While Minutes fits into the bullet hell genre of shooters with ease, it also subverts many of the genre’s conventions – it veers on being minimalist rather than maximalist, and it doesn’t give you any way to shoot.
It comes with 60 levels, each of which are a minute long, and that you have to survive with nothing by well-observed dodges. That’s not enough to progress, though, as you need to accumulate a high enough score to unlock the next level.
You do this by absorbing the colored lines and circles that zip and drift across the screen with the circle that you control. Your problem is that collecting any black shapes will push you closer to blowing up and failing the level.
The blackness comes in lines that divide the screen and cut up your pathways to the colors that you chase. Luckily, you can battle against the black with abilities such as a shield and slowing time, but it’s your maneuvering skills that will get you through the game.
If you don’t mind a clean-looking bullet hell experience that constantly finds new ways to challenge you then you could do much worse than Minutes. It’s available in Europe as a cross-buy title on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita right now.
