Game Review: A Time Traveller's Guide to Past Delicacies

By Al

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, XBox, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5

Normally I go into reviews with a description of the game, and a brief little intro of what you may expect in the review. I'm not sure I can do that here. A Time Traveller's Guide to Past Delicacies (here after simply referred to as "A Time Traveller's Guide") is an odd little game that is coming to consoles soon, following an earlier release on PC. It's rather short, but there's a lot to say about it still. I'm going to just get into it straight away without much intro, so prepare yourself to discuss one of the strangest games ever!

Time travel plots are always wonky.

Nothing weird about tamales right?

Right off the bat, I don't really think I can call A Time Traveller's Guide a "game". It does have a few interactive elements, but it's more like a short film that occasionally lets you direct the action. I guess it's closest to a kinetic visual novel in that you'll reach an ending, the same ending always, as long as you keep playing. It's not comparable besides the root gameplay loop, but I'm really having difficulty describing it otherwise. There's nothing inherently wrong with this type of "game" mind you, I want to get that out the way first. A Time Traveller's Guide opens with a sock puppet tasking you with using a time machine together three recipes from the past and make them. There is something of a cooking mechanic at play, but the real focus of the game is the odd stuff that the sock puppet has to say about each time period you go to, and the absolute insanity that happens when you try to actually make the dishes. While the game is separated into three chapters/recipes, I'd say that it more so flows along as one single narrative. I don't want to talk too much about the time periods and the food that you make, since it will go into spoiler territory fast, but rest assured that this game will never cease to amaze you with the randomness it pulls out of nowhere.

There's only one scene like this.

If only this was a simple cooking game...

Now A Time Traveller's Guide does have a few gameplay elements that are worth talking about. There are a sections of the game where you travel throughout the past that see you interacting with small worlds, gathering a few recipes, and taking pictures of things so that the sock puppet can explain them in more detail. Besides those sections there is one (sort of) platforming level where you get to see your character for the first and only time. (You're just another sock puppet by the way.) Both those sections are fairly brief for the most part, so don't worry too much about getting lost or wondering what you'll have to do next within them. The main "gameplay" comes in the form of the cooking minigames. These are very clunky affairs where you'll be fighting with your on-screen hand to keep the current ingredient from falling through the table and out of the world. Considering that things usually end up all over the place even when you do place ingredients where they're supposed to go, I can only assume that the bad grabbing physics and disappearing ingredients are an intentional addition. Thankfully you're not timed or anything, so there's really no way to fail them. That said, I did want to scream at the game more than once when I wasn't able to do something as simple as put an onion into a blender.

It's never the vegans.

Of course he brings up religion.

Discussing A Time Traveller's Guide's presentation is kind of difficult because there were actually a lot of things I liked about it, and just as many that I didn't. First off, I really do like the concept of live action scenes mixed into gameplay. There are moments in A Time Traveller's Guide when you're literally just watching a movie play, but there are many more where the sock puppet is talking to you via a TV in the 3D world. I know this isn't anything really unique or hard to pull off, but it gave me old school FMV adventure game vibes. Oh, and speaking of the live action segments, don't expect big budget effects or acting. Other than that I don't think I can say much about the visuals. Most of world, characters, and gameplay assets have that asset flip look to them (though of course I can't confirm that they are indeed that), and were anything but pleasant to look at. Sound fared a bit better for the most part, with the soundtrack being made up mostly of creepy and ambient music. While I did think the soundtrack worked for what it was, there were a few tracks that made me nearly mute the game. There are also some sound issues when it comes to the game's dialogue. Most of the dialogue is subtitled within a text box, but some of it isn't. These unsubbed sections can be really hard to hear, not only because of the odd sound mix, but also because whoever is voicing the sock puppet seems to be putting on a deep, quiet voice that is just hard to hear in general. It all comes together to make a game that looks and sounds like nothing else. I just can't decide if that's a good thing or not.

This is indeed nuts.

No, put him back!

A Time Traveller's Guide operates on a sort of creepypasta level. It's not a horror game exactly, and there are no jump scares, but there is a very disturbing vibe that runs throughout. Our sock puppet friend says some very off the wall things, and even gets strangely controversial and political here and there too. It does go with the overall vibe, but there were a few times when I let out an audible "wow!" when he discussed things like slavery and colonialism. There's even a cannibalism reference in the tamales section that I felt a little offended by (being as I am of Mexican descent), though I think it's done in an edgy early-2000s internet creepypasta sort of way, and isn't necessarily meant to offend. The thing is, I'm not sure if anyone would be willing to pick this game one up considering you can get all sorts of creepypasta content for free on the internet. Hell, you can even get THIS game for free on itch.io if you want. There's also very little reason to ever play it again after you finish it, except maybe to experience its story again. Oh, and you can easily clear this game in about 30 minutes, maybe an hour or so if you're having trouble here or there.

Bury it, just like this game.

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I really don't know what to say when it comes to recommending A Time Traveller's Guide to Past Delicacies. It's not a bad game, but it feels like a film school student's final project made into video game form. It only costs $4.99 though, so there is something to be said about experiencing this wild trip of a game on something like the Nintendo Switch. If you're a fan of creepypastas, and have five dollars to spare, grab this and have some fun. If you're just looking for a game to play over a chill weekend, you're definitely going to want to look elsewhere. While I can't fully recommend it, I can say that it's a game that I don't think I'll ever forget, and that is saying something.

Check Out A Time Traveller's Guide to Past Delicacies on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/a-time-travellers-guide-to-past-delicacies-switch/

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Story: B-
Gameplay: C- (Does this even HAVE gameplay?)
Graphics: C
Music/Sound: C
Value: B

Overall: C

Pros:
+ The story, if you can call it that, is very odd and there's no way anyone will be able to guess where it's going to go next.
+ The integration of live action scenes works very well.
+ There's a very creepypasta aspect to it that will probably interest some.
+ Priced very reasonably for what it is.

Cons:
- Really stretches the idea of what makes something a "game".
- While there is very little actual gameplay to be had, the controls are surprisingly not very responsive.
- There are times when the sound and visual shifts come off as more annoying than anything else.
- Gives off the vibes that it's a bunch of pre-made assets wrapped around some sock puppet footage.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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I guess I can blame these guys for this...

#ATTGTPD