3 Minutes to Midnight - A Comedy Graphic Adventure

All i want in a good adventure... and even more through multiple ways to play and solve puzzles.
I am not quite done with the story, but it is so much fun and so far a game that earns a place in my (adventure)heart

"3 minutes (to midnight)" doesn't even come close.
This game has so much extra content (in the form of witty dialogue), it lasted me almost as long as a AAA production with (probably) 100 times the budget.
And after finally finishing it, I found out that there's FOUR MORE ENDINGS to unlock?!? Unbelievable!

Admittedly, some of the numerous pop culture homages felt a bit too on the nose (not to say cringey), but the quirky characters, the stellar voice acting, the top-shelf artwork and the smooth animations made up for that.

It's also worth mentioning that the games renders in 4K natively - crisp graphics all around.

I hope the developers still have enough energy to make a sequel! <3

This game is so cool! I just finished my first run and I’m already excited to start again. It’s a point-and-click adventure that really pulls you in with its cool story and interesting world. The puzzles are not too easy, but not too hard either, so I felt smart when I solved them. There are so many hidden secrets and different paths you can take. I'm sure I missed a lot on my first try.

The characters are really great, and there are tons of items to find and use. The writing is super funny and made me smile, and the voice acting is just perfect. I can’t wait to discover more secrets, unlock different endings, and really get to know this world better! Recommended 10/10! 🤩

🕰️ 3 Minutes to Midnight - A Nostalgic Yet Fresh Point-and-Click Adventure 🎨✨

Sum-Up

I've played hundreds of point & click adventures, and because the many positive reviews i decided i'm gonna play Three minutes to Midnight.
The first chapters were mainly positive because of the witty and sarcastic dialoques, but after awhile the dialoques start to be less humoristic, and seem to be added to increase playing time, instead of adding gameplay interactions.
Further there are very limited items to pickup, so interactions with items are also very minimal.
After finishing the game, my final verdict is that this game left an impression of a interactive cartoon with some funny situations, but also with alot of lengthly and irrelevant conversastions, and minimal item interactions.

Point and Click was once the epitome of gaming pinnacle. Coming off famous text prompt games such as Kings Quest, Space Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, they added a more simple and constructive method than typing in random words, hoping they'd work. As an Australian playing American games as a kid, common item names made this even more frustrating. The internet was not publicly available and game guides only existed infrequently in magazines.

I've played almost all of them. Loom, Grim Fandango, Day of the Tentacle, Sam and Max, Broken Sword, Indiana Jones, Myst & Riven, Beneath a Steel Sky, and of course, the infamous, Monkey Island series. You'll find references and homage paid to many of these titles throughout 3 Minutes to Midnight.

This game appears most heavily inspired by Monkey Island (MI). It's comedy adventure, as the means of solving a puzzle are usually the unintentional misuse of an item causing an unforeseeable event. Where MI did this well, due to a limited amount of things to interact with with limited items, 3 Mins makes it tedious. There are multiple solutions to every puzzle. What you don't know is, what items you're still carrying that are now no longer needed due to you having solved something in an alternative way already. And then there's the much hated excessive dialogue. MI used it make some great jokes. SO much so, that even when the right thing to say or ask was obvious, you'd choose something else for the laughs. 3 Mins just waffles on about things that aren't interesting or even relevant most of the time. There's parts of dialogue that can't be skipped due to it containing a clue, which is fair, but even after the patch to address the other stuff, so much of it can't be skipped, either. Especially if you accidentally try the same dialogue and have to listen to a repeat rant.

And speaking of trying things again.... We all know what trying the same thing over and over and expecting different results is the definition of, and yet here, that is stupidly the answer to solving some problems. Just keep doing the same dumb thing until the game has had enough of telling you you can't do something, and it just happens. Ridiculous.

There's also the issue of being required to force and event, and during it, take an opportunity to do something else (while a character is distracted, for example). Basically, you get to try one thing, and if it doesn't work, you have to repeat until you figure it out. Unfortunately, for these occasions, they take so long to play out it quickly becomes annoying.

Also, this game has limited areas and forces you to keep wandering back and forth and trying new objects with the same old things over and over. Even worse, sometimes with no idea what you're supposed to be doing, you wander about into areas just because you've looked everywhere, and lo and behold, a scripted event is waiting for you. So basically, when you're stuck, just walk around like an idiot and hope.

