10 Minute Infinite by Eblo is a short, humourous game with a fairly simple premise: Level up your character as much as possible within ten minutes and stop the apocalypse. The "story" of the game is essentially a parody of generic RPG's.
You play as OHKO soldier Hero, who has exactly as much personality as his name implies, and your mission is to defeat the evil Vile Ain, a goblinesque villian with the power to destroy the world. Of course, a true warrior who has reached the ultimate level 99 could stop him. There's just one minor problem: You start the game at level 1, with mere ten minutes between you and the end of the world.



New primary objective: save the world


During this short period of time, you must use every opportunity to level up, gather items and equipment and recruit new allies, who are also satirized stereotypes of RPG characters. Levels are not gained through battles, however, but by different actions on the map screen (Thankfully, the timer pauses whenever a text box is displayed, so at least you don't have to rush through the dialogue). Often enough, you will be rewarded a level-up for the most ridiculous tasks, so interact with anything and everything, try out the least logical choices, and be prepared for a lot of weirdness. Also, the game makes fun of itself and games in general, and it will pull the player's leg multiple times. 10 Minute Infinite's sense of humour is largely a matter of taste and can be very crude at times, but once you have accepted this, you may find a few strikingly funny moments between all the randomness.



Like a true hero, always ready to help


After the game's central task - the "unconventional level grinding" - has come to its end, a few puzzles also connected with the leitmotif of time await the player before he reaches the final battle.
The game mainly uses RTP graphics and music from RPG Maker VX Ace in a solid but unremarkable way, although there are instances where the mapping and use of animations is quite impressive.


The Good (Positive qualities that jusitfy an increase of score):
- The basic idea behind 10 Minute Infinite is a very interesting one and provides enough of a challenge to motivate the player to actually want to beat the game. It also has a certain replay value due to its relative shortness (and due to the fact that there is absolutely no way you can reach level 99 at your first try if you don't already know how to do it).
- One of the two puzzles that come after the "level hunt" is a very good idea that perfectly fits the overall theme and is extremely well-executed. I wouldn't have minded seeing more puzzles of this type.

The Bad (Minor issues and nuisances that usually only decrease the score if they come in large numbers):
- At a certain point in the game, it becomes possible to increase the walking speed of your already quite fast Hero. This process is irreversible and, while useful at some points, it makes the player character so difficult to control that it is often more of a hindrance than an improvement.
- Sometimes, the means by which levels can be gained are a bit too far-fetched or the connections between certain events are not quite clear. However, this is also an aspect of the game's challenge, and the player is forced to think out of the box.

The Ugly (Major problems or very frustrating aspects that lead to a decrease of score):
- 10 Minute Infinite's truly weak points are not found in the main "level hunt", but in what happens afterwards. As brilliant as the puzzle type mentioned above is, the other one is simply tedious. The objectives of this "puzzle" area, where you mainly walk around searching for key items and wondering what to do with them, are anything but clear, and there is hardly any fun to it at all. This part of the game accomplishes little but making the player get hopelessly lost and frustrated.
- The other area where 10 Minute Infinite does not accomplish to deliver an experience is the battles. While there have been some nice tweaks added to them, they remain uninteresting. The battles are not very challenging at all, and the best strategy is to just spam your spells or even normal attacks, should you have found the strongest weapon. Even though the battles are not a central aspect of the game, they could have used some more variety considering all the player's actions are supposed to train him for the final fight.

Conclusion:
10 Minute Infinite may not be a very complex or intellectual game, but it explores an unusual key concept that is well executed gameplay-wise. The way 10 Minute Infinite carries out its ideas however may not appeal to everyone. If you are looking for a profound plot or even a trace of seriousness, it is probably not going to be your cup of tea. But if you are in the mood for a fast-paced challenge and lots of absurd humour, you will find them in this game.