When George Lucas dicked about with the Star Wars trilogy, everyone thought he was mad. He was. Why go back and redo it – he made some scenes worse. With Timothy’s Night, have WildSphere done the same thing?
First of all, Timothy’s Night is a new game, right? Yes and no. It’s actually Timothy Vs The Aliens but with a lot more polish, specifically for the PS5 version. Fundamentally it’s the same game and story, but there there are so many new additions that it’s kind of a new game.
Anyone (me) can list the new features, but you can also look them up. Instead, I’ll give a supposedly human account of the experience, which is predominantly ‘feelings mixed with the odd fact’. Timothy’s Night is a vast improvement from its predecessor.
Timothy’s Night Review
For once, the first thing you’ll notice isn’t the tweaked visuals but the DualSense controller. Only a day or so ago, I’d read a review where the writer said they hated all the gimmicks and feedback from the controls (for another game, not this). On the contrary, I embraced it, and it added to the experience.
Back in the days of the N64, getting rumble from practically every move was superb, albeit at the expense of my AAs. The DualSense isn’t much better and has less battery life than a nymphomaniac’s rabbit. That said, it was so much fun to get haptics on the bullets. In the last outing, the pistol was previously my go-to weapon, but the Tommy gun has the same visceral feel of bungee jumping from within a wireless washing machine. Erm…
It won’t be for everyone, but again, Timothy’s Night makes excellent use of the PS5’s features – and it’s about time we had other games to choose from other than backwards compatibility and £90 digital editions. Having not played the Steam or Switch versions, I recalled my last news piece to confirm that the additional colours were added to those before this.
50 Shades Of – Did We Use This Heading?
I wasn’t a fan of more colour as the classic film noir aesthetic was one of the standouts from before. It took a little getting used to, but it’s better as Tim changes colour when he goes hyper, plus there are a lot more subtleties to various assets throughout the map – including new aliens, more NPCs and vehicles.
One of the niggles from the ‘first game’ was a lack of things to do. While WildSphere hasn’t reinvented the wheel, there will be more of the same as before; the added interactions and options make this more enjoyable. The same annoying alien spawning occurs so you can use your best Jurassic Park “clever girl” when you get blindsided.
Timothy’s Night does still feel confusing about what to do next. If you’ve been tirelessly working on the game for so long, some actions might be obvious, but there are a few moments where it’s not clear where you need to go, despite the mini-map, and I did note that the latter would freeze a few times. I could remember specific routes, having finished it before, but running around some areas getting lost can be frustrating if you’re new.
Big Fish, Little City
After finishing the main story, you get to replay before the final setpiece. If you’re a fan of Little Fish City like I am, wandering around and admiring this beautiful environment is a bonus. Still, if you need more incentive, unlocking the final trophies such as finding hotdogs, parcels, and fish adds to the longevity. There is an item finder you can purchase, but to be honest, I felt it was a bit naff and could have been tweaked a bit more.
Said device is pretty damn expensive, but another improvement to the game (at least from my memory) is the abundance of cash on offer. Entering a new area or dying will force it to reappear, meaning you’ll never really run out of ammo and health. After running out of shotgun ammo, I was surprised to find that the Tommy gun was my go-to weapon throughout, and as mentioned, money was abundant for more ammo – thus, good vibrations through the DualSense.
All of these reviews are entirely based on my opinion. Whether they serve as a way to coax you into buying a game or not is debatable, though I genuinely hope it’s a fair insight or entertaining at the least. Is Timothy’s Night worth getting if you already have Timothy Vs The Aliens? I’m biased as the presentation and general feels are brilliant – especially the catchy score. It isn’t just a remastered edition with a few tweaks, nor is it a brand new game. Still, it was well worth revisiting and refreshing to have an indie PS5 title where the DualSense doesn’t feel like HD Rumble and 1-2-Switch, but a bona fide gaming experience.