By the end of Chapter 2 I started using a guide sporadically to prevent this stupid aimless wandering. By the end of chapter 4, I was just using the guide to get it over with and still, it was tedious enough that I stopped playing. I doubt I'll ever go back and finish it.

A well told and balanced puzzler can still make a great P&C title, but this one, as a genuine fan of the genre, just misses the mark by too far for me. It's beauty is only skin deep.

This is one of the best point & click's ever. Good art, funny dialogue, great easter eggs and references.

Was a blast to play through and I will certainly be playing through it again to see the other pathways.

Big fan of Betty as a P&C protagonist.

It has really great animation and voice acting. Adding that progress tracker helps.

I really enjoyed most of the game, great graphics, wonderful voiceacting and great throwback to something like Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders which I played decades ago. Mostly not too hard puzzles and funky responses when you try to do the impossible. Great cast of characters that make for a colorful setting.

Negatives:

I have completed the ending with a feeling that I must have missed some major narative shifts, or plot points. How does the main character go from high schooler to space alien? Apparently there are seperate endings but I can't figure out how that would have worked, the story is mostly linear besides eliminating some side characters depending on your choices. There is also a progress tracker that made not much sense, just red crosses and dark shadows.

Having walked though the village streets far too many times I am not likely to replay this.

The game has enough humor that it stays interesting. The puzzles are cute. There is no sex or vulgarity. There are subtle references to the "Full Throttle" game like a stained glass window with Ben's picture on it in the church, and a "Corley" motorcycle outside Mike's diner.

I love point-and-click games and this one is absolutely fantastic.

Point-and-click adventure games are among the most loved genres ever. With absurd plots, wacky characters, simple interfaces, nice graphics, witty and funny dialogues, memorable soundtracks, and creative puzzles, these games have a special charm. 3 Minutes to Midnight is no exception—it's easily one of the highlights of the genre.

This game not only carries the best features of its predecessors but also adds an engaging story, memorable characters, great humor, and well-animated cutscenes with action sequences. It feels almost like an interactive cartoon.

It’s refreshing to see a point-and-click game that doesn’t rely on pixel art. While pixel art isn’t bad, it has become a standard in the genre, so it’s a treat to get such beautiful visuals for a change.

In terms of gameplay, the use of items is more complex compared to other games of this type. However, you rarely have more than 6-8 items in your inventory at once. Using items isn’t automatic; you need to figure out exactly where and how to use them. I enjoyed that the creators took the time to write unique dialogue for each interaction instead of defaulting to the typical “this doesn’t seem to work.” While the humor doesn’t always land, I appreciate their effort over boring or repetitive lines.

The game’s biggest downside is its length. It takes at least 7 hours to complete, and if you explore everything and talk to everyone, I guess it could stretch to 10-11 hours.

Be careful with your decisions! Your character can die permanently, leading to an unsatisfying ending. Thankfully, the progress tracker lets you figure out what way you are heading, so you can reload a save if you made a mistake.

3 Minutes to Midnight is a unique and thoroughly enjoyable adventure. The atmosphere, characters, and clever references are all done brilliantly.

PROS
* Excellent atmosphere
* Thrilling story with great characters
* Witty and funny dialogues
* Fitting music
* Plenty of references and Easter eggs

CONS
* Quite long

RATING: 8.5/10

Unfortunately, the game falls flat after the first two chapters (30% of the game). The rest was just too random, too tedious, and I had to force myself to continue. At the end of the game, you're forced to play though an entire series of puzzles with saving DISABLED and after about 30 minutes a "Game Over" cut scene resets your game and you have to go through the whole thing again. That is when I Alt+F4'ed out and uninstalled and didn't even bother to finish the game.

Awesome game!

I can't believe I paid more than 20 dollars for this game! But it was totally worth it, one of the best point-and-click games I've played in years.

After playing this game and reading some of the reviews, I'm sure of one thing: most people who dislike this game have pronouns in their bios. That should tell you everything you need to know. Overall, great game, totally would recommend!

Just wrapped up playing this game, which took me around nine hours, and had a great time with it. Personally, I don’t find the humor of this game much different from other point-and-click games. It really reminded me of late '90s movies such as American Pie, Road Trip, and Scary Movie. I found myself chuckling more than once while playing.

The story of the game is great, and the dialogue makes it even more enjoyable. As someone who likes to click on everything and learn every detail, I had a lot of fun with most of the interactions. The characters are quirky and fun, each with their own unique personality. Unlike some games where all the non-playable characters feel the same, this game makes each character special and interesting.

