Talking Tom Time Rush is out now, taking this beloved cat and friends off on a new adventure, but it’s unlike anything you might expect. After more than a decade on the app charts and over 10 billion game downloads, one of the world’s most popular mobile gaming brands is about to take a turn off the beaten path for a very different adventure. While Outfit7’s wildly successful band of talking felines and chatty friends are used to household adventures and shopping trips, Tom, Angela, and more are now chasing gold in their very own endless runner.
Available now across iOS and Android platforms for free, talking Tom Time Rush is a leap into the unexpected for the Talking Tom series. After the sneaky Rakoonz grabs some illicitly acquired gold, the crew gets together to chase Rakoonz through time, scurrying through a diverse range of historic set pieces to grab booty and catch a crafty thief. Like other Talking Tom titles, this new twist on the iconic cat’s world is consistently bright and inviting. An animated hub awaits players picking up this game for the first time. Cartoon characters
inhabit a bustling range of environments and a jovial but unobtrusive soundtrack keep the overall aesthetic consistent with the rest of the Talking Tom universe.
From the central lobby area, players can choose to take Tom, Angela, Ginger, Ben, Hank, and Becca for a spin around time and space. Every one of these small screen heroes is unlocked from the word go, and selecting any of this bunch to play with is as simple as a screen press. Tapping each of the avatars doesn’t allow the same level of interaction as franchise devotees might expect. Instead, you can pick an avatar, browse a wardrobe of themed outfits, and jump into a twisty time portal.
Run For It
The core gameplay loop of Time Rush is distinctly streamlined when compared to the vast array of mini games, dance parties, and personal interactions on offer in Talking Angela 2 and other recent releases, but it does provide a more action oriented role for anybody looking to play with the gang. Rather than dress up, players jump through the aforementioned portal to explore a range of new and old worlds. Like many runners before, each level in this title must be nimbly navigated to collect gold and hunt down Rakoonz. Decorated in appropriately themed adornments, these three-lane highways come with a range of obstacles that Tom and co can doge, slide under, or jump over. Controls are, as you’d expect, simple and responsive. There’s no misunderstanding here, and the tutorials are a solid reminder for anybody who hasn’t tapped along before.
While the core goal is simply to not stumble into an obstacle while picking up gold bullion, Outfit7 manages to make Talking Tom Time Rush entertaining enough that casual play is sufficiently distracting. A range of backdrops from pirate bays to prehistoric archipelagos play host to this run around. The set dressing allows things to stay visually interesting, while dynamic obstacles, cannon balls, pirate ship races, and huge dinosaurs all add entraining elements to a repetitive idea. Of course, things speed up as things progress, and bonus items like the gold magnet provide tactical choices, but there’s never anything too taxing about this experience. Mild variations to each map, changes in viewpoint, secret lanes, different routes, trapezes, motorbikes, and even jetpacks are jsut some of the in game elements that make every run familiar without being a snooze.
After finishing a run around the Roman Empire that gold doesn’t need to weigh things down. This simple loot forms the central part of a linear progression system, giving runners rewards for topping off their cache and unlocking new timelines too. This, quite literally, keeps things moving forward, pushing the title into new environments, unlocking additional game mechanics, and tearing open the familiar sticker packs. Sticker Packs are among the most familiar gacha reward, filling out digital sticker albums and activating new skins for each of the crew with a satisfying degree of frequency. While there aren’t tons of these outfits on offer yet, I do have to applaud the very direct cosmetic reward system. While the simplicity of the play loop and the direct nature of the progress system draws a little inspiration from Outfit7’s Mythic Legends, this path to victory doesn’t have impede the ability to play or introduce power creep. Even the in game continue coins aren’t a necessity when you can just get up and try again.
Despite this, a cash shop does exist. Despite this, the direct monetization of these gacha packs and an ad based reward system is light touch. You can always simply go again and Talking Tom Time Rush is easy to pick up and play without taking an off ramp into the bank account.
Talking Tom Time Rush might not be the first choice for hardcore souls-like aficionados or the top tier of Mythic Legends. For the casual gamer and fans of the Talking Tom series, it is a wonderfully upbeat escape. Time traveling with these familiar faces is a lot of Talking Tom, the accessibility of the OlliOlli franchise, a tiny dash of Mario Kart, and a potential runaway success for Outfit7. Dash over to the official website now to play for free.
