Two days before the release of “Time Flies”, my friend Adrian sent me its trailer, and I was intrigued! When it came out a few days later, I immediately went to the Steam page, only to find out that the game cost $15! Adrian shared my sentiment, remarking, “It’s probably worth it, but that’s TOO MUCH!!” I had forgotten about the game for a while, until earlier today, when I was perusing my Steam wishlist and realized that I could justify spending the $15 if I wrote an article about it.

My expectations prior to playing the game were set relatively high. I admired the simplistic graphics, and the ratings totaled to a whopping 98% positive! In fact, there are only two negative reviews. 

Despite that, the average playtime of the reviews only averages to about two hours. Because of that fact alone, I’m not totally convinced “Time Flies” will have $15 worth of gameplay.

Cut to me two weeks later, and I have now completed 100% of the game, totaling, as I expected, about two hours of gameplay! In “Time Flies,” you play as a fly trying to complete a bucket list before it dies. The life expectancy (in years) of your country is the lifespan you get in seconds, so my fly gets 76.4 seconds.

For my first fly, I lasted an impressive four seconds, immediately flying upward and getting caught on fly tape. I discovered the bucket list on my third fly, and it wasn’t until my fifth that I realized you have to complete all the objectives in a single fly’s life. It was also during that run that I discovered moving the hands of clocks backward provides you with bonus seconds on your lifespan.

Throughout the majority of my gameplay, I streamed the game to a group of friends, and we were laughing a ton. Between unexpected environmental hazards that instantly kill you and creative names for bucket list objectives, the game’s humor is very well defined. One of my favorite objectives is titled “Bring People Together”, which actually just has you pushing one head statue into another, making them kiss.

All the random gimmicks in this game are also incredibly funny. My friends and I were absolutely losing it when we found a button in the game that plays an entire fly-based short film, or when I found some pills on the ground and got high. The game also isn’t shy to throw a bit of nudity into the mix for jokes, especially in the gallery level. Everything combines into one of the funniest experiences I’ve ever streamed with my friends.

“Time Flies” has a bunch of creative achievements beyond the main bucket list objectives. Each level also contains three collectible puzzle pieces, which you get to push together manually, and are connected to some of the funniest bits in the game, such as the short film from before.

I beat the game on my 37th fly, and got 100% completion with my 43rd. By this point, the floors of all the levels were littered with the bodies of my previous flies. Realistically, $15 is about the same price as a movie ticket, and I definitely enjoyed this game a lot more than the last movie I saw. Since then, I’ve realized that $15 seems like a reasonable price, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a short indie experience!