I want a golden ticket....to the CIRCUS OF TIMTIM


A short disclaimer as I want to try something new - for games that trend under the 2 hours mark I am changing my rating system. For these shorter horror games I will be rating the out of 5 stars rather than 10. This does not diminish the quality of the game nor does it diminish it at all in my eyes. I merely am doing this as its easier for me to rate a game under 2 hours in length with a 5 star scale

Going to the circus is usually a fun experience for the whole family -- But in the case of Circus of Tim Tim it leaves the player with a racing heart beat and an awkward giggle. This stealth mascot survival horror game was developed by Mascot Bros Studio it currently retails for $8.99 on steam and was released on March 22, 2024.

This review may be shorter than others, since my game play clocked in at about 1 hr 30 minutes. Which for an indie horror game version of hide and seek was well paced and a bunch of fun.  The visuals were super cute, colors and kitschy. I liked the fact that the visuals were not overly bloody or gory and it was rather soft, with a purple fog that crept over the map, colorful signs, well designed carnival atmosphere. I really liked its wasn't a dark and dingy circus, but when looking through the eyes of a child, something like a circus would be so colorful and full of wonder. The sound design was well done, when you're out in the middle of nowhere at a broken down circus you wont hear much, the occasional wind gust, disembodied giggle, footsteps of a giant mutant baby - things typical of a ghost circus.

We play as a young girl who has to go back to the site of the circus to fetch her brothers device. As we grab it we discover we have to find Golden tickets in order to open the gate into the main area of the circus. This area acts as the tutorial on how to use our brothers device, as well as how to handle the controls of the game. it even includes a locker to learn the hiding mechanic. After collecting out tickets we exit the training area- before we can get back to the main gate, the cage with the giant baby exploded releasing the cute and not so cuddly bouncing baby is free to wreak havoc on not just the circus grounds but us as well. Here is where your game of hide and seek begins, using what we learned we must comb the grounds for 12 golden tickets to buy our freedom from the creepy admissions puppet. I do wish we had some more interactions via walkie with our brother - learning more of the lore, unlocking maybe another badddie or other secrets.

The game play was smooth and I had no issues in my playthrough. The controls were easy enough to master an the mechanics were not overly complicated. The ticket finder machine was easy to use however I found myself over thinking a lot only to find the ticket was directly in front of me. I attribute this to me just being not so observant. 



The character design was as I have stated prior - cute, kitsch and creepy! We don't see much of our main character nor of our brother. We do however see a few of what I can only assume will be unlockable characters of The Ballerinas, The Bunny, Grandpa and more. I wanted to see more of  these characters and I would have loved to see what the MC looked like, I was able to see she had brown hair when my mouse jumped up and I was able to see her hair. But overall the characters we did see were well designed and well placed within the story!

SOUND DESIGN & VISUALS:⭐⭐⭐ 3/5

GAMEPLAY: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5

CONTROLS:⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5

STORY:⭐⭐⭐ 3/5

CHARACTER DESIGN:⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5

Overall Score: 3.6 / 5


FINAL THOUGHTS: 

Circus of TimTim was such a fun time. At the time of when I played the game it was the Alpha release and there already was a patch released addressing some of the concerns that I had. As I always do I will make an addendum to the review, whenever I have the chance to replay Circus of TimTim. I really enjoyed my time playing this game and I was kindly gifted a key by Mascot Bros Studio, to which I am eternally grateful. I do recommend this game if you're looking for a shorter easier to digest horror experience - my chat really had a great time with the jump scares and overall presentation of the game! I can't wait to see more from this developer!  

Pick up Circus of TimTim here!!!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Nigh is Grey and full of wolves....

  The Night is Grey is a slow burn, hand drawn, indie point and click adventure game blended with dark undertones of childhood trauma and PTSD and overcoming those traumas through finding yourself through caring for another. TNIG was developed by Whalestork games, releasing on steam in January 2024, it has a run time of about 3-6 hours and has a price tag of $15.99.  I had the absolute pleasure of playing TNIG over the course of 2 days and I enjoyed every single hand animated moment. I would be remiss if I did not start this review with the sound design and visuals. Whalestork games meticulously crafted environments with a precision that I have not seen in quite some time. I was enraptured with just how breathtaking the backgrounds were and how well the characters overlaid into it. The sound design on the other hand, exceeded well beyond my expectations, the swells of beautifully composed music and alluring visuals transported me on the journey with Graham and Hannah as they quested fo
Read more

Hi....I'm alive, dont worry!

Quick update friends!  Mentally i am not in the best of places, but i need yall to know that ill be okay.....let me explain.... I've been a bit off lately don't worry I am OK. I had some things happen to me while at work, I can't talk about it yet, but again rest assured I am OK. My CFS has been particularly bad as of late and the pain i deal woth on a day to day basis (without any pain managament) is insaine. Some.days the fact I'm able to function is a miracle.   Reviews will be jumping back in next week with "Rewind or Die". I will also be uploading a no commentary playthrough part 9 of WTC: Loves Labours Lost VN as well as working on a secret project for you all.  Every Thursday (when I close or am off) we will be doing Tomb Raider Thursdays toll I work my way through the Remastered series. It was such an important part of life and I have Loved Lara since I was 10 years old. Indie games will occupy the other stream for the week - I have some demos to get t
Read more

The Blockbuster from hell: Rewind or Die

Have you ever wanted to work at a local video store (complete with spicy section) while out running a bloodthirsty serial killer? The Rewind or Die is the game for you! This game was launched in April 2023 and is currently available for $11.99 is developed by comp3-interactive and published by Torture star video. It took me about 4 + hours to complete.  Rewind or Die features PSX retro style graphics, full voice acting and a killer soundtrack that would make the metal gods gleeful. The style of the graphics took me back to a better time, when I only had to focus on beating a game and not the existential dread of being an adult and paying bills. Visually it was fantastic and really captured the late 90s aesthetic, color themes and overall tone, most of the time I prefer a more basic graphic style and I love more of the focus on the story. The sound design was fantastic especially when we were in the video store, or the dark dingy tunnels, the developer really captured the ambient sound
Read more