Buzzkill or Bucket List? 'Time Flies' Gives You Seconds to Find God (No, Really)
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
'Time Flies' is a bizarre and brilliant game where you play as a fly with a lifespan determined by your region's life expectancy, tasked with completing a bucket list that includes finding God, all in under a minute. Get ready to contemplate your mortality while buzzing around a hand-drawn world.
Right, so you know that feeling when you're supposed to be doing something important, but you end up staring at a fly buzzing around the room, contemplating the futility of existence? Well, someone made a game about it. And fair dinkum, it looks brilliant. Courtesy of those wonderfully weird Swiss devs at Playables (via Rock Paper Shotgun), 'Time Flies' is hitting PC on July 31st, and it's exactly what it sounds like: a game where you play as a fly with a severely limited lifespan.
Now, here's the kicker: your lifespan in the game isn't just a random number. Oh no. It's tied to the average life expectancy in your region, according to the World Health Organization. Artist and director Michael Frei explained in a PS Blog (as reported by RPS) that if you're playing in the US, you'll get roughly 76.4 seconds. If you're in the UK? Congrats, you've got a whopping 80.1 seconds to fly around and make the most of it.
But what *is* "the most of it" for a fly? That's where the bucket list comes in. You've got a list of things to accomplish before you... well, before you get swatted (or just die of old age, which, let's face it, is pretty much the same thing for a fly). The list includes everything from getting drunk and learning an instrument, to making someone laugh and…finding God. (Seriously, finding God is on the list. I reckon that's harder than beating Elden Ring blindfolded).
"What to do in this world before you die? That is a difficult question to answer," Frei wrote. "Luckily, the game contains a list of things for you to do. All you need to do is figure out how to do them, and then do them all within one lifetime. It might seem impossible at first, but you can die trying, and eventually you’ll get the hang of it. It is a game about life, but you get many chances."
It sounds like the kind of game that will make you laugh, cry, and then question all your life choices while simultaneously trying to guide a digital fly to enlightenment. And honestly, isn't that what gaming is all about? I'm already picturing speedruns dedicated to finding God in under a minute. The existential dread *and* the comedic potential? I'm in.
Tags: indie games, existential, simulation, comedy, unique mechanics
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun