You Have 10 Seconds

Every game has its own charm if it’s designed right, especially when it comes to indie productions. Hence, even if the overall quality level is not great, at least you remember a certain element that made you play through the whole thing. One of the most successful ways to achieve this effect is by making the game in question difficult and in some way challenging, because gamers are pretty competitive and do not like to give up easily.

You Have 10 Seconds is a hardcore platformer in which your only goal is to make it to the end of the level alive and in under ten seconds. It may sound easy in theory, but the plethora of traps and gaps can be a little too much for most casual gamers. On the other hand, at least you get to enjoy that nice moment of feeling proud after you manage to complete one of the levels.

Since the time limit is the same for every level, the stages are the same size as well, which means that the game may feel a bit repetitive after a while. Granted, more mechanics are added along the way and the experience changes, but don’t expect anything too impressive either. On top of that, the visuals remain more or less the same too., which is yet another problem.

Some of the levels have the gravity inverted and you have to navigate them upside down, which although can be pretty confusing and challenging, it’s still not a big enough change to keep the experience fresh. On the other hand, at least the controls are accurate and responsive, because it’s very important to be in full control when every mistake costs you a life and a level reset.

Speaking of which, there’s not much to say about graphics, because almost every level looks more or less the same, except for the different layout and the occasional new texture. The 2D environments are devoid of anything interesting as well, which makes it difficult to enjoy the journey. At least the soundtrack changes on a regular basis, but then again you only have ten seconds to listen to it.

All things considered, it’s tough to recommend You Have 10 Seconds to anyone, because you really have to enjoy platformers in order to get over all of its flaws. However, if all you care about is a challenge to take your mind off things, this may very well do the trick.