The puzzles are amazing, with just the right amount of difficulty. I wasn’t stuck even once. I was surprised to find different ways to solve puzzles.

The voice acting and music are excellent. They fit perfectly with the atmosphere and the characters. You can easily tell how much love and attention to detail the developers put into this game. The amount of secrets and hidden sequences is insane.

Reading from other reviews, it's clear this game isn't for everyone. However, as someone who loves silly humor and a good laugh, I can totally recommend it.

I think it deserves more love.

I don't strongly dislike this game, but I cannot recommend it and given what I now know, I would not have bought it.

I am a slow game player and it took me 18.8 hours to play.

I don't have time to post details of everything good and bad, so I will list a few:

Good: Some of the artwork is nice and the beginning main character can be funny and most often, the voice acting is good. That said, sometimes it's just silly and annoying.

The style does remind me of games I enjoyed in decades past, such as Full Throttle, but something seems to have gone very wrong with any good intentions.

Bad: When I was only a few hours into the game, I saw some people talking about annoying and overlong dialogue, but I had no comprehension of how bad it would really get.

The worst part I remember is when returning to the Mayor's office to collect an item and being forced into a long play of annoying dialogue that was neither funny nor interesting and being driven nearly to the point of stopping playing altogether. That happened to me several times during the Mayor's part of the game.

There were other, similarly annoying parts, but that's the worst one I recall. It's not just a few clicks; you have to sit and wait and click and click and click and click and click and click, and so on, to get back to playing the game. I have no idea who told the developers that their script was funny enough to suspend gameplay for, but I think they were sorely mistaken.

I hated playing as the Mayor. Whereas Betty was sometimes funny and likeable, the Mayor had no redeeming qualities and the voice was terrible. In fact, the voice acting was so bad for the mayor that I thought she was a minor character who was supposed to be quite evil, and was amazed to find that she was the focus for so much of the gameplay. I used a guide for that part of the game because I just wanted it to end.

The voice acting for the Mayor sounds somewhat like early versions of "text to speech" applications. I expect the voice actress was told to do it that way so I do not think it means she is bad at her job.

Many other characters also have terrible voice acting, such as the barber and the scientist.

Some plot elements are too silly for suspension of disbelief to compensate for.

In particular, when Betty was expected to trust the scientist when it had been made clear to her, as a character, that people could no longer be trusted, my expectations changed.

The final sections of the game did give me something to enjoy a little, but it was not nearly enough to make the trauma of previous sections worthwhile.

I didn't discover if the enemies were really supposed to be "Sparklians" or "Splarkians", and that discrepancy between subtitles and voice acting is indicative of the lack of attention to detail you will often find. It's simply careless.

I could go on for a long time about all of the disappointments in the game, but my review is probably already quite long enough.

The game could have been truly great, but fell to pieces quite horribly and some standards were not high enough to begin with.

I did try a second playthrough because I don't have many games I want to play at the moment, but on that attempt, I could only endure half an hour or so before giving up.

One thing I must mention because it really bothered me, is the excessively bad attitude of Betty's supposed best friend, and in particular, her tendency to call people "fool" in a manner that was only very annoying and not even slightly amusing.

If you want the best of this game, go to their website and download the media release artwork, and imagine the rest for yourself.

Last of all, the ending was absolutely terrible. In case the developers care, I had the ending that included a lot of newspaper clippings. They would have done just as well to have "The END" appear on the screen and do nothing in addition to that.

Having seen the announcement trailer as far back as 2018 when it was announced at E3, I was sooooo excited to learn that many of my fellow voice talents were involved in the making of this game. And man was I stoked to find so much depth, personality, and heart in the game. From the bounties of Easter eggs to the gripping story line, it makes me feel like a kid again with the charm of point-and-click adventure games vibes I grew up with!!

Every performance of each talent is hilarious and full of character from start to finish. Couldn't help but laugh after almost every cut scene and interaction!!

If you enjoyed the Grim Fandango/Carmen Sandiego/Jumpstart/I Spy games growing up, you'll DEFINITELY love this title!! Congratulations Scarecrow Studios Team!!

i liked this very much, i would like to put why this escalates above other point and clicks but that would spoil the game.

Two first episodes are really good, the later into the story the worse. Somehow made it through the whole game, but rather forced myself than enjoyed. Got it on sale, and thus recommend when there is one.

Very good game! Trust me.

3 Minutes to Midnight is easily one of the worst point and clicks I've ever played, not necessarily because of the gameplay itself (which is surprisingly well-planned) but because of the absolutely godawful pacing and writing. It feels like a game that went through development hell over a long period of time, had multiple plot drafts, and then instead of discarding anything they just threw it all in and called it a day.

The end result is that you have a game where for the first few hours, you have something that feels like it was made in the last decade. It has a plot which is admittedly not great - you're a high school girl in a small town in 1950s New Mexico who wakes up in a town where everyone has amnesia - but at least doesn't get in the way. There's definitely some cringy stuff and the developers go absolutely overboard in some places: things like the town's sheriff investigating a mafia made entirely of chipmunks that might have been funny for like a month in 2007 before everyone got tired of the "LOL, so random" style of humor. What really broke me though was the point at which you find the Necronomicon from Army of Darkness, because that's the point at which the game takes the dive from "merely kinda cringe" into "game 2008-era Reddit would have found painful to watch".

Anyway, you clear the first segment and then you enter what is pretty clearly an earlier draft of the plot. This time, you play as the main character's mother. All of the characters (who are all caricatures as-is) have their personality dialled up for comedic value to the point where it's annoying as hell, and suddenly there's a five-minute aside every time you do anything just to make a stupid joke. At one point, a character does the "Look behind you, a three-headed monkey!" joke from Monkey Island, and then a three-headed monkey actually shows up and god please kill me this hurts to watch I don't want to keep playing this garbage.

A good amount of the playerbase feels the same way I do apparently, since the achievements for clearing the plot up to that point have been earned by around 20% of the people who bought the game. I got to a point where it felt more frustrating than fun to play, because of all the stupid "comedic" asides and outdated references that made no sense for the setting.

This might make for a decent "punishment" game if you're doing a stream of bad games or something, but other than that I don't think I'd recommend it to anyone.

Just finished the game and despite it's flaws (which it has more than a few) I can easily recommend this for anyone looking for a fun, witty and lengthy game experience.

From the list below you may feel as though I both loved and hated the game, which couldn't be further from the truth. I did love my time with the game and found most of the cons I listed as mere annoyances that only detracted from the experience a little.

Overall I really enjoyed my time with 3 Minutes to Midnight and the dev team should be really proud of what they were able to accomplish here, bravo!

Pros:

- Great voice acting, Maayan Voss De Bettancourt as Betty is the MVP and a real standout with her energetic performance.
- Pleasing and dynamic art design
- Great balance of character development and world building
- Witty script filled with lots of pop culture jokes that will have you smiling more often than not
- Long game for those looking for an immersive experience
- Multiple ways to solve puzzles making it less likely of getting stuck
- Intriguing storyline that will keep you going until the end
- Most indie games don't have the level of polish this game has at even half the length and ambition
- Performance issues aside, not a single bug encountered during my 24 hour playtime

Cons:

- Perhaps too many characters, some of which don't have much of a resolution (looking at you Mayor Barret)
- Long-winded dialogue that can drag on if you aren't interested in the characters
- The gags and 4th wall breaking is taken a bit too far and happen too often
- Lots of performance issues, long and consistent pauses between dialogue which makes it appear as if the game has locked up
- A few too many nonsensical puzzle solutions
- That 3rd chapter could have been at least 6 hours shorter (you could literally cut that chapter out and not miss much)
- Eliza is one of the worst characters that players have been forced to play as since Raiden in Metal Gear Solid 2
- The newly patched ending is a far cry from a satisfactory wrap up of all the characters, but is still welcomed

Since playing The Wolf Among Us, I haven't enjoyed a game as much as this one. With so many new games released every year, only a few feel truly memorable, and this is one of them.

The humor reminded me of the first Sam & Max game—funny with a bit of darkness. It's rare to see comedies in point-and-click adventures these days. Humor is personal, but if you enjoy movies like American Pie, you'll probably appreciate the goofy, light-hearted tone of this one.

The puzzles are original, and for such a long game, they don't feel repetitive. As someone who plays many point-and-click games, I often notice when puzzles are reused from other titles, but that's not the case here. If I have a minor complaint, it's that the puzzles are on the easier side—similar in difficulty to The Secret of Monkey Island. Only a few were truly challenging, but it was nice to finish a game without needing a walkthrough. If you pay attention, everything makes sense.

The art is amazing—a refreshing change from the usual pixel art or simple designs in other games. The voice acting is superb and really brings the characters to life. Each character has a lot of personality, and you start to understand why they are the way they are. The town feels alive; after a few hours, the characters seem like people you know. The story is rich, original, and surprisingly good, keeping you hooked from beginning to end. I really loved playing as Betty and Eliza and watching their contrasting personalities unfold.

What surprised me most is how many ways you can solve problems. Point-and-click games are usually linear, but this one goes the extra mile. At the campsite, for example, I found five different ways to solve a puzzle, and there might be more. Everything feels polished—the script, the backgrounds, the voice acting, the music...

There are a few downsides. The game can feel a bit long at times, and the tracker feature needs work. The developers have said they're fixing it, but it's not updated yet. Also, it's a bit pricey. If budget is a concern, maybe wait for a sale. But if you can afford it, I think it's worth the price.

It took me about 20 hours to beat the game, and afterward, I found myself reloading saved games just to try new things. Overall, I haven't seen this much care and love put into a game in a long time.

I recommend trying the demo. If you like the humor and style, you'll likely enjoy the full game as much as I did.

Wish there was more options then just 'yes or no' for this review. Its very mixed. I love the adventure game genre and it needs more support, but this entry left me feeling very mixed.

Your enjoyment of this title will depend greatly on your tolerance for jokes that are really overdone and just fall flat, and way to much pointless unfunny unskippable dialogue.

The puzzles were OK and it felt like a point and click adventure game, and I appreciate the multiple path ways. Very cute at times and I loved the animation.

Tonally however the game was all over the place. Half trying to be serious, half trying to be funny. It also ended weirdly and left nothing resolved.

After the 13th hour I just couldn't wait for this to be over.

6/10?

This is the first time I've ever left a review for a game I've played (which is well over 1500 games). I just feel so strongly about this game that I need to let everyone in on it. This is one of the BEST games I've ever played!! The story line is intriguing, the characters are well developed, the voice actors are phenomenal. It's kitschy, humorous, challenging and entertaining from start to finish. Being able to skip dialogue makes it even more enjoyable. I love the addition of alternate outcomes based on choices made during the game. It reminds me of the Broken Sword or Monkey Island series. Finally, just to put the cherry on top, there is the extended game length. Not once was I bored either.

This review will be written in Catalan, because unfortunately Steam does not recognise Catalan as a language yet. But we are working to change that. If you want, you can read the review in English in our group forum:
He finalitzat de jugar el joc 3 Minuts to Midnight de l'equip Jan Serra. La llista de persones que ha ajudat al fet que surti aquest joc endavant és enorme. Un aplaudiment a totes elles.

Primer de tot vull avisar com poso jo les notes. Per mi una mala nota és una nota menor a 5. Una bona nota és una nota entre 5 i 10. Evidentment, la persona o grup de persones que han creat un joc volen una nota que s'acosti al 10. És gairebé impossible que puntuí amb 10. Per posar un exemple el Silent Hill 2 remake per mi és un 7,8-8,2. I el Silent Hill 2 original podria valdre un 9. El Loop Hero és un 8-8,5. Vull dir, que jo no solc posar notes altes. No m'agrada anar posant 7 o 8 perquè sí. Cada nota un té un valor i importància.

Escrit tot això aquest joc la seva importància rau en els personatges. A mi m'han encantat. Els personatges femenins i que són protagonistes són creïbles amb la seva característica i psique que s'ha volgut acompanyar. Això unit que són gracioses, malauradament estrany en els jocs. L'altre punt a favor és la història. Es podria millorar?, sí. Està una mica allargada?, també. Tot i això, és una història agradable i divertida i que et fa voler jugar més. El punt negatiu seria els efectes d'animació empleats i l'art. Per mi penso que el disseny no està a l'avantguarda. És un joc que penso que podria ser del 2000. Els efectes d'animació estan desaprofitats. Em refereixo hi ha animacions que trauria i d'altres que allargaria. La queixa de l'art no és que sigui lletja sinó que penso que és d'una altra època. Penso que per exemple Pendulo Studios va treure fa uns anys (2008) un joc amb una millor qualitat gràfica. És per això que a mi l'art no em convenç. Penso que tallar escenes de petons entre gent homosexual treu valentia al projecte. On per exemple el joc on les protagonistes són dones sense cap mena sexualització. Una llàstima, això no és cap punt negatiu.

Amb tot això penso que el joc és recomanable a la gent que li agradin les aventures gràfiques. Jo el puntuo amb un suficient alt, quasi be: 5,4- 5,8.

Per últim, agrair que el joc surtis en el minut 0 en català. Moltes companyies catalanes haurien d'aprendre de vosaltres.

If you like this review and want to help us with our objective, please join us! http://steamcommunity.com/groups/catalantranslation

Great game

I absolutely loved this game. It's one of the longest adventure games I ever played. There's a lot of spoken dialogue and the character voices were done very well. This game has a great story and kept me on the edge of my seat. If you love adventure games, you'll want to get this one. Very nice game!

This is a very light recommendation.

Yes, it does look gorgeous and at times, it will remind you of the golden age of adventure games.

The writing is unfortunately too busy attempting to be clever, fourth wall breaking, self-referential and whatever else its earnest creators thought would make for a compelling experience.

It's clearly too good for a refund but falls considerably short of it's lofty target. There is fun to be had for genre aficionados but temper your expectations going in.

Fantastic, absurd humor throughout this game that had creative (and minimally frustrating) solutions. The plot was fun, the characters were well-crafted, and I truly did not know what to expect next with each chapter. If you are a fan of Broken Sword, Monkey Island, and Darkestville Castle, this is the game for you. I also loved the option to skip puzzles after giving them a try. Thanks for a great game!

I dont know. On the one hand very good drawings and animations. Very long playtime for an adventure. On the other the humor is all over the place - most of the time its just random things but together (remember Southpark and the Family Guy Episode?); the voice acting is while professional really annoying with over the top pronunciations and the excessive vocal fry. The story is also completely non-sensical and not in a good way. It is by no means a bad game but not really a good one either. There is some fun in this, but do not expect too much.

Best point and click adventure this year.

I had high hopes for this game, following other reviews, and it didn't (for the most part) disappoint.

3MM hits the right beats for a classic Lucas Arts-style point and click adventure, complete with terrible puns and great heapings of cheese, but also brings some much-needed modern touches to the formula, with branching storylines, consequential choices, and multiple ways to solve many puzzles. Good voice acting is married to strong character design, and the environments are a delight to poke around in. It's also very clearly a labour of love for the developers. Not just in the winking nods to and easter eggs for precursor games, but in their responsiveness to bugs and user feedback post-launch.

If I have a criticism, it's that it does loose steam towards the end. Puzzles become shorter and more linear, and you spend much more time walking through environments. For the ending I got, I also found that the structure of the final Act/Part killed almost all of the momentum that the previous Act had built up. Worst of all, the very last puzzles have unskippable cut scenes that, when combined with a limited time window to try solutions, rapidly become extremely tedious and then outright infuriating. It was the one time I caved and used a guide and, rather than feeling triumphant when the credits rolled, I was relieved to not have to sit through yet another damn cut scene cycle.

But don't let that turn you off the game. Yes, it has a couple of stumbles, but, by and large, I had a great time with it, and plan to go back through to see the other paths and endings. I think Scarecrow has made a great game and, better, has a truly wonderful foundation for future games of this sort.

I essentially had to play 3 Minutes to Midnight twice, since I locked myself out of the ending by not choosing a specific dialogue option a few chapters back. Which sucked.

At first I really enjoyed the game, but the longer it went on the more I lost interest. The game is just full of filler content - conversations or items that aren't relevant to the story in any way and are just there because the devs thought they'd be funny. Some are, but some just feel like a waste of time (especially since not every dialogue or animation can be skipped through).

The art style is charming, and the voice acting is top-notch. There also multiple ways to solve puzzles which lead to different outcomes and different paths. You can tell a lot of effort went into this game (which is why I'm ultimately giving this a positive review).

However, it all just feels super long and arduous because of all the filler. Trim some of the bloat and you have here a really good point-and-click title.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Skip. The writers aren't afraid to waste your time and use every chance to do so.

It drags on and on, the dialogues go on forever without going anywhere, there are too many subplots that lead nowhere, the puzzles are decent until they go all moon-logic, the ending is abrupt and unsatisfying. There are choices to make, apparently, but it's hard to decypher what the choices are and what effect they have. To top if off, the characters are very unlikeable, to the point that the playable characters will break the fourth wall to mock you, the player, for trying to explore the world.

An amazing achievement. Probably one of the best point and click adventures in recent years. Is it funny? I mean, not really, but then I never found Monkey Island and similar funny so I suppose tastes vary.

The important thing is that it has creative puzzles and allows you to experiment with solutions. Some puzzles even have multiple solutions! Wow. More of this please. Things are sometimes obscure but never truly so cryptic that you can't figure them out experimentation.

