A Hat in Time

A dubious little creature getting up to mischief. This is no good.
The beast is demonic in nature. Very icky, no good.

I'm sure someone else has already done a much better job of going into some sort of full breakdown for this gem of a game. I'm not going to do that. Instead, I'm just going to talk about how this game made me feel and who I think it's for.

A Hat in Time is a game that reminded me of what games are really all about- or at least what they used to be about. I felt nostalgia and joy for something I've been yearning for and never even realized it was missing. What am I talking about? It's going to sound corny, but love. Love for video games shared by both the developers and their players. The love needed to make something beautiful and artistic and to want to create something beyond just a product that makes money. It made me miss every game I had growing up that felt like a polished full experience from the moment I started. An adventure that pulls me in with its charm, music, and visuals even if it isn't using the latest and greatest textures and hyper realistic worlds we see in more modern games- games that often feel incomplete or empty despite these visual advances. AHIT pays tribute to (and makes one feel dejavu for) some of the greatest 3D platformers ever made such as Banjo Kajooie, Spyro, Jack & Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, Psychonauts, Mario Sunshine & Mario Odyssey. Just to name a few. It reminds me of these legendary classics but while being completely its own game at the same time. It reminds of why I loved those games and even makes improves on the frustrating limitations of those games as it has many impactful QoL improvements you didn't have before. There are tons of options in the game that can impact the difficulty of levels or be more accessible, there is a strong modding community and the game was clearly built with modding and speed running in mind from the ground up (but if you aren't about those things, then you'll enjoy the game all the same). The game supports local co-op as well as large online groups with the DLCs they've added.

If you love and miss the greatest 3D platformer classics of all time, you'll love this game. If you want a game that gives you a full complete immersive experience, you'll love this game. If you want to go beyond the main story and have lots of fun challenges and unique areas with quirky characters and fun level designs, this game is definitely for you as well. I can't claim it has something for absolutely everyone, but I think if you're looking for a fun return to nostalgic 3D platformers or just want a beautiful fun experience made with love then please give this game a try. It's worth it even at full price.

I´m replaying this game in 2025 after playing it on Switch in 2019. I was afraid that replaying it after so long the magic would not still be there, but my fear was completely unwarranted. This is still one of the best, if not THE BEST 3D platformer I have ever played (and I have played many over the years). Movement feels fantastic, levels are creative and fun to explore and the characters make me giggle and smile all the time! It´s like Mario Sunshine/Galaxy meets Psychonauts. If you love 3D platformers and you somehow missed this one, I recommend it with all my heart.

Really fun platformer, many parts of it reminded me of Super Mario Galaxy which was a pleasant surprise. Definitely worth playing if you enjoy the genre, but that's a no brainer.
A pecking good time!!

I picked this game up in the August 2018 Humble Monthly Bundle. Wow, that was forever ago.

I started the game up a few times but never got super far. Now, in my "playing through the backlog days", I didn't realize it only took ~10 hours to beat the game.

I started a new save and forgot how much charm this game oozes. I'm wouldn't call myself a platform enthusiast but I've played Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, Banjo-Kazooie, and Yooka-Laylee off the top of my head as far as 3D platformers go.

This game is AMAZING. It is cute, it is charming, it is just a ton of fun. It is an original in the 3D platforming space that is it's own thing. It's mechanically sound and satisfying to play through. My playthrough this time around only took 12.5 hours and I enjoyed every bit of it.

I definitely recommend checking this game out. Especially, if you can pick it up on sale!

Backlog Games Beaten 2025
18/50

played on Xbox, 100% the game on every file. played here and the community and online experience makes it 10x better. This is the definitive version to play. mods are really cool too.

The difference between A Hat in Time and a giant company making 3D platformers like Nintendo it's purely capital. This game has all the great qualities required for a great platformer.
It controls great, have a lot of charm, excellent musical pieces.
In fact, if Super Mario Odyssey didn't exist, this might be my favorite 3D platformer ever.
The game is not without some technical issues though, I've a lot of hiccups in frametime (and I'm sure a Ryzen 5600 and RX7600 are more than enough to run an UE3 game), remapping the controller is also completely broken (not that it's necessary, but worth pointing anyway), there may be some collision problems when the scenery gets a little... Twisted.
But none of those issues ruined my experience that could easily be fixed with some patches.
So do it, pretty please.
Your game is amazing.
Egg.
AND WHERE THE HECK IS MY SEQUEL? >:(