Introduction

I love social media sometimes and not just for the random posts and images I see. Honestly, social media will occasionally reveal an unknown product to me and I’ll thank the online Gods I found this post. One day when I was on X, I ran into a post from a game I had never heard of before called The Time I Have Left. Apparently, the demo for this indie title was released long ago—like three years ago long—that instantly grabbed my attention. Apparently, The Time I Have Left was being criticized by some gamers for having mechanics quite similar to Expedition 33. Still, as a die-hard fan of Expedition 33, any game compared to it has my immediate attention and I went to Steam to download the demo. Was the comment saying this was just a rip-off of Expedition 33, or is this just another keyboard warrior making baseless claims? You know I had to find out in my review of The Time I Have Left demo!

Gameplay

Right away let me say to whoever just throws out the comment that The Time I Have Left is a rip-off of Expedition 33—they clearly haven’t played the demo or watched any trailer about it. The Time I Have Left’s demo doesn’t reveal everything about the game, but it does give a nice amount of content to see what you can expect. There is a heavy emphasis on dodging and blocking attacks in a turn-based style game, but The Time I Have Left is so much more, and I think it can be great with some fine tuning.

Split into two gameplay themes, The Time I Have Left is one part exploration/adventure title and another part a turn-based RPG. You control Aline, a young woman who, as the title suggests, is going to die in six hours. How to avoid this death isn’t obvious, but that death will occur if you stand around and do nothing. You as the player need to guide Aline in this strange sci-fi horror world filled with mystery.

The Time I Have Left almost feels like a Silent Hill game. You explore a strange world that feels lonely and detached from reality. In the demo at least, it seems like no one is around and the future-themed halls are lifeless and only barely lit by fluorescent lights. Memos and posters show there was life here and people who existed, but where they are and what exactly happened isn’t immediately evident. Then you end up thrown into another world with monstrous creatures and strange shadowy figures and realize maybe this is like a place between life and hell.

When you first end up in the other world, you encounter the game’s second form—a turn-based title. Though this isn’t a title where you’re battling with giant swords and OP guns. Aline seems unable to do much physically to these monster-like enemies, but she can dodge and block their attacks. This is where The Time I Have Left seems inspired by Expedition 33 and Lost Odyssey. You need to time your movements to avoid being hit and losing willpower. Your willpower is your HP in The Time I Have Left, and if that zeros out you won’t die per se, but you will lessen the time left on your character’s life.

Dodging is actually pretty fun. There aren’t a ton of enemy variants in the demo, but the few give you an idea of how to dodge and block attacks. There’s a bit of a learning curve, but it’s not extremely difficult once you realize the enemies show their movements and how to best handle them. Aline does have abilities to move around to avoid specific attacks or use special abilities like healing herself and reducing the enemy’s willpower too. What is interesting about The Time I Have Left is that these battles are battles of attrition. Wear the enemy out and they will flee, or use specific powers to run too.

The Time I Have Left does have one big element I can’t forget to discuss—the timer system. Set at six hours at first—the demo drops that to a lower number—players can’t just stay still and not run out the timer. If the timer hits zero, game over. In combat, story segments, and some exploration slow down the timer so there’s no need to worry there. You can also rest in waiting rooms to recover willpower, but that means spending time. I would say it’s a better move to use healing powers in combat to regain willpower than using the waiting areas. I can see the timer being a bit annoying in some later areas—if the maps are as large as the demo—but I equally think it adds a nice feeling of dread and the need to move.

My worry that I can see in the final build is how battles begin to play out later. For the few hours I invested in The Time I Have Left, I began to wonder if this demo shows what to expect for a majority of the game. Will I always be only dodging and wearing down the enemy’s patience, or will I gain more skills to combat these creatures? Likewise, is exploration always going to feel like I’m in a lifeless future setting, or will there be areas with people and other NPCs? I don’t hold this against The Time I Have Left as again, this is just a demo—but these questions do leave me a bit worried for the end product.

Graphics

Part of me adores the visuals in The Time I Have Left. One part cyber-future-themed and another horror-like, The Time I Have Left has a graphical design that screams indie game but with clear effort put in. The designs are what grab my attention almost instantly. Aline isn’t an unattractive female, but she feels like someone I can imagine in the real world, aside from her attire. The same can be said of the landscapes—yes, there are no colonies in the current era, but these apartments and rooms almost mirror ones I’d find in NYC on a good day, small and confined. The enemy design is the star of the show in The Time I Have Left; these creatures are amalgamations of faces and hands, like they took on multiple bodies to fuse into a grotesque beast. I do wish there was just a tad more flair in the battle landscapes, but it could be just a demo thing and not representative of the final build.

Sound

The music in The Time I Have Left screams RPG horror. Those who have played games like Shadow Hearts or Parasite Eve will kind of know what to expect. The creepy battle score makes each skirmish feel like a test of survival, while exploring makes the timer feel consistent and ever present. No voice acting—as of now—aside from the strange noises of the random shadow figures and enemies, but maybe the final game will have some voice acting thrown in.

Story

I want to know more about Aline and her world in The Time I Have Left. There’s a lot that seems to be happening here from a possible outbreak to other themes I won’t spoil here. The Time I Have Left has great story potential and with some fleshing out here and there, I doubt many will dislike the world Aline’s surviving in.

Overall Impression

The Time I Have Left’s demo is a prime example of a developer who wishes to make something new but with themes from great games come and gone. I feel bad they get so much hate online for “copying” Expedition 33 when I think this is just a silly comment. The Time I Have Left isn’t perfect and I have some issues with it, but I can see with some time and development this game could be quite impressive. I enjoyed my time with it and can’t wait for the final release.

Conclusion

There is a lot of potential in The Time I Have Left and I mean a lot! I love the pseudo Silent Hill exploration and different way of turn-based combat. Likewise, the world and themes could provide a fresh sci-fi horror take on the genre. What worries me is how much is fleshed out in The Time I Have Left. Will combat become more than just dodge and parry? Do we meet others who are surviving in this dark world? Will exploration venture beyond the strange colony setting? Those themes worry me, but in the end, The Time I Have Left’s demo gives me hope for a final product that could be a great game!

—Aaron