App Army Assemble: Crushed In Time - "Is this comedic point-and-click adventure a must-play?"

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App Army Assemble: Crushed In Time - "Is this comedic point-and-click adventure a must-play?"

We ask the App Army

Crushed In Time is yet another point-and-click adventure from the folks behind There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension. Given that our App Army is familiar with the team's previous work, we decided to ask them if Draw Me A Pixel's latest effort is worth playing.

Here's what they said:

Jason Rosner

Crushed In Time is a beautifully animated cartoon-style adventure following the iconic duo of Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson. While the game falls into the traditional point-and-click genre, you’ll actually be using a rather fun “catch and stretch” mechanic that works really well on your touchscreen device. The presentation is all top-notch, everything looks simply gorgeous, and the excellent dialogue is superbly voice-acted, keeping you glued to the screen throughout.

The puzzles here can get challenging at times; I often found myself resorting to some trial and error. Luckily, there’s a really nice hint system that’s available to alleviate any difficulties you may run into, which you can use at your discretion. I loved my time spent with Crushed In Time - two thumbs up!

Mark Abukoff

This is a fun point-and-click adventure. The cartoon graphics are appealing. The stretch and release system is unique and adds to the atmosphere; the occasional fourth-wall breaking and British humour make it fun. Fun enough to make up for the initial frustration.

I needed the hint system a lot early on, but less as I started to get the groove of the game. And yeah, I’m pretty much always up for some time travel hills. In an App Store full of point-and-click games (that I’m honestly not a huge fan of, mostly because I’m not always good at them?) This one rises above the pack thanks to its relentless fun and humour. Definitely worth trying for free.

Bruno Ramalho

I was expecting a point-and-click adventure, and then I noticed the developers are the same ones responsible for the There Is No Game game. And that's how we get a very ingenious slingshot-and-click game instead of a classic point-and-click. So, the fourth wall breaks in this Sherlock Holmes reimagination adventure with some time travel added to the mix, where we need to stretch everything and every object on screen to make things happen or move. Our heroes feel that something paranormal is happening around them (shhh, don't tell them—it's our hand doing the paranormal stuff, the hand of God). With a lot of humour everywhere, you can see the characters complaining for something to happen.

Then, we make it happen by stretching something or activating an object by means of rotation, and they will take credit for whatever happened. The puzzles are fun to solve, and there's a hint system in place if you don't like to rely on trial and error so much. A lot of physics is involved in how we manipulate objects and people to make things happen. I must say I'm having a lot of fun with this game. The mechanics and controls are very innovative; the voice acting and humour are superb, as are the graphics, animations, and the Indiana Jones-like soundtrack. There aren't a lot of games like this one, that's for sure. If you're into point-and-click games, or just games completely outside the box, this one is surely for you.

Robert Maines

Crushed in Time is a good-looking point-and-click adventure. A game within a game, as a mysterious letter sends Holmes and Watson on a journey. The novelty here is that you manipulate the characters and objects by stretching and releasing areas of the screen. The cartoon graphics and voice acting are good, and there is an excellent hint system. The stretching mechanic can be frustrating at times; it took me a while just to wake up Holmes at the start. Recommended if you like this type of game.

Sangeet Shukla

Crushed in Time is overall brilliant and unique in terms of controls, as things work with elastic controls (instead of tap or button control, we have to grab, pull, and release). I love the comedic theme, superb writing and voiceovers. The puzzles work like magic, especially because of those unique controls. Cartoon graphics work like charm, and also a shout-out for giving amazing animation work when we interact with the world in the game.

Diane Close

Crushed in Time is a fourth-wall-breaking British humour puzzle where the linear adventure game approach with all of its typical crazy inventory combinations is replaced by physics-based gameplay and some tricky timing combos too. The conceit is that the game developers have lost control of their code, so the in-game characters must traverse the program and save the day by setting the environment to rights.

Does it work? Yes... and no. The generous use of “point-and-click game logic” often means you’ll rely on a great deal of trial and error (or the hint system) to find the exact solution dreamed up by a specific developer rather than something you think should work. While that’s typical of p&c games in general, it’s doubled down on here due to the stretch-and-release game mechanic, which works better on a touch screen than on a computer.

Beautiful graphics, inventive approach to puzzle solving (which fails as often as it succeeds), silly humour, good music and voice work all add up to something worth trying. Fortunately, there’s a lengthy demo if you want to try before buying. The full game runs about 6 hours of playtime. Recommended if you can stand frustration. Best in short bursts.

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