[PAX East 14] A Hat in Time Preview: Collect Them All

[PAX East 14] A Hat in Time Preview: Collect Them All

queen_vanessa_pax_imbFamous for achieving almost ten times its Kickstarter goal, A Hat in Time and its developer Gears for Breakfast is at PAX East to give players not in the backer alpha a chance to try the game.

Created as an homage to the collect-a-thon adventure games of the Nintendo 64, A Hat in Time looks to update the formula and allow for a buddy to join you on your quest. For PAX, Gears for Breakfast decided to show off two levels and the game’s co-op play.

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The stage we played was set in a haunted manor. Gears for Breakfast mentioned that each level was designed around a theme, this one’s theme being creepy, and it showed. Different notes scattered throughout the environment hinted at some of the evil things that happened within the manor’s walls and how they might relate to the player. The stage used this creepy vibe to set up a few puzzles, including one which required you to attack a shadow of a little girl by timing light switches to when she walked into certain rooms. The vibe was also used to show off one of the powers players will gain during the adventure. By adorning a pair of goggles, players are now able to see and interact with hidden objects and different writings throughout the manor. Interestingly the level  we played didn’t have many collectables, but this could be because of the environment’s closed in area, or they just haven’t been added to that area yet.

The game has a long way to go and even featured a “Super-Early Build” tag at the bottom of the screen during gameplay, but A Hat in Time is shaping up to be a refreshing take on a genre that hasn’t seen much life recently.