"Inventive pull-and-stretch puzzles, dulled by guesswork and stray QTEs"
About
Crushed In Time is the latest point-and-click adventure from Draw Me A Pixel, the studio behind There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension. You guide Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson through a meta-flavoured investigation that bends time and pokes fun at game development itself. The defining trick is a stretch-and-pull mechanic: instead of only clicking, you grab objects and scenery and drag them to warp the world into a solution. Puzzles range from logic and observation tasks to timed and QTE sections, spread across a chaptered story that runs anywhere from six hours to well over twenty depending on how much you wrestle with it.
Verdict
Crushed In Time is a charming, funny adventure with a manipulation mechanic that genuinely changes how you approach a scene, and at its best the puzzles feel like nothing else in the genre. The trouble is consistency: too many solutions arrive by accident, the hints don't always rescue you, and the QTE detours grate against everything the game does well. Returning fans of Wrong Dimension will find the writing and the affection for game development intact, even if the boldness has softened. A clear recommendation for point-and-click lovers, with the understanding that some chapters will test your patience more than your wits.
You'll like it if …
- +you enjoyed There Is No Game and want more meta jokes about making games
- +you like puzzles that reward fiddling with the scenery over straight logic
- +humour and art style matter more to you than airtight puzzle design
You'll dislike it if …
- −reaction-timing sections in a puzzle game put you off
- −you want every solution to follow from deduction, not trial and error
- −you expect a chapter select and skippable cutscenes for a second run
Breakdown
- +The drag-and-pull interaction opens up object manipulations that a simple click never could, and players single out the small surprising ways scenery responds
- +Puzzle variety keeps shifting register, from observation to physical warping, so the loop rarely repeats itself early on
- −Plenty of puzzle solutions land as trial-and-error rather than deduction, with hints that often fail to point the way
- −QTE and timed sections demand precision that sits badly in a point-and-click and frustrates more than it tests
- −Some reviewers feel the stretch mechanic is decorative, doing work a normal click could have done
- +A continuous story arc carries a generous amount of content and a steady stream of fresh puzzle ideas
- +Difficulty swings around but the challenges stay coherent rather than arbitrary
- −Chapter 9's Watson collection and other late stretches lean on recycled puzzles and fussy exact-placement demands
- −No chapter select this time, which the predecessor offered and players miss for replay and skipping
- +The writing is genuinely funny and the meta jokes about making games land for returning fans
- +Callbacks to the previous game reward people who played it, and pacing holds for much of the run
- −A vocal slice of players find the plot thinner and tamer than the bold swings of Wrong Dimension
- −Characters babble constantly, and the chatter wears thin in later chapters
- +Hand-drawn art and lively character animation carry a consistent, colourful look
- +The soundtrack draws clear praise and the comic timing of the audio supports the jokes
- −Voice lines repeat and grow loud in late chapters, an irritant a few reviewers flag
- +Menus and UI flow draw almost no complaints, and most players report a smooth, stable experience
- −A minority hit hard stops, including a progress-blocking issue around Chapter 5 and reports of crashing every few minutes
- −Dialogue animations can't be skipped, and hint quality swings between helpful and useless
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