Time Flies Review (PS5) – A Fly In The Enjoyment

We’re all clambering to complete our bucket lists, often thinking there’s not enough time in the world to do everything. So, you can imagine the constraints a fly must face with a life expectancy of only 28 days. Developer, Playables, has taken this notion quite seriously, whilst creating a game that is anything but, in Time Flies. The fly in question has a lifespan indicative of your current location by country, turning the years into seconds. Currently residing in the UK, my fly has 80.1 seconds to live and a to-do list to complete before time’s up.

It culminates into something slightly profound, hilarious, but, much like the fly, short-lived. But don’t let its short playtime and crudely handrawn style fool you, this is a must-play that’s comparable to the likes of Untitled Goose Game and Little Kitty, Big City as endearing portraits of a being’s personality. Just this one likes to hang around poo sometimes. Are you ready to learn about the buzz behind Time Flies?

Would You Still Love Me If I Was A Fly?

As I mentioned, you have your country’s lifespan turned into seconds as you start your journey as the first fly. In these short jaunts, you’re given a slightly vague to-do list that relates to some of the objects or places within the house as your timer ticks down. They start off easy like ‘Get Drunk’ but gradually become more absurd as you go on, like ‘Start a Revolution’. It’s daft as anything, but there’s a resemblance of something honest about parts of each bucket list that can become existential in a way. I’ll more than likely never start a revolution, but making someone smile or reconnecting with friends is more than achievable, especially if a fly can do it.

Given the intentionally subversive bucket list, I find myself exploring the levels almost methodically, as the developers have created a small sandbox with a speedrun twist. Oftentimes, I found myself frantically scouring every nook and cranny of each screen that makes up the level. Resulting in a swift 80 seconds till my fly would drop dead, and I’d be the next fly – which is numbered in the corner. The way to progress is to complete the bucket list before dying.

However, with interactables scattered around the levels, that may or may not be towards a goal, the game spurs you on to think practically on the move. Like with the goal to get drunk, I saw a glass full of wine and immediately flew into it thinking, “yeah, this’ll do it”. And it sure did, dead fly in the drink and then I think back to the countless outdoor events where a bug ended up drowned in my booze.

So’s Not To Kill My Buzz

Then I started making those connections, like a fly to a lightbulb would also meet a quick end, the drop of water from a tap would feel like a thousand punches. I became a fly, just without the grizzly outcome Jeff Goldblum faced. The controls for Time Flies are simply just the left analog stick, and everything you interact with reflects the physics of the fly in surprisingly well-thought-out ways.

Things like pushing objects with the fly’s body or flying into windows let out a whimpering dink, and the DualSense haptics tap accordingly, selling what is possibly the strangest type of immersion in a game. The rest of it, you’ll have to find out for yourself, but there’s a fair amount to interact with that are all quite funny.

Nothing that had me in bits, but I was certainly chuckling at some of the more childish goals once I figured them out. Where it falters a little, though, is that the gameplay doesn’t get any more elaborate the further you progress. This resulted in me learning how the game wants me to think in the first level, then applying that in the rest with little to no difficulty.

A Fly’s Life

This then results in quite a brisk game. I’ve clocked in about 2 hours, having beaten it, gotten most of the miscellaneous trophies and most of the collectible puzzle pieces. To 100% might add an hour on top of that, but some of the collectible locations have me stumped as they are where Time Flies gets really creative and strange with their ideas.

And that’s about as deep as the game gets; it’s a collection of clever or funny ideas, most of the time both, that are confined to the ability of a fly. The game doesn’t expand or become a bigger brain teaser, but the lack of friction meant for a game, that I could shut my brain off and giggle for a couple of hours. The visual style is rudimentary but strong in identity, the soundscape and physics of the playable fly and the levels it buzzes around in are surprisingly immersive, and even a little bit contemplative, if you’re reading deeper into it.

Overall, Time Flies turns the existence of a fly into something thoughtful, funny and a joy to play, despite its short playtime. I wish there were more game here, something that expands the capabilities, but what more can they do with just 80 seconds to live?

Time Flies is out now for PlayStation 5 (review platform), Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam.

Developers: Playables

Publisher: Panic

Disclaimer: In order to complete this review, we were provided with a promotional copy of the game. For our full review policy, please go here.

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