Time Flies Review | Not Just a Fly on the Wall

If I had 76 seconds to live, I definitely wouldn’t spend that time jumping into an alligator’s mouth. But hey, to each their own. 

Time Flies from developer Playables and publisher Panic is a hand-drawn puzzle adventure where you play as a fly trying to complete everything on his wishlist before he dies at the end of 76 seconds. Your life is short, but your list is long. Your goal is to make the best of it. Learn how to play an instrument, explore the world or just watch some tv - it’s all up to you little fly guy. 

The game takes place over four levels where you’ll have 76.4 seconds to try and complete each item on the flies’ bucket list. Some bucket list items aren’t very self-explanatory like “tour the world,” but as you venture around the level, you’ll soon figure what each bucket list item means and how to cross it off the your flies list. You’ll have to be careful though because a fly's life is fragile and there are many ways to die scattered around the level as well that will cut your 76 seconds short. 

You’ll also find clocks scattered around the levels that allow you to push back the clock and give you a few extra seconds to figure things out. And that’s really the best part of the game - once you’ve figured out how to complete every item on the list, then you have to figure out how to do it in roughly 76 seconds. I found myself really strategizing and thinking about the layout of each level before taking off and making every second count. 

Time Flies might be one of the games that has made me laugh the most this year. It’s such a simple concept but it’s filled with small references and little things that just make it so charming and fun. Something as simple as a movie poster of The Fly had me giggling. Who knew that a fly could have such a fun life? 

The game also has secrets hiding in each level in the form of puzzle pieces. There are some areas and objects in the game that you can interact with that will award you with a puzzle piece. Collecting all of them will reward you with a completed puzzle! It’s just another fun thing that you can do in each level apart from trying to finish up that bucket list. 

I don’t often give out perfect scores for games. It’s hard to create a game where you can’t think of anything you’d change, but Time Flies just happens to be one of those games for me. It runs beautifully, I couldn’t put it down, it made me laugh and it made me smile. What else can you ask for? I think I’ll be buzzing about this one for a long time. 

Breakdown

Game: Time Flies

Developer: Playables

Publisher: Panic

Availability: PC (via Steam, Epic Games Store and Mac App Store), PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch

Game Length: 1-2 hours

Reviewed on PC via Steam Deck

Final Thoughts

I couldn’t think of a single thing that I didn’t love about Time Flies. It’s fun, charming, clever and beautifully hand drawn. I only wished that there were more levels! This little fly goes on an amazing adventure that encourages players to be silly and think outside of the box. This game quickly flew to be one of my absolute favorites of the year.