly ran The Well-Red Mage and now serves The Pixels as founder, writer, editor, and podcaster. He has undertaken a seemingly endless crusade to talk about the games themselves in the midst of a culture obsessed with the latest controversy, scandal, and news cycle about harassment, toxicity, and negativity. Pick out his feathered cap on Twitter @thewellredmage or Mage Cast.