12 Minutes is one of the most intriguing video game prospects in recent memory. 12 Minutes is played from a top-down perspective in one single house. A husband and wife are trapped in a 12-minute cycle, and it's up to the player to determine what is going on and even control the narrative.
The initial trailer and announcement of 12 Minutes at E3 2019 opened eyes and dropped jaws. The game looks chilling, powerful, and unlike anything that most players have experienced before. And now, thanks to a behind-the-scenes look of the game, new information has presented itself about what players can expect.
According to Luis Antonio, the game's creative director, the idea started out much smaller in scope. But Antonio realized he could go much deeper and wanted to analyze the dangers of "truly examining within." The all-star cast of 12 Minutes was astonished by the scope of the game, with James McAvoy, who plays the husband in the game, claiming that the script was too long to even read completely.
The time loop, and the story of 12 Minutes, is about how each player deals with their own truth and the truth of those around them. In the loop, the husband and wife are eating dinner when the wife shares with her husband that she is pregnant. Just moments later, a detective bursts through the door, claiming that the wife is a murderer. But the cycle can be broken, and the end result doesn't need to end in death. The incredibly intriguing game is set to be an Xbox One and Series X console exclusive.
The cast of 12 Minutes has an incredible filmography, and the talent that is brought to this game seems to result in breathtaking performances. The team had to work in difficult scenarios for the project, given the hardship of COVID-19. The voice-acting recording work of McAvoy and Daisy Ridley, known for her role in Star Wars, was done in London, with face masks and social distancing. Meanwhile, Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man, The Lighthouse) recorded his lines in Rome, all while Antonio ran various Zoom meetings from San Francisco.
Time manipulation, but more specifically time looping, is a great idea for video games. Players are used to dying and trying again in games, but wrapping an element of that into the story is brilliant. Bethesda's Deathloop is attempting this in an action shooting game, and 12 Minutes looks to pull it off from a very story-heavy perspective.
Twelve Minutes is scheduled to release in 2020 for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X
Source: GameSpot