A Hat in Time Review Thread

I don't have a lot of experience in platformers, but I'm liking it a lot on PC.
Good controls, super charming style and characters, a good mix of collecthaton with free exploration and missions, good boss battles, a different concepts in every world.
 
Anyone know how to unlock the finale for Act 2? Done The Well, Manor, and Toilet boss but it only has those 3 and can't seem to unlock more? Derp nvm just had to get captured again.
 
Charming as hell, this and Cuphead have been pure fun.
Im reminded of Mario sunshine, Psychonauts, and Banjo. Its different enough though, which I think is the most important part.
 
Finished cause im a bloody gluton and had the weekend off, thought I would give some quick impressions. Yeah I really liked the game much more then Yooka Laylee it was more of what I was looking for out of a modernised collectathon/3d platformer.
A Hat In Time has charm it has personality the levels feel like actual worlds with characters that feel like they organically live in them rather then just being ! marks to activate, there are alot of small details and often im just wondering around looking at every inch of the levels not necessarily because im looking for collectibles but because there might be a funny little interaction/dialogue or easter egg to find. It also has a *Hat Badge* seller that is essentially a combination of the Mask Seller from Zelda and No Face from Spirited Away.

Each Hourglass is essentially like Jiggys from Banjo, it gives you a world to free roam and collect other collectibles like the games Currency for the badge seller or Yarn Balls you use to create different hats to give you different powers, but each Hourglass can be only be collected one at a time accepting it like a mission at the start. And this can be off putting for some rather then just letting you collect any in whatever order you want until you get struck because you don't have a power it does pigeon hole you into collecting that specific Hourglass. However because of this they often make each one different and feel more rewarding to collect, not all of its concepts work perfectly but I appreciate the effect to make every Hourglass different changing the levels ever so slightlylike flooding a town with lava switching up the environment and how you traverse it, or giving you a *murder mystery* with you trying to collect evidence, or a hide and seek section from some ghost in a spooky mansion.

Movement has weight behind it the move set is great the only Cons I would give the game is the voice acting can be hit and miss at times and the game is missing a level of polish that might have been great to leave it in the oven for a few more months, and would have liked more characters that weren't just a copy and past. Keep your expectations in check its still a indie its still the Company's first game funded through Kickstarter its not exactly what your looking if you want something exactly like Banjo Kazooie (hell Mario Odessey looks more like a Banjo Kazooie sequel every day) but its still the best attempt at this type of genre so far and im excited to see them do a sequel or see the genre evolve and get better. If your not sure wait for a Humble Bundle or a Sale either way its a must play if your at all wanting to capture a bit of that nostalgia again.
 
Hey everyone, this is Dusk Golem aka AestheticGamer. I have posted on NeoGAF since 2011, and have decided to resign. I have enjoyed posting about horror games here for years, but I no longer wish to support the site and will be leaving for good. I will still be around the internet, I go by AestheticGamer on YouTube, I make games on Steam as Yai Gameworks, and I plan to go by Dusk Golem on other forums. I'll be joining an off-set of the GAF community leaving to try other ventures like ResetEra (Official Twitter for that here: https://twitter.com/reseteraforum ). I hope some of you who read this may consider it, and I plan to try to expose more people to horror games in the years to come. Just not here.

I hope you all are having a good day, and know I always loved the community, and in the end it's the community I'm going to stick with, not the site itself. If you want to follow me, my official Twitter is here: https://twitter.com/AestheticGamer1
 
Dusk Golem said:
To mention from what you mentioned at the end, because of stretch goals met A Hat in Time will be receiving four big updates in the future, two of them will add two brand new worlds to play through, one is to add the availability for online/lan co-op, and full mod support, so there is definitely more brewing in the future for A Hat in Time, and all of these updates will be free.

It does lack a bit of polish but even outside of team size, one must remember A Hat in Time was made with like, 12% of the total Kickstarter budget that Yooka-Laylee for example made. I think they did an amazing job with what they had.
Click to expand...

