60 Seconds!

60 Seconds! is dark, funny, and uniquely engaging. It isn’t a game heavily focused on story, narrative, or adventure, but instead lets you fill in those blanks for yourself while you deal with the day-to-day requirements of surviving in the apocalypse. The fact that it lets you create your own story already makes it appealing.

The first minute

The start of the game is where it gets its name, as it takes place in only 60 seconds. You start out with your character experiencing a terrible fate: the nuclear bomb alarms are sounding, and in 60 seconds, the apocalypse will be upon you. You have those 60 seconds— and not a second more— to gather as many materials as you can for survival. And of course, you can’t forget to gather your family as well! If you fail to get your materials and family members and make it to the bunker on time, then bad news— you’re dead. But if you do make it, the real meat of the game begins.

Surviving the apocalypse

Now that you’ve escaped to your underground bunker, you’ve avoided death— for now. But now the real game begins: you have to manage the day-to-day aspects of surviving in a nuclear apocalypse. You have yourself, whatever family members you rescued, and whatever supplies you managed to grab. But this isn’t a game where you run around shooting bandits and spend all your time fighting (although there may be some mutant cockroaches to deal with).

Instead, you have to ration food and water, organize expeditions for supplies, and deal with any potential issues, troubles, or events that come up. Thanks to the randomness of the game, you never know what you’ll be confronted with. Sometimes the air unit may break. Maybe there’s a mysterious knock at the door of your shelter. Maybe, when gathering supplies, your daughter gets kidnapped. Whatever happens, it’s your job to keep everyone safe, sane, and healthy, and survive as long as you can.

Replaying the game

One of the great things about 60 Seconds! is how much you can replay it. Because of the randomness of the game, each run will include a different combination of people, supplies, and situations, so you’ll have new challenges to face and new combinations to figure out. In this way it is very reminiscent of Prey: Mooncrash, and the tedious elements of survival could also draw comparisons between the two games.

Pros:

• Good replay value
• Can create your own story
• Humor that fits well with the writing and story
• Unique gameplay elements

Cons:

• Controls can sometimes be clunky or confusing
• Limited random options, so instead of always seeing new challenges, it’s more like a new combination of previous challenges