The self-claimed cute-as-heck 3D platformer, A Hat in Time, was released on October 5, 2017, for PC, MacOS, and consoles. Taking inspiration from Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie and similar in style to Spyro and Mario Odyssey, this 3D adventure sees the protagonist Hat Kid trying to retrieve Time Pieces from each act and chapter after losing them in a raid on her spaceship. Using her trusty hats and badges, Hat Kid brings her cool attitude and cuteness wherever she goes. Sporting a variety of dazzling environments, engaging puzzles, and unique characters, there’s something here for everyone. At the time of writing, A Hat in Time is rated 10/10 on Steam.

Furthermore, on September 13, 2018, A Hat in Time: Seal the Deal, was made available for players to download and install a mod-like chapter to their game repertoire. Though only getting a 6/10 on Steam, Seal the Deal also introduce the Death Wish mode where players can test their skills in a checklist-based challenge. This mode ultimately targets the hardcore players as causals may find it almost impossible to complete these levels without relying on the easy mode where they can be activated by using in Pons (in-game currency). A Hat in Time also supports fan-made mods thus further increasing the game’s replay value and customization.

Time spent playing and gameplay stats:

hh:mm:ss (~60:00:00)

Gameplay Overview

As a 3D platformer, Hat Kid can walk, jump, and sprint in a full 360° view. Without going into the specific controls, the core mechanic is to utilize Hat Kid’s different hats she crafts along her journey to achieve act goals, solve puzzles, and generally get from one place to another. Each hat has its own unique ability that can aid in what Hat Kid can do. Badges bought from the Badge Seller further improves or hinders Hat Kid’s ability to accomplish an action passively or actively. For more details on hats and badges check out the ‘Decision Making’ section.

Each level of the game is called an act and each location is referred to as a chapter. These acts present a different challenge each time and Hat Kid has to face them in order to obtain one of her lost Time Piece. Ultimately completing acts for a chapter unlocks the final boss for that realm, and the accumulated Time Pieces unlocks a new chapter Hat Kid can go into from her spaceship after hitting the required limit. There are also Time Rifts in each chapter, but these don’t affect the game progress aside from getting more Time Pieces.

Audience

Those who want an open world sandbox. Those who live for epic boss battles. Those who fall into immersion. Those who seek adventure. Those who play for speed runs. Those who enjoy a good narrative. Those who solve puzzles. Those who just love cute things.

This game is for them.

A Hat in Time aims to cover a broad spectrum of users from both genders, different play styles, and those under 35 – essentially millennials and Gen Z. Hardcore and casual players all have a stake and place in the game. The only thing that matters is whether potential players want to give A Hat in Time a chance.

Decision Making

Making a decision plays a major part in gameplay as choosing the right hat and/or badge can mean losing a health point or reaching the next platform. Players have to constantly be on the lookout and take appropriate measures to deal with incoming hostiles, using environmental objects, timing the jump, and where Hat Kid steps all the while going towards the end goal.

There is a total of 6 canon hats made available for use when they are each unlocked and knitted with yarns found throughout the different chapters.

Each hat has its own special uses, and those that require external objects like Brewing Hat and Dwellers Mask can easily find their environmental targets from the way they look. Each hat can be accessed by right-clicking the mouse and dragging the arrow to the desired hat on PC. Time slows down when doing this task so there’s no adverse effect for switching hats.

There is a total of 13 usable badges from which 4 are considered bad. These, as stated prior, can be purchased from the Badge Seller. The only requirement to obtain them is to have enough Pons.

A maximum of three badges can be equipped at any given time. Players start out with one badge slot and each new bad slot can be purchased from the Badge Seller using Pons.

Play Balancing

In A Hat in Time, at no point in the game was there a meta that could be exploited. The game designer did a great job making each hat invaluable to the player and the badges that accompany them.

Although some hats can come to be seen as more superior such as the Time Stop Hat at first glance, the developers hinder its use early on by having a high crafting limit as well as the need to obtain the required first yarn type. In fact, every hat aside from Kid’s Hat can only be made once the first hat specific yarn type is obtained. This meant that the Sprint Hat can only be crafted when Hat Kid obtains the sprint yarn before being able to use any other type of yarns to reach the required crafting limit of 2. In the case of the Time Stop Hat, it was the last yarn to be made available by the way of making the time specific yarn appear in later chapters as well as having a crafting limit of 32 yarns.

Feedback Loop

A Hat in Time uses subtle feedback loops that will be overlooked during regular gameplay. One such feedback loop would be the checkpoints in some acts and Time Rifts that requires Hat Kid to make long treks in order to reach the Time Piece. Checkpoints are positive feedback loops as it rewards the player for reaching a point from which they can respawn if they were to die further in their journey. This is countered by not having a checkpoint (negative feedback) which forces players to pay more skillful attention to what they do thus providing a challenge if not a higher blood pressure.