Ahh thanks for the comment while I deeply love this genre I personally didn't kickstart A Hat In Time (been burned too much) so I am way out of the loop of the development of the game just been keeping a distant eye, two new worlds and mod support sounds really awesome. And yep your totally right about its budget being much smaller then Yooka Laylee's and yet they sure as hell made a great game considering the amount.
 
Saw mod edit : good

I can’t wait to get my hands on this after Cuphead. Wether this is the best game ever or just a pleasing time I’m in. Glad to see reviews enjoying it.
 
For all the talk of it being the game Yooka Laylee promised to be....it seems to be carving itself right into the same review pattern.

Basically, I'd you like N64 style Platformers, you'll enjoy.
If you're a modern games reviewer...it probably doesn't have enough raids or loot boxes to keep your attention span focused.
 
IdreamofHIME said:
For all the talk of it being the game Yooka Laylee promised to be....it seems to be carving itself right into the same review pattern.

Basically, I'd you like N64 style Platformers, you'll enjoy.
If you're a modern games reviewer...it probably doesn't have enough raids or loot boxes to keep your attention span focused.
Click to expand...

Yooka Laylee actually got reviews, this game seems to be mostly getting ignored.

The game plays a lot more like a Mario game than N64 style platformers though. Unlike most N64 platformers, everything in this game is focused around actual platforming rather than collecting. Even in the big open levels with lots of optional areas just for collecting stuff, you'll constantly have to be platforming to reach stuff. For example, in Subcon Forest you never need to go to like half the forest for any of the main objectives, and in that second half almost everything of value is located up in the trees or on top of structures. And Alpine Skyline is basically a Mario Galaxy level.

At the very least it controls way better than any N64 platformer other than Mario 64.
 
Crayolan said:
At the very least it controls way better than any N64 platformer other than Mario 64.
Click to expand...

this is so true

the airdash is just FUN to use, moves just flow into each other, the little skip up when you hit edges is such a small yet huge thing, and the momentum feels really nice

it's awesome
 
Wanted to blast through the game ASAP to leave some space between this and Odyssey, but my PC is in bits just now. :(

Glad to hear it getting positive word of mouth in comparison with Yooka-Laylee. I wouldn't have put any money on that.
 
Crayolan said:
Yooka Laylee actually got reviews, this game seems to be mostly getting ignored.

The game plays a lot more like a Mario game than N64 style platformers though. Unlike most N64 platformers, everything in this game is focused around actual platforming rather than collecting. Even in the big open levels with lots of optional areas just for collecting stuff, you'll constantly have to be platforming to reach stuff. For example, in Subcon Forest you never need to go to like half the forest for any of the main objectives, and in that second half almost everything of value is located up in the trees or on top of structures. And Alpine Skyline is basically a Mario Galaxy level.

At the very least it controls way better than any N64 platformer other than Mario 64.
Click to expand...

It's such a shame major outlets are ignoring this gem for some reason.
 
Kudo said:
We need a hero to rise up and make OT for this game, it's fantastic.
Click to expand...

Contact purseowner, see if he's going to put the OT up today (on the 6th purseowner posted that the OT could be up the day after), if not just copy paste the game information from the Steam store page, slap a banner at the top, a link to either humble or the Steam store page to purchase it, the price and call it a day.

There is always time to add cool pictures, trailers etc to the thread and getting a mod to add a silly title to the OT.
 
Kudo said:
We need a hero to rise up and make OT for this game, it's fantastic.
Click to expand...

If no one volunteers today, I think I could try my hand at it. Won't be anything special, though. What information do y'all think it needs and did anyone think of any cool OT titles for it?
^oh, haha, I see I have my priorities inverted!
 
OT name idea: It's About Time! (It's not actually about time)
Generic and overdone but a bit meta at this point... :p

Kudo said:
It's such a shame major outlets are ignoring this gem for some reason.
Click to expand...

A fifth review just trickled down on Opencritic.
DigitallyDownloaded - 4/5
While rough around the edges, A Hat in Time is still an adorable and highly enjoyable love letter to 3D Platformers, and a potential new classic.
Click to expand...
To wonder if they only sent review copies to streamers and no one else.
 