All in all this ranks up there with some of the better Lucas Arts efforts so pretty good by modern standards. Here's hoping for a sequel.

An astonishing game from beginning to end.

1. Story: The game’s story is easy to follow and, though simple, it works great. It begins with a big mystery to solve, and during the course of the chapters, you will find small plot twists that will keep your attention on them.
   
   
2. Visuals: The visuals are amazing, especially the insane level of detail in many animations. Wonderful backgrounds.
   
   
3. Personality: The game has its own personality. It’s true that it's strongly inspired by its influences, but it manages to make each character unique and full of charm. Depending on your own personality, you might fall in love with different characters. In my case, I have a special devotion to Mike and his meatballs! The voice acting plays a huge role in bringing these characters to life.
   
   
[*]Dialogue and Humor: While humor is subjective, this game genuinely made me smile more than once. There were jokes that, if told by a friend, I might roll my eyes at, but they work perfectly in this context.

It's so annoying that it's impossible to finish, unfortunately.

excellent game.

This is the best point and click adventure game I have played since Thimbleweed Park and Return to Monkey Island. Strong plot, good humour, decent graphics and soundtrack. It's not easy but I have mostly resisted looking at a walkthrough. A few minor game logic points where there's something you need to do that you don't realise (and I don't see how you COULD realise) you need to do before that unlocks the next step. But mostly it's very well put together and I strongly recommend it.

7/10

If you love point-and-click adventure games, you should definitely give this one a try. Scarecrow Studio is a name to watch, and their future projects will surely be worth following.

3 Minutes to Midnight has been in development for seven years, and it shows in the loving attention to detail. The game is carefully crafted, beautifully designed, and features a large cast of characters alongside a diverse array of locations. Its primary inspiration is clearly the LucasArts adventure games from the late 1980s to the early 2000s, particularly those by Ron Gilbert. His 2017 game, Thimbleweed Park, seems to have been a significant influence as well, particularly in terms of its atmosphere. While the game is filled with references to these classics, it successfully stands on its own with a unique universe that blends cartoony humor and eeriness.

I do have a few minor issues with the game, and I don’t think it’s flawless (though, to be fair, in my opinion only Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge and Day of the Tentacle come close). The game occasionally tries very hard to be funny, and while it mostly succeeds, this results in conversations that drag on for too long. This can leave the player waiting impatiently to get back to the gameplay. However, this is a small complaint, as the gameplay itself is delightful. The interface—especially when using a controller—closely resembles the one from Return to Monkey Island, and it feels perfectly suited to a 2024 Point and click, which can be enjoyed on different consoles.

One area where the game may even be groundbreaking is in its blend of choice-based narratives with classic point-and-click puzzles. This combination has been explored before, but never to this extent and never so successfully. While you can miss out on solving a puzzle in a specific way, there are always alternative solutions, and, most importantly, no dead ends. This makes the game extremely replayable.

While the game doesn’t quite reinvent the genre — nor, in all fairness, did it need to — it still manages to be one of the best point-and-clicks not made by LucasArts and has certainly earned a place in my personal top ten list. I also recommend keeping an eye out for Scarecrow Studio's future projects. This is their first game, and to the best of my knowledge, it’s also the debut of director Jan Serra. The development process took seven years and was reportedly a challenging (if not nightmarish) experience for the team. But if this is what they can accomplish on their first attempt, I’m very excited to see what their next game will be like now that they’ve gained some experience.

This game is worth every penny. It is so interesting, has many different routes and easter eggs, is beautiful, has a great story, and is longer than most. Honestly, I wanted to know more, keep going, and I wish there were more interactions at the end to explain everything. However, it said to be continued, so maybe we will get to see the characters develop even more. I was super interested in Pam, so I'm sure there is more to explore about the past, present, and future. I will be following the creators, the game, and will probably replay a couple of times to get different paths. Really, really great.

I really enjoyed this game. It was very fun especially if you like adventure games with a lot of dialog. I also liked that you were able to skip puzzles if you so desired. My only criticism is that it is very VERY linear. At one point I spent at least 1/2 an hour going through every screen before I was able to trigger something I needed to continue. Also, I don't think the "clues" for puzzles were adequate. Since I've been playing point and click games for over 40 years, this was definitely a game for me.

This is a solid point-and-click game. The graphics are excellent, and the story is pretty good as well. Dialogues—well, it depends on your taste. One annoying thing is that sometimes you can't skip them - this is a problem in the second half of the game, where it starts feeling like a chore to wait for characters to finish saying their lines.

