The Doctor, that time-traveling, companion gathering, Earth-rescuing, alien-in-a-blue-box, has had mostly poor luck over the years when it comes to video game adaptations. Even in genres that should have been a natural fit for the character like the adventure game, the results have often ended up feeling mediocre at best and downright infuriatingly awful at worse (see episode three of the 2010-2011 episodic Doctor Who adventure game series for an example of the latter or better yet don’t). So the news of a new Doctor Who video game is always something to be greeted with one part anticipation and one part dread for fans of the show and gamers alike. This of course brings us to the latest such game: the 2.5D platformer/puzzler Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock from developer Supermassive Games (whose previous works include the mini-game collection Start the Party and the surprisingly enjoyable Move exclusive puzzle game Tumble). Is this the game to finally make Who fans cry ‘Allons-y’ or should it be forgotten about quicker than a Silence moving out of eyesight?

From the perspective of the game as an entry into the Doctor Who universe, The Eternity Clock features dead on writing that well captures the feel of a Doctor Who story both in terms of plot and character. The latter is especially aided by performances of the game’s lead voice actors (i.e. Matt Smith as the Doctor and Alex Kingston as River Song), who clearly are not phoning in their performances (something I could not always say about the aforementioned adventure game in terms of Smith). Even the game’s collectibles (consisting of hats for the doctor to find that also unlock additional bits of Matt Smith dialogue and pages of River Song’s diaries which have some lovely touches for fans of the series in their text, such as describing a meeting between Ms. Song and an earlier incarnation of the Doctor) help contribute to the overall Doctor Who experience and make this a must play for Who fans everywhere. Overall the writing is easily the strongest aspect of the game; however (and despite efforts to include exposition regarding the backgrounds and relationships of the key players in game) I still suspect the story will play less well for those not familiar with franchise. At the very least, this is not how I would choose to introduce a total newcomer to universe of Doctor Who and at least some basic familiarity with the Doctor, his friends, and his enemies (at least in the context of the modern show, particularly the Matt Smith era) is recommended. Still, at the end of the day, The Eternity Clock does exactly what it needs to do on the story front: give those who purchase it the feeling they are playing an episode of the TV show and a rather good one at that.

Moving onto gameplay, The Eternity Clock is a 2.5D platformer with a mixture of focus on platforming, puzzles (of both the environmental and mini-game variety), and stealth-action. The game gets great use out of the changing perspective that the 2.5D approach affords it, especially in regards to some deviously hidden collectibles. The 2.5D aspects of the game also come into play when having to avoid/deal with enemies, who move both on the plain you are traveling and at times on the backgrounds and foregrounds of levels as well. The platforming overall is well done, featuring a mixture of logical level layouts and extremely solid controls, the latter an especially important aspect for any platformer.

The Doctor's natural habitat: in trouble.

Environmental puzzles meanwhile can be as simple as having to move boxes around to far more involved sequences such as manipulating a series of pulleys and platforms in a medieval London Bridge to redirecting the flow of a poisonous gas spewing forth from pipes stretching around different portions of 1800’s London. Overall this aspect of the game features a gratifyingly sensible and logical flow to it and even at times exhibits some of the same level of cleverness that the writing manages to bring forth. As for the aforementioned mini-games, they are chiefly used for such fare as hacking computers, opening doors, etc. In practice, these games range from simple variations on matching puzzles to more involved examples that are basically recreations of classic gaming formula such as Pipe Mania. Even at their worse, these are little more than harmless additions, while at their best they serve to add a sense of the flavor and style that would come from stepping into the Doctor’s shoes.

The Eternity Clock even manages to feature some light adventure game elements via the Doctor’s sonic screwdriver which, in addition to being how the character unlocks doors and stuns certain types of enemies, can be used to scan the environment for extra story details or basic hints. The screwdriver also serves as a good segue to another of The Eternity Clock’s major gameplay elements: its dual playable character system. As previously mentioned The Doctor’s only companion for this adventure is the wily River Song and while for large portions of the game she serves as an AI follow-along, at key points in the story players will have to assume direct control of her. Sometimes this will be for an entire level or section and at other times players will have to swap between her and the Doctor via button press.

Keep them away. Keep them away!

Either way, River has her own set of complimentary but ultimately different set of abilities, including her infamous hallucinogenic lipstick which lets her stun and temporarily control organic enemies during a number of the game’s stealth sequences. Another major difference between River and the Doctor is that while he has his trusty screwdriver, River instead makes use of the blaster that she is often seen wielding in the show. River’s blaster can affect a far larger range of enemies than the Doctor’s screwdriver but the tradeoff is that it also does not stun foes (there is no way to actually kill regular enemies in the game keeping with the spirit and tone of the show) for nearly as long. While not playing that dramatically different from the Doctor, River does at least have enough quirks and unique aspects to call her own to help enliven the parts of the game when players get to take control of her.