During boss battles, Hat Kid is rewarded with health pons whenever she manages to dodge damage during the previous wave and none if she was hit. This provides a positive feedback loop that allows Hat Kid to stay in the game longer but provides a negative feedback loop if she keeps getting hit. No bailout health pons are provided to the player unless no damage was taken during the previous wave. This incentivizes players to save health pons during good waves and using it during bad ones by trying not to pick them up when in full health.

In acts where lava or fire is part of the setting, should Hat Kid fall into or on top of these health hazards she turns invincible while bouncing up on her behind before losing that protection a few seconds later. This may seem like a standard cartoonish reaction for catching on fire, but there’s a negative feedback loop hidden within. Whenever this occurs, Hat Kid can’t jump thus decreasing her ability to land properly. This combined with small or faraway platforms meant Hat Kid is likely to fall back into the lava lake for another round of hurt. Players can easily diminish their 4 health points in a matter of seconds if they aren’t careful.

Randomness v. Skill

Player skill plays a big part in A Hat in Time as puzzle solving, navigation, and battling while using various hats and badges takes strategy in order to reach a goal and staying alive. Randomness on the other hand barely come into play except at orb machines where Hat Kid can get new hat flairs, color palettes, or remixes dependent on when the player stops the spinning slot machine-like wheel. Two rerolls total can be made before having to claim the prize at the third spin. These orb machines can only be used with 3 rift tokens and after completion of Time Rifts. Areas and objects that may seem to be random are actually time-based and can be circumvented with proper timing and care.

Koster’s Theory of Fun

As a 3D platformer that deals with player exploration and puzzle solving, learning the proper skills and using them to solve problems plays an important part in making A Hat in Time fun. Since Hat Kid respawns at the starting point after death, the player risk is relatively low if not inconvenient at none checkpoint areas. With each new act and chapter, players get to explore new content using skills they learned in the previous acts. This helps in staving off boredom when players have “learned” the game, but replayability at endgame suffers as no new acts and chapters are made available. The developers solve this by allowing mods made by the community, and issue official DLC such as A Hat in Time: Seal the Deal.

Lazzaro’s Four Keys

Of the four keys in Lazzaro’s Four Keys chart, A Hat in Time hit points in all four areas.

Easy Fun (Novelty): Being a relatively open world exploration, players get to experience and communicate with their environment as Hat Kid.

Hard Fun (Challenge): Solving puzzles, beating bosses, completing acts, and achieving challenge goals in Death Wish all constitute a sense of accomplishment in players.

People Fun (Friendship): Though A Hat in Time is primarily a single player campaign, Co-op with a friend is supported.

Serious Fun (Meaning): Each new act and chapter provides players a new environment to explore and dominate.

Overall, A Hat in Time leans towards a mix of Hard Fun and Easy Fun. Player skills are expected to complete the game and making the game enjoyable.

Bartle’s Taxonomy of Player Types

A Hat in Time is conducive to players who are naturally categorized as Achievers and/or Explorers under Bartle’s Taxonomy of Player Types. With various environments, hats, and badges to choose from, Explorers get to play around with different mechanics until it fits their own play style. Achievers get their fill by reaching the Time Pieces while solving puzzles and completing challenge goals in Death Wish. Though a player’s spectrum between the two varies, the overall target is in open world exploration which a Hat in Time is.

As a Hat in Time is mainly a single-player game, Killers don’t have a foot in to be trolls in order to provoke drama from other players. Although this type can exist using Co-op mode, it’s hardly expected that the first player would want them on in the first place except for laughs.  Socializers can utilize Co-op mode to help achieve goals, and obtain the Time Piece for each act.

Conclusion

Overall, the game feels complete. Each chapter and their acts are paced well as players have the choice to explore their environment at their leisure. It’s only during boss fights that more urgency is required. As each level is received as their own part of the story, player engagement is renewed for each act. This lends well to the interest curve where major growth spikes occur during the introduction of a new chapter and smaller rises at the start of a new act. For A Hat in Time, the learning curve is steep at the beginning as players first explore their environment, figuring out mechanical movements, and testing out the different combinations of hats and badges. After that, the chart is relatively stable with the exception of environmental changes with each new chapter since players have to learn the new location.

As an announcement, on April 25 Gears for Breakfast announced that a second full-on DLC will be available for purchase and download on May 10, 2019. This new chapter is set in the underground city of Nyakuza Metro. Hat Girl will inevitability join the local gang and start on an epic journey and become mad rich. Once again A Hat in Time truly lives up to its reputation as THE cute-as-heck 3D platformer ever made.