The Uniqueness of ATTGTPD

Back when retailer GameStation existed, I once saw someone out of the corner of my eye waving a game case around while proclaiming that it was the weirdest game they had ever played. Curious, I turned around to discover the title in question was none other than Assassin’s Creed II. I’m guessing they were referring to the Animus sections, but even then, they aren’t anything too out there.

A Time Traveller’s Guide to Past Delicacies: A Journey Beyond Gaming

As I played A Time Traveller’s Guide to Past Delicacies (ATTGTPD for short), I wondered what this individual would make of this sock puppet starring fever dream. This is less of a game and more of a short interactive experience comprising brief segments, each arguably weirder than the last.

The Duration and Price Point

A playthrough lasts around 25 minutes, and the price reflects this – it’s available on digital stores for approximately £4. You may need to return for a second viewing if you’re looking to unlock every achievement or trophy, so let’s call it an hour of playtime – or thereabouts.

Meet Captain Coolimbus

We’re introduced to Captain Coolimbus, a softly spoken red sock puppet. They’re a time traveller looking to return to the past to find the origins of a trio of dishes, taking us to the Stone Age, the Middle Ages, and beyond. Then, you’re given the chance to prepare them in one of the most dysfunctional kitchens imaginable. Captain Coolimbus’ pursuit is an original one, we’ll give it that.

Diverse Gameplay Elements

You’ll get to play through a few first-person photography sections in small abstract worlds, enjoy a smattering of FMV clips filmed within a child’s play kitchen, and navigate a 3D maze that both looks and feels like an abandoned test level.

Culinary Challenges

It’s the cooking aspect where ATTGTPD resembles a game the most. Here, you’re given instructions and must try to overcome the awkward physics engine as you summon ingredients from a teleporter and place them into the correct apparatus to cook meat and blend vegetables. The cursor only moves on a 2D plane, yet the kitchen is rendered in 3D, meaning foodstuff routinely flies out of your hand as you brush past objects. This is where much of ATTGTPD’s challenge lies, and thankfully, there are a couple of unexpected sights to alleviate frustration.

Captivating Presentation

And then, less than thirty minutes after it began, you’re presented with the closing FMV sequence with its open-to-interpretation ending. It’s the presentation here that sells the package. An effort has gone into the creation of the puppets and their toy kitchen sets, and the colors used throughout are bright and bold. The cooking areas are nicely lit and curvaceously rendered, and occasionally, it uses the warped physics engine to comical effect. At the very least, it could be considered an interactive art piece of sorts, of which we’ve seen a few before from the same publisher.

 An Unforgettable Experience

If you’ve reached this point of the review and feel ATTGTPD is something you want to experience for yourself, go for it – it’s perfectly priced and will likely leave an impression. How positive that impression is depends on how open you are to this kind of thing. If it had a few more jokes or was wittier with its observations, I may have recommended it to fans of the twisted puppet show Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared. As it is, the occasional use of swear words doesn’t compensate for the lack of gags. Nobody can deny that it isn’t weird though. Assassin’s Creed II be damned