| Minit | |
| Developer: | JW, Kitty, Jukio, Dom |
| Publisher: | Devolver Digital |
| Genre: | Action-adventure |
| Modes: | Single-player |
| Designer: | Jan Willem Nijman |
| Composer: | Jukio Kallio |
Minit is an action-adventure video game developed by Jan Willem Nijman, Kitty Calis, Jukio Kallio, and Dominik Johann. The game is published by Devolver Digital and was released on April 3, 2018, for Windows, macOS, Linux, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. On May 11, 2018, a Nintendo Switch version was announced on the first episode of Indie World, a web series from Nintendo of Japan that showcases indie games coming to the Japanese Nintendo eShop. It was released for the Nintendo Switch on August 9, 2018. It also came out for mobile devices in June 2019.
The game's premise is that each of the player's lives only lasts for one minute, resulting in "a peculiar little adventure played sixty seconds at a time". With each interval, the player will learn more about the environment.
Minit is a 2D top-down adventure game. The player takes control of an unnamed duck-like creature at their house. Initially, the player has no time limit and can explore a small space and will discover a sword washed up on the shore. Upon picking it up, it is revealed by a now-active timer that the sword is cursed. Every 60 seconds the player will die and wake up back in their home. The gameplay progresses with the player keeping all items they have collected during each of their sixty-second lives. Where they respawn depends on their last save point, one for every location excluding the factory. The combat is a simple stab in the direction of movement, but extra abilities can be unlocked by certain items (the Gardening Glove allows the player to break trees).
It is revealed by a recurring mailman that the sword is a product of the sword factory and tasks the player to go there as soon as possible. Upon arriving, the player manages to upgrade their sword and reverse the production of the swords in the process. Through quick dialogue, it is revealed the owner of the factory's plan was finally working, and they would do everything all over again. However, the player can stop them by hitting the overloading main machine three times. The explosion turns the owner into a sword-like hybrid and the player has to defeat it. Upon its defeat, the sword will finally break, breaking the curse in the process (indicated by a now-stopped timer). With the sword now completely useless, the player flushes the broken sword down the toilet in the now-destroyed factory and returns home to get some rest.
The game consists of three modes. Normal mode has the standard rules and the 60-second timer. The Second Run can be played after Normal mode with added difficulties, restrictions, and a 40-second timer. An unlockable mode is Mary's Mode, where the player has no time limit and the music doesn't seem to play. In the second run, the player encounters the broken sword and re-activates the curse, but now the player is limited to one hit point, has less range, and the time limit is now 40 seconds. Upon doing everything again, the player flushes the sword once again, this time for good. In a post-credits scene, the player is relaxing on a remote island until almost all of the characters encountered suddenly appear.
Minit was developed by Jan Willem Nijman, co-founder of Vlambeer; Kitty Calis, who contributed to Horizon Zero Dawn; Jukio Kallio, a freelance composer; and Dominik Johann, art director of Crows Crows Crows. The concept for Minit was inspired by an earlier project from Jan Willem Nijman and Kitty Calis when they participated in an Adventure Time-themed game jam in 2012. The original game involved 1-minute long episodes. Years later, Willem and Calis wanted to make a new game with the same concept and recruited Jukio Kallio and Dominik Johann. A prototype was pitched to Devolver Digital where the game was only a single screen and no time limit with little content. Devolver Digital approved the publishing of the game and provided support in playtesting, porting, and promotion. Development for the game took roughly over a year. To ensure the game was simple to execute and enjoyable to develop, the team placed self-imposed limitations into the design such as being in black and white, and a 60-second timer. The team designed the world to have at least one secret in every section of the map.
Jukio Kallio found it challenging composing music due to the 60-second timer causing the death of the player character and interrupting the audio. To overcome the issue, Kallio divided the songs into roughly 1-minute increments that would loop with the next track when the player character dies.
A demo for the game was presented at E3 2017. The game is published by Devolver Digital and was released on April 3, 2018, for Windows, macOS, Linux, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. On May 11, 2018, a Nintendo Switch version was announced on the first episode of Indie World, a web series from Nintendo of Japan that showcases indie games coming to the Japanese Nintendo eShop. It was released for the Nintendo Switch on August 9, 2018. It also came out for mobile devices on June 27, 2019. A port by for Commodore 64 was announced on June 20, 2019 and was scheduled to release later the same year. No new information had since released.
Devolver Digital partnered with Esc-Toy to release a collectable plus doll of the player character with Steam code included. Jukio Kalio self-published an original soundtrack with cover art by Thomas Wellman on April 3, 2018, via Bandcamp. Ghost Ramp released a limited edition vinyl version on January 25, 2019, with cover art by Justin Chan.
In 2021, Devolver Digital launched a spin-off game, Minit Fun Racer, which is available on Steam and proceeds of which will always go to an unspecified charitable effort.[1] Minit Fun Racer is an iteration of the original game, as the player drives a motorcycle in a 10-second round, with the time increasing by collecting coins.[2]
Minit received "generally favorable" reviews for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, according to review aggregator Metacritic.
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Develop Awards | Gameplay Innovation | [3] | |
| Golden Joystick Awards | Best Indie Game | [4] [5] | ||
| Titanium Awards | [6] | |||
| 2019 | New York Game Awards | Statue of Liberty Award for Best World | [7] | |
| 22nd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards | Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game | [8] | ||
| National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards | Game, Original Family | [9] | ||
| Independent Games Festival Awards | Seumas McNally Grand Prize | [10] | ||
| 2019 G.A.N.G. Awards | G.A.N.G. / MAGFEST People's Choice Award | [11] | ||
| 15th British Academy Games Awards | Game Design | [12] |