Twelve Minutes 1.0

Download Twelve Minutes on this page

12 Minutes (or Tolv Minutter, as the game is called in Danish) is a narrative: a story told through the medium of a video game. It opens in first-person - the male protagonist you control looks at himself in the metallic reflection of the elevator he is standing in. 

Then he steps out and the camera shifts to a bird’s-eye view looking down on the man from above. You unlock the door to your apartment and get a kiss from your partner, who has dinner ready for you both. 

What you don’t know yet is that within 12 minutes you will be dead; strangled by a mysterious police officer who knocks on the door. The moment your eyes close, they open again, your partner walks out of the bathroom and kisses you; dinner is ready - and in a moment there will be a knock at the door again. 

A story that repeats itself, for better and worse

The premise itself isn’t exactly groundbreaking - in fact, it closely resembles the well-known film Groundhog Day (titled ‘En ny dag truer’ in Danish), where a journalist wakes up to the same day again and again. 

As hinted above, this is the core premise behind the game. 

Disguised as a point-and-click adventure, you get a thriller that plays with your emotions and makes you question everything you know - both inside and outside the game. 

Learn from your mistakes - or die again

Each time you play through the 12-minute sequence, you learn more about how the story fits together - you can also find clues in the apartment that you can pick up and use via the game’s click-and-drag interface.

A small tip from us: keep an eye on the pictures in the apartment, as they symbolize some of the changes that happen in the story as it unfolds. 

The game has received some harsh reviews, which may be the result of people getting caught up in the hype without taking time to engage with the psychological terror and upheaval the game offers. 

Repetition can quickly lead to frustration

Another negative note is its repetition. It’s obviously a huge part of the game and what makes it special. But you can quickly get stuck in the same loop over and over if you don’t use your time efficiently - and in the long run that can be frustrating. 

Ultimately, it’s about focusing on all the information you uncover and using it the right way so you arrive at a satisfying final outcome. 

Fantastic voice acting, a chilling perspective, and solid visuals

Despite the game’s repetitive nature, there are moments that still surprise you, even when you experience them multiple times. 

On the game’s website, the voices are credited to major contemporary Hollywood stars: "James McAvoy, Daisy Ridley and Willem Dafoe," it says. 

James McAvoy is known for films such as X-Men, where he plays the young Professor Charles Xavier, and for the popular thriller ‘Split’ and its sequel ‘Glass,’ in which he plays a man with dissociative identity disorder that makes him switch between different personalities, including a child and the calm older woman, Patricia. 

Daisy Ridley is currently best known for her work as Rey in the modern Star Wars films, for which she has received much praise. 

Willem Dafoe is a name that resonates in Hollywood, having appeared in many popular films. Most will recognize him from his role as Spider-Man’s enemy, Green Goblin, in the 2002 version starring Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man. 

Thanks to these actors’ deep craft, there is a wealth of emotion and practical know-how in their vocal performances. Despite the abstract premise and the sometimes simple-looking graphics (especially given the lack of location variety), the voice acting really rounds out the story - and sells it as the experience it truly is.  

Good value for the price - but is it worth it?

This is a truly special experience, and it has plenty of moments where everything you think you know about the situation is turned completely on its head. For many players, repetitive games are a no-go because they can quickly feel boring. 

But in 12 Minutes you can actually complete most of the game relatively quickly if you simply listen to what is being said and take it calmly. The more hectic you make it, the more mistakes you will likely make. And the more times your day restarts.

If you can look past the loops that repeat where you don’t feel you’re learning anything new, and instead see the game as a psychological thriller, almost like a film, you can have some incredibly exciting experiences with Twelve Minutes.

Other games like this

If you can’t get enough of games that play with time and use repetition as a gameplay element, we have just the right game for you. Deathloop is a title released in fall 2021 that offered a distinctly special experience with its integrated death loop as a core gameplay element. 

Where you have to think tactically in Twelve Minutes due to your limited defensive options, in Deathloop you can strike back, so to speak, with every tool you can imagine. You get a wide range of firearms and even magical powers to fight the enemies on the island, all of whom try to kill you: again and again. 

Conclusion

Overall, the game is a cool experience with a very strange story that is hard to fully grasp until the end. 

The graphics are surprisingly nice, but can seem simplistic at times due to the bird’s-eye perspective. The game actually runs smoothly from start to finish. 

Despite its repetitive nature, this is still a game where the details are lovingly crafted, especially when you listen to the actors’ delivery of their lines. No expense has been spared in this department. 

Don’t listen to the hype or the negative reviews alone; weigh these perspectives together and decide if this eerie, mysterious game could be for you. 

We certainly had fun trying to solve the game’s murder mystery.