Nitpicker_Red said:
A fifth review just trickled down on Opencritic.
DigitallyDownloaded - 4/5

To wonder if they only sent review copies to streamers and no one else.
Click to expand...

It's honestly probably just a case of it not having much word of mouth or marketing and there being a lot of games coming out at the moment. There's not a lot of money in games journalism and the "REVIEW EVERYTHING" mentality largely died with the rise of youtube/giantbomb. Editors need to allocate resources where it makes sense and right now that's probably the bigger games and also the small games with a bigger word of mouth (like Golf Story.)

It's a shame but the reviews will probably start hitting more in like a week or so.
 
IdreamofHIME said:
For all the talk of it being the game Yooka Laylee promised to be....it seems to be carving itself right into the same review pattern.

Basically, I'd you like N64 style Platformers, you'll enjoy.
If you're a modern games reviewer...it probably doesn't have enough raids or loot boxes to keep your attention span focused.
Click to expand...

Don't forget the game doesn't play by itself, which means that it is not accessible to everybody.
 
Absolutely loving this game! Controls are great, graphics are beautiful, and the game just oozes fun and personality. If you are a fan of 3D platformers, you owe it to yourself to add this to your collection. It's awesome!
 
This game is so damn creative and charming. Honestly once all the promised updates come out it could be a contender for one of the greatest 3D platformers ever made.
 
IdreamofHIME said:
For all the talk of it being the game Yooka Laylee promised to be....it seems to be carving itself right into the same review pattern.

Basically, I'd you like N64 style Platformers, you'll enjoy.
If you're a modern games reviewer...it probably doesn't have enough raids or loot boxes to keep your attention span focused.
Click to expand...

Crayolan said:
Yooka Laylee actually got reviews, this game seems to be mostly getting ignored.
Click to expand...

It'll get more reviews when it releases on consoles. It seems to me that many reviewers tend to not play PC games, and especially for a game that hearkens back to the N64 era, you're more likely to find people nostalgic for those games still playing on consoles.

At least I hope.
 
Bosses are prety dam fun too and the music for this one in particular is rocking.
Spoilers Act 3 Boss OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrzjCwHbwF0 the music for some of the bosses remind me of
Sans
from Undertale and how batshit insane it got, the end fight to me wasn't hard enough or didn't go far enough with the *time concept* it could have got really cool and messed with you a bit.
 
Fantastic game, shame that it's not getting reviewed and their piss-poor decision to keep JonTron in and stay silent on it is overshadowing the game itself. Finished last night and it's a love letter to a lot of games: Sunshine, 64, and the bosses feel like DKC bosses in 3D. The music also is fantastic (Maximo, I was gonna link that exact track because it's so great) and the levels are well-designed.

It's unfortunate it's short as hell, but with two worlds, workshop support, and co-op coming, I'll be coming back frequently.
 
So about Chapter 3, act 4.
The manor..

I hate this kind of shit... Why would they do this??

Guess I'll youtube it on how to proceed. This stresses me out too much.
 
Cade said:
Fantastic game, shame that it's not getting reviewed and their piss-poor decision to keep JonTron in and stay silent on it is overshadowing the game itself.
Click to expand...

lol only on neogaf though.

Also, isn't it ~15 hours? That's a good size I should think.

Why is online coop PC-only?
 
Cade said:
Fantastic game, shame that it's not getting reviewed and their piss-poor decision to keep JonTron in and stay silent on it is overshadowing the game itself. Finished last night and it's a love letter to a lot of games: Sunshine, 64, and the bosses feel like DKC bosses in 3D. The music also is fantastic (Maximo, I was gonna link that exact track because it's so great) and the levels are well-designed.

It's unfortunate it's short as hell, but with two worlds, workshop support, and co-op coming, I'll be coming back frequently.
Click to expand...

Its crazy how A Hat In Time only received $296,360 while Yooka Laylee got £2,090,104 the two are a great comparison of what you achieve with less and one knowing what it wants to be, I do hope it gets good sales I think with more time and more importantly more money they really could take the sequel to something really special.
 