At times, the puzzles may seem a bit over the top, but this is in line with the quirky spirit of classic comedy adventure games, I guess.

There are a couple of things devs could improve on, but overall it's a good game if you enjoy genre.

I absolutely love this game.

There are certain things you hope to see in a point-and-click and 3 Minutes To Midnight has all those things.

Puzzles where you go "Really? That was the solution?" (It really brings back memories of the classics.) You walk a fine line between frustrating and funny when you're trying to make a joke and progress at the same time. Well this game manages to do that, there was times when I got stuck but there are countermeasures in place that make that not a grueling experience. The biggest countermeasure being the dialogue. You could spend hours and hours listening to everything the characters are saying, or you could skip most of it, but you won't quickly run dry of it. And that helps when eventually you will meander, like all adventure games. One of the other countermeasures is the music, which really doesn't get old. It's good, and there's way more music than is necessary, it feels like for every space there's a new track and it's good stuff.

Humor where you don't have to shut the doors. It's a good family game, like many point-and-clicks before it. It really is an art to make your dialogue timeless and clean for younger ages as well. I was able to play the game with my Catholic conservative parents and they enjoy it immensely. This to me, is a triumph. Humor shouldn't always rely on vulgarity to serve your concepts. It's a breath of fresh air compared to today's typical comedy and although it shares a lot of Family Guy and American Dad jokes (And sometimes references...) "OOH!" It nevers strays too far into the area where it starts to get cringe.

Lesser Known Voice Actors (I can't tell you what a boon this is to the game, it's really fun mining for the extra dialogue because the VAs are not perfect, they have edge and individuality. They do a terrific job though, and Betty as a protagonist really grew on me, and it's because of her VA that makes playing through the lion's share of the game entertaining. She brings an energy and enthusiasm to every line, which an interesting departure from your regular Ben-type dry observation.
Another standout to me is Smokey. Once you get to him you'll immediately see why. And this is not just the actor but the dialogue.

There is a lot of carefully written dialogue in this game. and it is not half-assed. You can tell that it was important to the devs that every line was interesting and although you have a few dead-ends here and there, you will always find something new on a repeat. Which if you're like me, you'll want to play this game again. (For reasons you'll see.)

Clear through-line and interesting story. Writing is hard, story is hard but I'm glad it takes place in the 50s or early 60s, whatever- it's a vibe and it gives it a vintage feel giving it's little nods to history and espionage during those times.

The biggest draw for me is the shared love off the genre within the game itself. There are countless references to other games within. Loom, Sam and Max, Full Throttle, Beneath a Steel Sky, King's Quest, Space Quest, Monkey Island, Gabriel Knight. Adding all of sly subtle references in the scripts says to me that not only is the game promoting itself but encourages others to take a look at all these classic games and that is inherently unselfish and awesome of the devs.

It takes all the best parts about point-and-clicks and trims the frustrating parts down quite a bit. You are able to highlight not only key moments of dialogue (Though I recommend turning this off for a richer experience.) but also key items in the scenery. (No more pixel hunting.) - I'm looking at you Beneath a Steel Sky.

It's not always clear what you should do or why, but once you have items in your inventory it's immediately apparent to veterans of the genre what happens next, and a wonderful jump in logic to non-veterans. I played quite a bit with my family as well as doing a playthrough on my own, and despite other reviews saying the jokes don't land. We were laughing our asses off at some parts. I even laughed really hard by myself at some points. Yeah, it's not Shakespeare, it's Day of The Tentacle, it's Deponia and Spy Fox. It's unpretentious and silly.

Something that I feel should be mentioned further is it's elegant control scheme for controller users. I plugged my PS5 controller in and it worked like a dream. I actually played the entirety of the game with the controller after plugging it in. There are so many times when games like this expect you to use the joystick as a mouse. A really outdated, stupid way to make your game inaccessible. This game DOESN'T DO THAT, it's well thought out and after 10 minutes feels completely organic and helps add to the flow of the game.

TL; DR; PLAY THIS GAME, use a controller, find your favorite character and exhaust their lines, play the games this game praises and please leave a review. I got a first-hand view at how hard the devs worked on it. You can see this during the credits if you watch them. I think you'll be shocked at how many people actually worked on the game. Passion is the only way it got done and in my opinion - having grew up with adventure games all my life - it was worth it!

I love everything about this game. The dialog, the jokes, the art, the exceptional voice acting.
It has been a long time that I played such a great point & click adventure.