Video games feature all sorts of varied and interesting animal protagonists, from colourful and smiley company mascots to more serious characters full of emotion and heart. Some of the most iconic and beloved gaming heroes are animals, but not enough of them are bugs as far as I’m concerned. Sure there are a handful of memorable creepy crawlies in this hobby of ours, but Mr Moskeeto and Buck Bumble probably aren’t going to make any lists of greatest gaming characters of all time. Somehow though I’ve connected more with the nameless flies you play as in Time Flies than almost any other gaming protagonist this year, because their quest is somehow more human than any other.
The flies you play as have very short life expectancies, as all flies do. It’s actually based on the country you say you’re in, as the number of seconds you’ll get to buzz about is equal to the life expectancy of people in that place (based on stats from the World Health Organisation). You’ll need to use this limited time wisely to explore and most importantly complete your bucket list, which is full of very important tasks.
Flying around as a small black dot feels just right, especially accompanied by a little buzzing too. Each of the four stages of Time Flies is themed around a rather normal real world location like a house or a museum, and they’re packed with fun activities to keep a fly busy. With every second of a short life so precious though you’ll have to make them count, and do the tasks important to you.
To complete a stage and unlock the next one you’ll need to do everything on your bucket list in a single life, but there’s no way you’ll be able to manage this with your first one. Early lives are spent scouting the level, exploring what is through every keyhole and air vent on a quest to eventually have the perfect fly life. You’ll know when you’ve found something important when time stops and the camera zooms in, and then it’s time to play around and see what mischief you can get up to.
The items on your bucket list are incredibly varied, and rarely outright state who you have to do to check them off. For example an early task is to “Roll With It” which it turns out means to land on a toilet roll and unravel it by walking around it. Some bucket list entries are simply charming and will make you smile, others will make you laugh out loud with a bit of daft humour. The very best though will hit you right in the feels with a gut punch, as they’re just so relatable. The last entry on each list is always based on death, and it turns out that flies are just as concerned about that as humans.
Away from the emotional weight of Time Flies, the actual speedrunning gameplay is just as compelling. You have to really put your all into making your time on this earth count, and will be route planning and trying to shave off seconds with clever shortcuts to beat each of the stages. There are also clocks you’ll need to make sure you include in this route, because you can push back hands on these to gain a bit of extra living time too. Alongside this it didn’t take long for me to realise that by flying close to the places of interest to pause time I’d be able to steal a few precious seconds, making victory more plausible.
Outside of the main bucket list objectives you’ll be trying to complete, there are some fun optional extras to come back to in Time Flies. One of these is a list of achievements, which includes such important tasks as landing on the head of every human in the game. There are also hidden puzzle pieces to find in each level, which you’ll be able to assemble into a complete picture if you find them all. I appreciated having a reason to keep playing after the credits rolled, because I just wanted to keep buzzing around the world.
Part of why I didn’t want to stop playing Time Flies is because of the visuals, which although incredibly simple, are just really nice to look at. The black line drawings on a plain white backdrop really pop, and ensure perfect clarity on your adventure too. One of my only complaints in fact is that when visuals flip to night mode (you go into a dark place) they just aren’t as pleasant, which is such a minor gripe; but that’s all I’ve got.
Time Flies is such a clever concept for a video game, and despite having the most basic of protagonists has so much heart. The fact that a game where you play as a fly made me both laugh out loud and shed a little tear is frankly ridiculous, but by god it happened. Coupled with the amazing speedrunning gameplay and effective visuals there’s so much to love about this bizarre video game, and I’d recommend you buzz off now and try it yourself.