Many think of the humble platformer as the starting point for video games, thanks largely to Mario and Co. It’s hardly a surprise then, that the retro take on the genre is where gamers are truly spoiled for choice. I’ll be straight though, it’s getting more and more difficult finding ways to kick off reviews of such games, I’ve played that many.

Anyhow, you’re probably wondering what makes 10 Seconds to Win! stand out from the crowd? Well, there is a clue in the title.

That’s right, as soon as you take your first step in 10 Seconds to Win!, the countdown begins and you only have ten seconds to reach the goal (the other side of your screen in this case). It sounds thrilling, however, in what I think is a missed opportunity, there is no building of pressure or tension as the clock ticks down to zero.

What I would have liked to hear was perhaps the music speeding up, or a klaxon going off in the background when the timer broke the three seconds to go barrier. Sadly, in a game based entirely on performing against the clock, you simply snap back to the beginning of the level in the blink of an eye, and with no fanfare. This is part of the reason 10 Seconds to Win! is missing some excitement.

The large trophy makes it quite clear where you need to go, as you take control of an unnamed blonde hero. Although it’s not quite clear as to his identity, or what exactly makes him a hero.

There are 100 levels to beat in total which gradually grow in difficulty. The young hero can jump and dash in any direction whilst in mid-air. He is a dab hand at wall jumping too. That’s all you need to master in 10 Seconds To Win! Instead, spikes, buzzsaws and springboards will make life more difficult for you. 

The trickiest segments come about where you need to clear some pretty wide chasms. Fortunately, there are little blue tokens which grant you an extra dash, meaning you can chain them together whilst airborne. Timing is the biggest challenge, as well-placed spikes will immediately punish you if you get it wrong. The mystery lad is light and slippy to handle, making navigating the many hazards against the clock tricky at points. You’ll also need to hone your reaction skills because late button presses will send him hurtling to an untimely death, as he fails to jump. Similar to running out of time, death will simply snap you back to the start of the level with no other consequences. This keeps the pace fast and frantic, which neatly dovetails with the countdown element.

Interestingly, level 50 plays out across multiple screens, and is a little longer than those which preceded it. So much so there are time extensions dotted around that you will need to grab if you want to make it to the end. But when you do, an odd sense of deja vu may creep in.

This is because you’ll proceed to play through the first half of the game again, only this time from right to left. Sometimes, this change provides a genuinely different challenge to before thanks to how the levels are structured. However, a lot of the time it feels like a bit of a cop out, especially given the claim there are 100 levels to play and some are pretty much identical. It also means the difficulty curve works in peaks and troughs. 

Honestly, 10 Seconds to Win! isn’t really that difficult. One or two levels may have you stuck for a few minutes, but you’ll have it wrapped up comfortably in under an hour. At £4.19 it’s priced very much on a par with competitors in the genre, but the pessimist in me thinks there may be another reason you may want to purchase.

That’s right, there’s a whopping 2000 Gamerscore up for grabs here. As is usual, this is generously showered upon you as the levels tumble and you don’t even need to complete them all before you’ve bagged all the Gamerscore on offer. Describing them as “achievements” is probably pushing the definition a bit.

10 Seconds to Win! is as formulaic as they come, but remains an enjoyable little platformer, despite the fact it’s all over in a flash.

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• Source: https://www.thexboxhub.com/10-seconds-to-win-review/