Kyolux said:
So about Chapter 3, act 4.
The manor..

I hate this kind of shit... Why would they do this??

Guess I'll youtube it on how to proceed. This stresses me out too much.
Click to expand...

I played this in the beta so I was just following what I u had already did.
It actually seems broken because you can hide and never get caught
. They actually cut out an entire part from the beta which included an lengthy puzzle that was pretty clever.
You need to trap ghosts of yourself that mirror all your movements.
Because of this the act feels really short. I was disappointed.
They may have cut it because it features Snatcher with his old sprite look instead of his model. Still sucks.
 
kliklik said:
lol only on neogaf though.

Also, isn't it ~15 hours? That's a good size I should think.

Why is online coop PC-only?
Click to expand...

I mean, even the Steam forums are plagued with discussion about it (even though it's mostly people on the other side of the argument) and there was the Polygon article etc. There's definitely more people talking about JonTron than reviewing the game.

I finished it with 26/40 hourglasses in five hours, not rushing. Probably 3-4 more hours to get the rest.

That I don't know, it doesn't make much sense
 
Cade said:
I mean, even the Steam forums are plagued with discussion about it (even though it's mostly people on the other side of the argument) and there was the Polygon article etc. There's definitely more people talking about JonTron than reviewing the game.

I finished it with 26/40 hourglasses in five hours, not rushing. Probably 3-4 more hours to get the rest.

That I don't know, it doesn't make much sense
Click to expand...

Whoa in 5 hours? Feels like I was triple that.
 
Cade said:
I mean, even the Steam forums are plagued with discussion about it (even though it's mostly people on the other side of the argument) and there was the Polygon article etc. There's definitely more people talking about JonTron than reviewing the game.

I finished it with 26/40 hourglasses in five hours, not rushing. Probably 3-4 more hours to get the rest.

That I don't know, it doesn't make much sense
Click to expand...

Damn, Im at like 27 and I havent touched 2 planets, 8 hours logged. Not completionist by any means either.

Theres also more to the game than collecting hourglasses
 
Cade said:
I mean, even the Steam forums are plagued with discussion about it (even though it's mostly people on the other side of the argument) and there was the Polygon article etc. There's definitely more people talking about JonTron than reviewing the game.

I finished it with 26/40 hourglasses in five hours, not rushing. Probably 3-4 more hours to get the rest.

That I don't know, it doesn't make much sense
Click to expand...

JonTron is completely useless in this game, it actually sucks since he has one (One!) throwaway line in the game that is also poorly recorded compared to the other voices that sound much more professional... And that merits an unique model? All the crows and train owls look the same and have the same voice. What a waste of talent and effort for a single line.

Anyways, I know this isn't the OT but when you get different skins for your hat 🎩 it says you can swap. I can't seem to figure out how to do that. Changing Hat Kid's colours is easy.
 
Maximo said:
Whoa in 5 hours? Feels like I was triple that.
Click to expand...

Some of the hourglasses are definitely quicker than others. I found
Subcon Forest and Alpine Skyline
to be particularly slow going in terms of hourglass collection, and you can speed things up a lot if you focus on the
time rift hourglasses, especially if you manage to find all their locations very quickly..
 
UltraJay said:
JonTron is completely useless in this game, it actually sucks since he has one (One!) throwaway line in the game that is also poorly recorded compared to the other voices that sound much more professional... And that merits an unique model? All the crows and train owls look the same and have the same voice. What a waste of talent and effort for a single line.

Anyways, I know this isn't the OT but when you get different skins for your hat 🎩 it says you can swap. I can't seem to figure out how to do that. Changing Hat Kid's colours is easy.
Click to expand...
Yeah, total waste, especially considering Jon phoned the VA in 100% anyway.
truestatic said:
Some of the hourglasses are definitely quicker than others. I found
Subcon Forest and Alpine Skyline
to be particularly slow going in terms of hourglass collection, and you can speed things up a lot if you focus on the
time rift hourglasses, especially if you manage to find all their locations very quickly..
Click to expand...
I missed a few Time Rift ones because I just couldn't find them. The Subcon ones I never found a single one.


