Fans of three-dimensional platforms have been yearning for a title that returns the genre to the glory of yesteryear. Nearly half a decade ago, the genre was dozing, its roots still present in the additional mobility that many games have been presenting recently. Yes, we had some good Mario but the golden age of these platforms had so much more
: Conker, Banjo & Kazooie, Jack & Daxter, Spyro, Crash Bandicoot, Donkey Kong, Psychonauts … There was a time when this was a genre full of varied each one of which was controlled in its own way. After the disappointment that was Yooka-Laylee for many I am pleased to announce that A Hat in Time , the first title of Gears for Breakfast, triumphs in every way.
Let’s talk about history first. Something that characterized the platforms of yesteryear were their quirky stories and extravagant characters. As soon as we could be a child with psychic powers like a talkative primate or a purple dragon. In A Hat in Time we are a girl with a collection of hats with different powers, but the real stars are all the other characters that cross her path. Penguins, demons, detectives, owls, worms and even the Mafia form a fun cast of non-playable characters with whom to populate the world.
A quirky story
This Mafia is the catalyst for the events of history. Our protagonist Hat Girl was sailing in peace the Universe in her elegant ship full of hourglasses when a hardened man belonging to the Mafia begins to pummel the front glass of his ship. Apparently, Hat
Girl is sailing through star space belonging to the Mafia and must pay the corresponding taxes. Our protagonist is a staunch capitalist and rejects the payment, which leads the mafioso to open the window of our ship, encouraging the spread of our watches over the planet we fly over.
It is an absurd beginning for an absurd story.Each act has its own theme that differentiates it from the others, both from the playable point of view as well as its setting or plot. In the first act we will explore the mafia town on a circular island, helping o
r harming its inhabitants in the process (they are mafia, do not feel bad if one flies through the air). The second act will take us to the equivalent of Hollywood where we can decide to help one of two directors whose feud for an award will occupy the e
ntire chapter. Accompanying a more linear story are more linear scenarios but also more differentiated from each other. It is the third act that has the most appropriate theme for this week because we will have to get rid of a contract with a powerful demonic entity based on performing a series of mental tasks. Along with the
dark theme we have again a more open world but more flat and covered with quagmires. Finally the penultimate act is completely open and the mechanics take center stage reviewing everything we have been able to learn and practice throughout the game and making sure we are ready for the final duel. Which we will not talk about for fear of spoilers.
The surprising thing about this story is that despite its variety and how strange it is in many of its aspects the humor of the game is perfectly executed.Rare is the character that does not make you laugh. The writers of Gears for Breakfast are clearly intelligent and that is appreciated because the story of A Hat in Time would not be memorable if it were written by mor
e inexperienced people. Fortunately, the great mix of humor with the bizarre gets to make the argument of this platforms something far superior to what we are used to in the genre. The conclusion is more than satisfactory and we are even left with some space to make moral decisions as if it were an RPG. Unfortunately the game is not yet available in our language
but the original voices, from ravens detectives to impersonators of Elvis penguins or stereotypical Russian mafiosi, actors and voice actresses are perfect for their respective roles.s. The star of this particular work is the protagonist of the third act, a gigantic demon whose thundering laugh never ceased to be contagious.
The graphics of the game are more than adequate and if they do not become exceptional is due to some other technical problem in the available version (which does not have the patches released since the release of the game) and general performance p
roblems. When it works well, which is the vast majority of the time, A Hat in Time is a beautiful game, reminiscent of those classics of yesteryear but updated to modernity to the point of being almost unrecognizable.
Graphically the most similar example would be the Mario Galaxy, you can expect the full range of colors that your monitor can represent and a wide range of brilliant post-processing effects that will make your processor tremble and you exclaim with amazement.
Wolfenstein II, The New Colossus
The animations, although not so exceptionally taken care of as those of Nintendo, are adapted to the jugabilidad and in no moment they are rough or neglected. Certain improvements that we will achieve later on are a marvel to see and the creativity at stake in thi
s title is amazing. Those who play on a computer should have a powerful team if they want to enjoy the game in all its glory, but the simplicity of the graphics makes downloading the graphics a bit sinful.
The soundtrack is splendid, possibly the best aspect of the game. Both epic orchestrations and more subtle themes, the music
adapts to any situation perfectly. Rarely does music make us stop in a game but it was not uncommon for us to make a break to delight ourselves with a particularly chilling theme. If you grew up with the genre you will be happy to know that the soundtrack
of this game is one of the best within it. Pascal Michael Stiefel, composer of the game, goes through this game of being a stranger to one of the great promises of our industry.We will undoubtedly hear more from this man in the future. T
he soundtrack is available on the large streaming platforms, in case anyone wants to listen to it before risking the purchase of the game.