So far this review has been fairly positive but now we have reached one of the major negative areas of The Eternity Clock, namely its take on stealth-action. This is not to say that this aspect of the game is completely broken or anything but it is definitely on shakier ground in comparison to the rest of the title’s gameplay. In general, stealth gameplay in the game tends to involve avoiding patrolling enemies by moving into doorways and alcoves or by hiding behind walls, crates, and the like when enemies are on a background or foreground plane. Where problems began to occur is in regards to the enemy A.I., which is so extraordinarily dumb that in sequences where getting spotted simply leads to them attacking you, it is almost always easier and quicker to simply run past all your foes than take the time to actually be stealthy. Of course this is not always an option since some stealth sequences force you to restart from the most recent checkpoint (which tend to come along fairly frequently to be fair) upon being spotted. Yet too often these sequences end up having a largely random feel to them in regards to success thanks to the shaky enemy AI and multi-planar nature of the levels. The fact that certain stealth sequences feature a wholly different set of rules that the game fails to explain beforehand does not help matters.

You did not really think THEY were not going to join in on the fun, did you?

Perhaps the most egregious example of this occurs when River needs to escape from a closed off office building being patrolled by squads of Cybermen. In order to affect said escape, players most avoid the patrols long enough to solve the two mini-games needed to unlock the door; in this sequence however, unlike the majority of the game, the patrols have a vague sense of where you are at all times and will not move away from the mini game locations long enough for you to solve them (mini-games generally tend to play out in real time in relation to events occurring in the rest of the game) unless you lure them far enough away first. Except that in most other stealth sequences in the game enemies will simply follow a preset patrol pattern, regardless of your current location, until they spot you which can make figuring out what you are supposed to do remarkably unintuitive. The game tries to address this by having the Cybermen regularly comment how they have spotted a hostile figure as a clue but since this is the same dialogue they spout throughout the game it can take a while (and a lot of trial and effort) to figure out what is going on. Indeed, I ended up spending more time on this single aggravating sequence than whole other levels in the game.

There are times when having to avoid enemies as part of the larger game can be enjoyable (one particular sequence involving having to dodge patrolling cybermats comes to mind but even then this was more akin to something out of Donkey Kong Jr. than actual stealth-action) but overall the stealth portions of this Doctor Who game rarely add much to the overall experience. I can understand why the developers at Supermassive Games felt inspired to include stealth in the game, but honestly the execution of such gameplay is simply not implemented well enough. It never reaches the point that I would not recommend the game to someone, but that does not make such moments in the game any less of an obstacle to be overcome, as opposed to being enjoyed, in order to be allowed to get back to the good stuff the title does have to offer.

Hey if you ended up running from monsters and whatnot as often as the Doctor does, you would be in great shape as well.

Another serious problem plaguing The Eternity Clock is just how buggy the game can be at times. Often said bugs are of a more minor nature, such as dialogue triggering at odd times or the occasional example of screen tearing, but I did encounter far more serious example during my time with the game. While I never technically encountered a game crashing bug, I twice had to restart a level thanks one which made my AI companion extremely twitchy and often prone to getting stuck in areas of a level. While moving to a new checkpoint generally causes this bug to correct itself, both times I had to restart centered around portions of the game that require both characters to be together in order for the action to proceed to said checkpoint. Even something as simple as a button to call an AI companion to one’s side could have solved this problem but unfortunately the game does include such a function. Two player co-op is featured but it is not of the drop-in/drop-out variety so that will not help solo players either (also the feature’s lack of online functionality meant I was not actually able to test it out for any real period of time in the course of this review). I also found some environmental interactions to be buggy and more than once ended up falling to my death by walking on a moveable platform that only looked like it was present. As with the stealth gameplay, I do not consider these bugs to be deal breakers in regards to recommending the game as they did not occur (for me at least) with enough frequency to ruin my overall experience, but still, they happened often enough to both require noting and to rub some of the polish off of title’s shine.

Visually The Eternity Clock appears to take a little too much of a cue from its TV counterpart, featuring visuals that range from the simply gorgeous to the simply silly. For example, the game’s environments can feel rich and alive with detail one moment and bland and lifeless the next. Similarly, while the CGI cutscenes that open and close each level play out like near perfectly staged recreations of the show, in-level cutscenes using the game’s actual engine can struggle with something as simple as lip flap. As for character animations, the Doctor and River definitely benefit from the most amount of work but other characters often fair less well. I will say that the less human looking the character is seems to have a direct effect on the quality of their animation, with such groups as the Cybermen, the Silence, and the Daleks benefiting especially well from this. Aurally at least the game is on far stronger ground, with the aforementioned quality voice acting being joined by a mixture of tunes and sound effects taken directly from the show and recreated to great effect in the game.

Oh there. There goes the neighborhood. Not to mentioned the planet its located on.

In summation, Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock is an enjoyable game held back by a few design flaws, some annoying bugs, and at times uneven visuals. Even with these problems, it is easily the best Doctor Who game I have ever played, but beyond that somewhat back-handed compliment, I also consider it a legitimately well done title even divorced of its license. There are plenty of genuinely clever moments in the game (the way the title handles The Silence, a race of aliens who are instantly forgotten about entirely the moment they leave a person’s sight, is especially inspired for example; sequences involving them play out almost like stealth action in reverse by forcing players to keep at least one Silence in sight at all times or else be forced to restart the sequence) and the overall design, stealth sequences aside, is strong. This is supposed to be the first in a planned series of Doctor Who games from Supermassive Games and I for one hope these other games end up being made. The developer have the basics of the formula down already; with the opportunity to work some of the kinks out and add that needed extra level of polish I believe they could produce the first truly great Doctor Who game. As it stands however, Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock is a must own for Whovians but even non-fans who enjoy a good puzzle platformer might find enough of value in this twenty dollar, twelve to fifteen hour long title to make it worth picking up.