Launch time is now for environmental puzzler Denbora

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Demo also available for Portal-styled time-jumping adventure on Steam and Epic 

Many time-traveling adventures take place across lengthy periods between past, present and future, with the consequences of potential paradoxes to consider. Not so in Denbora, the newly released environmental puzzler by indie Spanish developer Bionic Ape, which sees players navigating a series of test challenges by utilizing time jumps only an hour apart. 

It's the first day of your new job-for-life, with more than a few indications that your recruitment may not have been entirely voluntary. You awaken to a greeting by Dirua, your AI "smart assistant" and resident smart aleck, who informs you your name is now Servus, a rather fitting moniker considering it's your job to serve those who would profit from your efforts, whether you like it or not. Your first task is to test a new tool that allows you to jump back and forth through time by a single hour, utilizing it strategically to "solve intricate temporal puzzles" and bypass increasingly complex obstacles blocking your progress. Only by obediently (if reluctantly) "mastering time jumps and spatial manipulation" can you hope to "gradually unravel the mystery that has trapped you" and perhaps even find a way to break out of your captivity.

Inspired by Portal and other physics-based puzzlers of its ilk, Denbora is a free-roaming, first-person 3D adventure played with either gamepad or keyboard/mouse. Not that you can roam very far, as you'll progress in a largely linear fashion through rooms linked together by elevator from a central hub. You have no "gun" here, but you can pick up, carry, drop, and throw single items to help power up or down lasers and other barriers in the way, and you'll acquire other tools to aid your quest along the way. The game's real hook, however, is being able to supplement your "pitiful physical strength" with your newfound time-manipulation abilities, as subtle but important differences between present and future allow you to utilize the benefits of both, with "multiple solutions for each challenge." All throughout, Dirua "mocks and provokes" you, his superficially friendly tone clearly belying a desire to undermine your confidence every step of the way. You'll want to stick with it, however, because the further you get, the more you'll "uncover the secrets hidden within the facility."

If you're up for a little time-hopping problem-solving, you can either jump right in or take it out for a spin, as both a demo and full version of Denbora are available now on Steam and Epic for Windows PC.