Last year Robot Gentleman created this nifty little survival game called 60 Parsecs! where you were on a space station that was about to explode and you only had 60 seconds to scavenge supplies and make it to the escape pod. But even before that, back in 2015, we were treated to 60 Seconds!, a dark comedy about a cold war family given 60 seconds to ransack their house and make it to the bomb shelter before the nukes hit. Now, four years later, we get 60 Seconds! Reatomized, a substantial remaster of that original game, now with 4K support, enhanced 2D graphics and hand-drawn 3D textures, a new interactive menu and an improved UI system along with all sorts of new content. If you already own the original, then you are getting this version for free.
I never had a chance to play or review the original, so I was pleasantly surprised with just the overall design and presentation of the game. I was mildly disappointed there was no controller support – mouse and keyboard are nearly impossible to use in my living room setup, but at least the game is fully playable with mouse only. A relatively short and very useful tutorial teaches you the ropes on how to play both parts of the game; the 60-second scramble for supplies, and the long wait for rescue while you try to survive in your bunker.
The game focuses on a family of four; Dolores, Ted, Mary Jane and Timmy, each with their own unique personalities, skills, and requirements for staying alive. There are now four ways to play; you can just play the 60-second dash part and grab supplies or you can start in the bunker with a pre-selected assortment of supplies, or you can play the main game mode that combines both parts. The new fourth mode is Survival Challenges; short unique storylines that put you in very specific situations to test your survival skills. These turned out to be some of the best parts of the game for me, and winning these challenges earns you rewards for other parts of the game.
60 Seconds! Reatomized adds in some new content, with a storyline that spans multiple playthroughs as you try to escape the wasteland. The family relationships have also been enhanced with new stories and interactions between members, and you trophy hunters will enjoy all the new Achievements. Enjoy new sounds, art, and unlockable visual skins for collectible items to give your shelter an all-new look.
The game can get quite dark, or at least it lets you play it that way. When the timer starts the first thing you need to deposit in the bunker are your family members. You literally pick them up and carry them to the hatch and drop them in. Naturally a good father will save everyone but nothing is stopping you from leaving one or more behind to really stretch out those rations. Then you have food and water to collect to keep those hungry and thirsty meters filled along with first aid and incidentals like a radio, a gun, gas mask, bug spray, and other household and entertainment items. The great thing is the house design and item placement changes every game, so you are always starting with a blind item hunt every time.
Aside from the initial running around collecting supplies, most of the gameplay involves flipping through a journal that gives clues and interactive icons for daily upkeep of the family and assigning specific tasks to certain members. You’ll be sending someone back into the house for more supplies and it’s always interesting to see what they bring back. But ultimately, you are in control of who eats and drinks or uses a first aid kit, and what items people get to equip when venturing outside the shelter. Does Timmy go outside with an axe or a rifle?
The art style is awesome, almost like Fallout got an Adult Swim facelift, and I could easily watch an animated series with these characters. The 60-second dash takes place in a top-down, 3D cutaway view of the house, as you scramble around picking up people and stuff and tossing it down the hatch. The rest of the game is this static view of the family sitting in the shelter that slowly depicts the passage of time and wear and tear on both the bunker and the family. It’s quite ingenious how the artists manage to work in the various supplies and items you bring into the bunker while simultaneously making these subtle adjustments to the family portraits right down to the beard on dad.
I just loved 60 Seconds! Reatomized. It’s one of those games you can play in short bursts or just as easily get lost in for hours with these marathon games where you try to see how long you can survive. All of the modes are great fun and the new Survival Challenges add greatly to the mix. I can’t speak to what the graphics used to look like, but they are fantastic in this updated version of the game. You can get 60 Seconds! Reatomized on Steam for only $10 or bundle it with 60 Parseconds! for only $20. The game is also available on the iTunes store, which is great because this is the perfect mobile game.