And yeah, unless Steam fucked up my playtime (which happens), between 5-6 hours. I didn't think I was going that fast either.
 
Cade said:
I mean, even the Steam forums are plagued with discussion about it (even though it's mostly people on the other side of the argument) and there was the Polygon article etc. There's definitely more people talking about JonTron than reviewing the game.

I finished it with 26/40 hourglasses in five hours, not rushing. Probably 3-4 more hours to get the rest.

That I don't know, it doesn't make much sense
Click to expand...

The Polygon article cites Neogaf for the controversy. Then a thread about the Polygon article about Neogaf was posted on Neogaf to further discuss Neogaf's feelings, lol. It's... a bit incestuously self-referential, so I wouldn't take that as a signal of wider controversy. I'm sure most people outside of Neogaf are either unaware or don't care as much as Neogaf does. The game hasn't even been successfully review-bombed on Steam or Metacritic (though I saw an attempt or two.) But I think it's safe to assume that they won't be going back to the well for more voicework from him for their next game.

I think your time stamp is significantly lower than other people's from what I've seen. Can you quantify your progress on other collectibles? Out of curiosity, do you find you beat other platformers fairly quickly?
 
kliklik said:
The Polygon article cites Neogaf for the controversy. Then a thread about the Polygon article about Neogaf was posted on Neogaf to further discuss Neogaf's feelings, lol. It's... a bit incestuously self-referential, so I wouldn't take that as a signal of wider controversy. I'm sure most people outside of Neogaf are either unaware or don't care as much as Neogaf does. The game hasn't even been successfully review-bombed on Steam or Metacritic (though I saw an attempt or two.) But I think it's safe to assume that they won't be going back to the well for more voicework from him for their next game.

I think your time stamp is significantly lower than other people's from what I've seen. Can you quantify your progress on other collectibles? Out of curiosity, do you find you beat other platformers fairly quickly?
Click to expand...

I crafted all the hats I found aside from
the Time Stop
hat, played the orb machine twice outside of Time Rift rewards... not sure what else.
Yeah, I'm probably an outlier because I play a lot of SM64 just to learn speedrunning tech, and 3D platformers are one of if not my favorite genre
 
UltraJay said:
I played this in the beta so I was just following what I u had already did.
It actually seems broken because you can hide and never get caught
. They actually cut out an entire part from the beta which included an lengthy puzzle that was pretty clever.
You need to trap ghosts of yourself that mirror all your movements.
Because of this the act feels really short. I was disappointed.
They may have cut it because it features Snatcher with his old sprite look instead of his model. Still sucks.
Click to expand...

Damn lol. I was trying to figure out why that level felt so short.
 
Cade said:
I mean, even the Steam forums are plagued with discussion about it (even though it's mostly people on the other side of the argument) and there was the Polygon article etc. There's definitely more people talking about JonTron than reviewing the game.

I finished it with 26/40 hourglasses in five hours, not rushing. Probably 3-4 more hours to get the rest.

That I don't know, it doesn't make much sense
Click to expand...

Five hours is pretty quick. I think most people will take 10 hours to clear, 15 hours to 100%. Of course there's variance based on which levels you choose to do. If you do Alpine Skyline you'll probably be on the higher side as those levels are by far the longest in the game.

UltraJay said:
JonTron is completely useless in this game, it actually sucks since he has one (One!) throwaway line in the game that is also poorly recorded compared to the other voices that sound much more professional... And that merits an unique model? All the crows and train owls look the same and have the same voice. What a waste of talent and effort for a single line.

Anyways, I know this isn't the OT but when you get different skins for your hat 🎩 it says you can swap. I can't seem to figure out how to do that. Changing Hat Kid's colours is easy.
Click to expand...

The model for JonTron's character already existed since the beta and used to be involved with the express owls. Back then JonTron voiced the penguins (there was like, 1 or 2 at the time) so really his role got downgraded.

About the hats, just click on the current hat icon in the menu and go to equip the hat flair you want. Then it will become the default in your quick change menu.
 
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