3
Minutes
to
Midnight
debuted
earlier
this
year
on
PC,
but
now
its
come
to
console
where
the
adventure
game
does
not
typically
thrive.
Whether
it’s
because
people
much
prefer
a
mouse
and
keyboard
or
because
the
console
crowd
just
isn’t
interested
in
solving
puzzles,
I
couldn’t
say,
but
what
I
do
know
is
3
Minutes
to
Midnight
is
a
funny
and
charming
adventure.

Betty
is
definitely
on
the
crazier
end
of
the
adventure
game
spectrum.
While
she
has
a
good
heart,
she’s
also
a
little
clueless,
a
tad
destructive
and
comprised
of
110%
manic
energy.
She’s
a
prankster
and
a
mischief
maker,
which
explains
the
rough
relationship
she
has
with
her
mother
(and
second
playable
character)
Mayor
Eliza
who
often
struggles
to
express
her
feelings
in
any
other
way
than
strictness
and
tough
love.
The
fact
that
the
Mayor
refers
to
her
daughter
as
“offspring”
really
tells
you
everything
you
need
to
know.

Available
On:
PC,
PS4,
PS5,
Xbox
Series
S,
Xbox
Series
X,
Switch
Reviewed
On:
PS5
Developed
by:
Scarecrow
Studio
Published
by:
Scarecrow
Studio

Review
code
provided
by
Scarecrow
Studio

Unfortunately
for
Betty
and
the
townsfolk,
some
crazy
accident
has
resulted
in
everyone
losing
their
memories,
so
now
it’s
up
to
our
heroine
to
unravel
the
crazy
conspiracy.
That
means
dealing
with
her
uncaring
Mayor/mother,
investigating
the
military
base
just
outside
of
town,
rounding
up
ghost
chickens,
feeding
a
hamster
too
much
sugar
and
generally
causing
chaos
wherever
she
steps
foot.
And
then
the
game
flips
the
script
by
putting
you
into
the
stylish
high
heels
of
Betty’s
mother.
It’s
a
fun
twist,
especially
because
Eliza’s
portion
of
the
game
takes
place
at
slightly
different
times,
which
in
turn
adds
a
lot
of
context
to
Betty’s
misadventures
earlier.

3
Minutes
to
Midnight
claims
to
have
the
largest
script
ever
for
an
adventure
game.
It’s
impossible
for
me
to
verify
if
this
is
accurate,
but
I
can
certainly
say
3
Minutes
to
Midnight
is
a
wordy
game,
and
quite
long
for
a
point-and-clicker.
Sometimes
that’s
to
its
credit
as
it
delves
into
various
aspects
of
the
story
and
characters
or
expands
on
the
universe.
The
game’s
script
is
packed
full
of
zany,
memorable
characters
who
are
absolutely
worth
spending
time
with,
whether
it’s
the
wrench-happy
Linda
or
the
commie-hating
Ben.
Other
times
though,
it
can
be
needlessly
verbose
with
meandering
dialogue
trees
that
go
nowhere,
ramble
on
and
obscure
what
you
actually
need
to
know
to
advance
the
plot.
And
it
does
frequently
linger
for
far
too
long
on
a
joke
or
scene,
well
past
the
point
where
it
should
have
packed
up
and
moved
on
with
its
life.

The
writing
quality
can
be
equally
inconsistent
in
times,
too.
In
its
quest
to
be
funny
and
zany,
the
game
can
often
come
across
as
trying
too
hard
by
turning
every
line
and
moment
into
an
attempted
joke.
It’s
the
shotgun
approach,
spraying
you
with
joke-shot
in
the
hopes
that
at
least
some
of
it
will
hit.
There
are
also
a
lot
of
references
used,
some
of
which
land
and
many
of
which
don’t,
and
a
couple
of
very
random
moments
that
come
out
of
nowhere.

Flaws
aside
though,
I
generally
had
a
good
time
with
the
story.
It’s
supported
by
an
interesting
cast
of
characters
and
some
really
strong
vocal
performances.
Betty’s
actress,
in
particular,
brings
an
impressive
level
of
energy
to
the
role
that
suits
the
character’s
chaotic
nature.
The
writing
isn’t
quite
as
sharp
as
some
of
the
classic
titles
3
Minutes
to
Midnight
wants
to
emulate
but
it’s
still
very
funny
in
places.
At
about
10-15
hours
it
stretches
things
out
farther
than
it
probably
should,
but
that
didn’t
stop
me
from
having
a
good
time.

