Back in 2012, I first learned about Devolver Digital when I bought Hotline Miami. Looking back, this was the first time I started following an indie publisher and paying attention to the games it released. Since then, I’ve discovered the likes of Annapurna Interactive, another publisher that has my attention for basically anything it releases. Normally, this is where I would say Panic comes into the picture, but I actually knew of them much earlier.
While console and PC players might know Panic for superlative games like Arco or Thank Goodness You’re Here, I know Panic thanks to its Mac software. Panic is known for fantastic quality in its software and design, and that’s been carried into the games it publishes as well. Firewatch and Untitled Goose Game are also two brilliant experiences that Panic has published over the years. When Time Flies was announced, I actually did not pay much attention to it because I knew I would be playing it for review or just whenever it released. I did not need to look into it at all, and I’m glad I treated it like that.
In this era of overinformation and tons of promotion through trailers and various events, it feels rare for me to be able to just play a game without much prior knowledge. That’s where Time Flies from developer Playables comes (or flies) into the picture.
Time Flies has you controlling a fly with the aim of accomplishing specific tasks in a house. These range from learning an instrument and getting drunk to making someone laugh and getting rich. This might sound weird since you control a fly in this hand-drawn monochrome aesthetic, but stick with me here. The catch is that you have about a minute or so to accomplish all of this.
When you boot up Time Flies, it picks a location, and your fly has as many seconds to live as the life expectancy of the location it detects. You can also change this to get more or less time, but I’d recommend sticking with the default initially. There’s a nice easter egg relating to this in the second area of the game.
As you move, the timer ticks down, and when it hits zero, you die, and the fly basically falls to the ground in place. You can die in a plethora of other ways in Time Flies, but your aim is to complete the fly’s bucket list slowly. Each location feels like a blend of a puzzle and the game Minit, with a bizarre concept on top.
Each level also has a few collectibles, but the real draw is the initial exploration and how you discover what each bucket list item is about. I already thought Time Flies was worth the asking price just based on the first location, but there are more to unlock. There are times when it feels like you’re banging your head against the wall (and you can even do that in-game), but those moments have great payoffs once the specific order or solution clicks.
Initially, I thought Time Flies would just be a game where you do stupid things as a fly before dying. By the end of even the first location, it will make you think about life, dying, and making choices. That’s where the real genius is. Playing as a fly while trying to do humorous tasks is great, but your takeaway from the experience will make you want to see what Playables and Panic do next.
I’ve played Time Flies on Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2. While the game is a Switch game, so it runs via backward compatibility on Switch 2, I didn’t have any issues with it. The developer did a great job with the rumble implementation on Switch and with how the haptics feel on Steam Deck. I have no issues with either version when it comes to ports.
Time Flies is yet another home run from Panic’s publishing. Playables has released one of my favorite indie games of the year here. When I recently reviewed Dear Me, I was…, I mentioned how every game doesn’t have to be for everyone. Time Flies is another release I know won’t be for everyone, but I absolutely love it. Go forth. Fly, die, fly again, die again, and think about how everyone’s time on this planet is limited with so many things to do.
Version tested: Nintendo Switch
Review copy provided by Panic
