Tin Hearts is a Lemmings-style game from Guildford-based developer Rogue Sun. You play from a ghostly first-person perspective, taking a clockwork toy soldier into his workshop, possessing various objects and moving from point A to point B, while also exploring Albert J. his Butterworth family life. Explore and experience the memories of
Begin each of the 50+ levels available by opening a small box to initiate the movement of a tin soldier walking in a straight line. Then you have to own and place various toys, triangle blocks, trains, cannons, windmills, drums, etc. and redirect them to the exit. These puzzles get more advanced as you progress, so it’s nice to have additional hints to help you if you get stuck.
You also have full control over time throughout the game, and can pause your soldiers, speed them up, or even rewind time if you make a mistake. This means you can progress at your own pace and never have to reload levels. If your Tin Soldier accidentally falls to their deaths, a simple rewind will instantly put them back up.
As you guide the little guys through the house in a fun way, you’ll encounter memories of past family life in the form of touching cutscenes played by spirits. This is everything from Albert reading bedtime stories to his daughter to Albert’s wife playing the harp in the lounge. Everything is presented in the most moving way and fits the pace of the game perfectly.
Unfortunately, Tin Hearts has some pretty glaring bugs. The game crashes fairly often, the camera is often jerky when moving from one viewpoint to another, and the framerate stutters at times. Please note that the developer has now released a patch that fixes some of these issues. But none of this detracts from a great presentation. Stunning visuals and animations accompanied by beautiful and soothing music make for a truly wonderful experience.
Tin Hearts is the spiritual successor to the charming Lemmings, with a moving story perfectly rendered with gorgeous visuals and relaxing music. A few bugs and frame he rate issues alone aren’t enough to prevent this great title from being recommended. This is not something you can move forward with.