Of
course,
it
helps
that
3
Minutes
to
Midnight
looks
lovely.
The
small,
rural
American
town
is
depicted
as
a
classic
slice
of
Americana
set
during
the
Cold
War,
from
the
diner
to
the
clothing.
The
artwork
is
gorgeous,
capturing
the
exaggerated
elements
of
classic
point-and-click
adventure
games
while
giving
it
a
modern
makeover.

While
not
as
smooth
as
playing
with
a
mouse,
the
controls
for
the
PS5
version
of
3
Minutes
to
Midnight
work
pretty
well.
Betty
walks
around
using
the
left
stick,
only
occasionally
getting
stuck
on
the
scenery,
while
the
triggers
are
used
to
quickly
swap
between
interactive
elements
on
the
screen.
The
bumpers
let
you
cycle
through
Betty’s
inventory,
or
you
can
just
open
it
up
with
a
tap
of
the
triangle
button.
The
biggest
problem
is
that
the
shoulder
buttons
don’t
work
correctly,
usually
taking
a
couple
of
presses
before
they
start
swapping
between
items.
Hopefully,
that
will
get
patched
quickly.

Being
an
adventure
game,
3
Minutes
to
Midnight
lives
and
dies
based
on
its
story
and
the
quality
of
its
puzzles.
Items
must
be
combined,
every
piece
of
scenery
must
be
clicked
on
to
discover
vital
clues
and
characters
need
to
be
talked
too,
all
in
the
name
of
overcoming
the
latest
hurdle.
Maybe
you
need
to
set
off
a
high-school
science
experiment
to
distract
a
janitor.
Maybe
you
need
to
distract
a
sheriff
so
you
can
steal
some
evidence.
Or
maybe
you
need
to
engage
in
an
intellectually
challenging
conversation
with
a
deranged
quacking
chicken.

The
game
does
occasionally
veer
into
the
crazier
side
of
puzzle-solving
though,
where
the
logic
needed
to
figure
something
out
resembles
how
a
5-year-old
reckons
the
world
works.
There
were
a
few
moments
where
I
had
to
rub
objects
against
things
in
the
vague
hope
of
making
some
progress,
or
had
to
spend
too
long
trudging
back
and
forth
across
town
talking
to
every
single
character
in
case
they
said
something
I
missed.
But
for
the
most
part,
the
puzzles
are
fun
to
solve
and
don’t
require
too
many
insane
feats
of
logical
gymnastics
to
overcome.
Veterans
of
the
genre
shouldn’t
have
a
problem.
Newcomers
should
also
handle
it
quite
well,
though
some
sort
of
hint
system
like
we’ve
seen
in
other
modern
adventure
games
could
have
been
helpful.

One
of
the
game’s
most
intriguing
ideas
is
that
the
story
offers
multiple
endings
and
routes.
As
you
play
the
game,
puzzles
can
often
be
solved
in
a
couple
of
different
ways
and
you’ll
have
the
opportunity
to
make
choices
which
determine
how
the
story
plays
out.
Whole
characters
and
sections
might
be
skipped
depending
on
what
you
do,
and
there’s
even
a
secret
ending
which
can
resolve
the
whole
story
in
5-6
hours
rather
than
the
10-15
it
might
normally
take.

It’s
a
very
cool
concept,
but
one
I
feel
doesn’t
fit
into
the
adventure
game
genre.
Going
back
and
replaying
the
game
again
doesn’t
feel
enticing
because
I’ll
already
know
how
to
solve
most
of
the
puzzles.
The
story
changes
are
more
appealing,
although
it
isn’t
always
very
clear
where
the
plot
branches
out.
A
progress
tracker
in
the
PC
version
of
the
game
helps
with
this,
but
on
the
console
version,
it
currently
isn’t
working,
displaying
a
message
that
it’s
currently
being
improved.
Hopefully,
that
will
be
up
and
running
soon
as
it
would
help
make
replaying
the
game
more
appealing.
Most
of
the
time,
I
didn’t
even
realise
I
was
solving
a
puzzle
a
different
way
or
making
an
important
decision.
On
the
one
hand,
that
means
the
choices
are
woven
into
the
story
in
a
very
natural
way,
but
on
the
other
hand
it
meant
I
thought
I
was
just
playing
through
a
linear
game.

3
Minutes
to
Midnight
is
a
highly
entertaining
point-and-click
adventure
game.
It’s
funny,
it’s
packed
with
interesting
characters
and
it
tells
a
great
story.
Whether
you’re
a
seasoned
pro
at
using
wacky
logic
to
solve
puzzles
or
a
newcomer
who
doesn’t
know
why
you’d
ever
need
to
try
combining
every
single
item
in
your
inventory,
3
Minutes
to
Midnight
is
worth
checking
out.