A Hat In Time (PC) – hats off to Gears for Breakfast

The Switch isn’t the only system getting a hat-themed 3D platformer this month, as this indie gem offers a fun alternative to Super Mario.

£70 for a video game is madness and put me off buying a PS5 - Reader’s Feature

2017 has been a great year for video games, but naturally there’s still been some disappointments. Mass Effect: Andromeda is the most obvious one, but even though we seemed to like it more than most the one that really upset us was Yooka-Laylee. Andromeda looked awful almost from the first moment, but we genuinely thought Yooka-Laylee was going to usher in a new wave of retro 3D platformers. It wasn’t good enough to have that much influence, but A Hat In Time just might be…



Yooka-Laylee seemed like such a safe bet because it was developed by many of the same people behind the first two Banjo-Kazooie games on the N64. A Hat In Time developer Gears for Breakfast don’t have the same pedigree, but they do cite Rare’s 3D platformers, along with Super Mario 64, Psychonauts, and The Legend Of Zelda as their primary influences. So they’re clearly aiming high.

By odd coincidence (this was a Kickstarter project that started as long ago as 2013) both Super Mario Odyssey and A Hat In Time revolve around… hats. The story here is nonsensical, in the way only ‘90s video games can be, and involves Hat Kid being accosted by the inhabitants of Mafia Town for flying her spaceship too close to their planet without paying a toll. Who or what Hat Kid is, is not at first made clear but in the ensuing chaos the hourglasses that power her ship are lost and she has to set out to collect them.


Hat Kid’s arch rival Moustache Girl is also trying to collect the hourglasses, but despite what you’d assume time travel has very little to do with the plot. And while finding the hourglasses is your main goal it’s balls of wool that are the most exciting collectible, as they allow you to knit a new hat. And hats are good because each new one gives you a different power, from a fast sprint to bombs. This is where the Zelda comparisons come in, as Hat Kid’s repartee of skills and abilities increasingly begins to resemble that of Link.

Because this is a collectathon there are plenty of other objects to pick up along the way, with the next most important being badges. A lot of the time these end up being just as useful as the hats, particularly the one that lets you use a hookshot, while others grant more minor advantages such as highlighting objects or attracting them towards you. More unique collectibles open up extra levels if you complete the set (including the equivalent of Super Mario Sunshine’s super hard void levels), while others add more to the backstory of the game.

Although some of the hats do help, most of the combat is very simplistic and really only included for flavour. The platforming isn’t super complicated either, but then that’s in keeping with the style of game it’s trying to mimic, and it’s the exploration and endless hidden secrets that drive the game. A Hat In Time’s most important success, though, is that the camera works very well, and much better than Yooka-Laylee. There’s nothing retro about it and it functions perfectly well in both wide shots and more cramped locations.

A Hat In Time (PC) – we haven’t even mentioned the moped…

The odd thing about the level design is that the first world – Mafia Town – really isn’t very good. It’s a vaguely Italian-looking seaside town populated entirely by strange-looking clones speaking broken English, and it’s horribly off-putting. Some people are going to play it and give up on the whole game, and in a way we don’t blame. But stick with it, because things definitely improve.



The next one, for example, is set in a spooky forest and mansion where you have to deal with soul-stealing demons and other even stranger enemies (one of the bosses is a haunted toilet). There are some obvious nods to the Boo houses from Super Mario 64, but the next world is totally its own thing. It’s split between the completely different movie sets of an owl and a penguin, who are competing for an Oscar, and depending on which set you score more points in the relevant animal wins.

The Alpine setting of the next world is even better, which leads to the obvious assumption that the team made all the levels in chronological order. Each one manages to outdo the next in terms of unique ideas and basic competency, and you can almost feel them refining their skills at the same time as you explore their creations. And while it’s true the platforming itself never has quite the same tactile feel as a Super Mario game it’s definitely more satisfying than Yooka-Laylee.

It’s not available at launch but A Hat In Time promises splitscreen co-op for the console versions and online for PC, which is a welcome bonus. The console versions don’t have a release date yet but they’re still meant to be this year. By that point Super Mario Odyssey might already be out, and while we’re sure that’ll end up being the best 3D platformer of the year this will run it a surprisingly close second.

A Hat In Time In Short: A hugely entertaining 3D platformer that channels the imagination and unpredictability of older games without becoming a prisoner to the past. Pros: Wonderfully imaginative level design and mountains of collectables that never feel like a burden. Wide range of different abilities and lots of replayability. Cons: The level design starts off a bit rough and the platforming is never quite up to the standards of a Nintendo game. Score: 8/10

Formats: PC (reviewed), Xbox One, and PlayStation 4

Price: £22.99

Publisher: Gears for Breakfast

Developer: Gears for Breakfast

Release Date: 5th October 2017 (consoles TBC)

Age Rating: 7


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