Delay

My first instinct when something name-drops Superhot in its pitch is healthy skepticism. That game's central trick feels proprietary in a way that invites pale imitation, so when a solo developer builds an entire action platformer around a similar time-manipulation hook, the question isn't whether the ambition is there. The question is whether the craft caught up with it. With Delay, the answer is: partially, and that's more than nothing. The core mechanic puts time under your thumb. Slow it, use the window to reposition or line up a shot, then let the world rush back in. Across more than 55 levels and 10 game modes, that rhythm is the engine driving everything. Four weapon types give you some variety in how you engage the seven enemy archetypes the game throws at you, and the level count alone is genuinely surprising for a release at this price point. The loop is exactly what it claims: quick to grasp, slow to fully tame. If you are the kind of person who replays a single corridor until the timing clicks perfectly, Delay has enough friction to keep you busy for a sitting or two beyond what you'd expect. What it doesn't have is the atmospheric density that makes time-manipulation feel weighty rather than mechanical. Superhot's minimalist presentation gave its gimmick a kind of eerie poetry. Delay is rougher around the edges. Matt Frank built this alone, and that solitary effort shows in places where the production feels thin. The game is an honest action platformer at its bones, not a mood piece, and if you walk in hoping for a layered soundscape or a strong visual identity you will walk back out fairly quickly. The system requirements note that it runs on practically nothing, which should tell you something about the graphical ambition on offer. That said, I find myself genuinely respecting what exists here. Eighty percent positive across a small review pool, shipped solo in 2017, still sitting on storefronts years later. That's not nothing in a landscape where most one-person micro-releases disappear inside a week. The 10 game modes add replay texture that many tiny platformers skip entirely, and for players who want a mechanical challenge without a heavy time investment, Delay clears that bar comfortably. Go in wanting a quick reflex workout with some time-bending flavoring and the runtime feels about right. Go in wanting the heir to Superhot's throne and you'll be disappointed before the first handful of levels is through.

Kai · Scout Team

Indie & narrative

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