Leap Time

I wish every SpeedIF was constructed with this much care and attention to detail. This game was very surreal, very easy, and very touching. Actually, it may be the best SpeedIF I ever played. But, I'll try not to fawn over it too much and give an one objective opinion. The premise if very original: you're a star getting ready to leap from the moon (hence the title).

Since Leap Time is a SpeedIf, the puzzles are easy, but hardly anyone plays SpeedIF for the puzzles. It's very atmospheric and sweet. Once you get down to earth, you're faced with granting a certain wish to a little girl. There are two ways to do that and there are three endings in total. One ending is heart-wrenching, one is depressing, and one is "happy" (in quotation marks because I felt like there was something important the PC didn't get to do).

Leap Time isn't emotional in the sense that it will make you cry or laugh, but it touched me in that little "aw" kind of way. Play it for a few minutes for its magical sensation, but quit only once you have all three endings. I don't think it's possible to truly appreciate this game without completing it in all three ways. And to help you with the part I myself was most confused about: (Spoiler - click to show)To figure out how to grant the wish, look in the dumpsters or look at yourself.

Leap Time is magical, it's touching, and it just has that I-wish-I-believed-in-fairy tales vibe. As a SpeedIF, it gets a five in my book. I only wish it were a full-length game.

This is an exceptionally polished release of a speed IF, with brief story about a star on the moon who is ready to leap to the earth.

The writing is descriptive, and the settings are creative. I had some trouble actually leaping due to not reading the description, but the help menu is quite clever and just as fun as the actual game.

You are (literally) a star, ready for your first, short visit to Earth, where perhaps you will be able to fulfill one person’s wish, before finally taking your place in the night sky. It’s a sweet story, only made better by the game’s truly beautiful writing, transporting you into a world made magical – if only for a short leap second.

I have played both the original Speed-IF entry and release 2. The second release has some improvements that should make the gameplay smoother, but there are still a few minor bugs. These are mostly related to the way the game responds if you try to do things out of order, or try to repeat an action, and you will probably not encounter any of them. In any case, none of them puts the game into an unwinnable state; they only make parts of the dialogue appear somewhat strange.

The game is easy and short – but with three possible endings – and the truly excellent writing makes it a joy to play (a transcript of the game might even work as a short fairy tale). I very much recommend it.