A Hat in Time is the kind of game you don't see very often anymore: an incredible fun-for-all-ages romp that isn't exclusive to Nintendo. It's ceaseless dedication to making every moment feel fresh and exciting is admirable – even if a few technical hiccups slipped through the cracks. It's an incredibly fun platformer that never stops surprising. It's the kind of game that just makes you happy. Heck, the game is making me smile right now, and all I'm doing is writing its review.

A Hat in Time is probably the best platformer released this year that doesn’t star that one plumber guy. Anyone who still has fond memories of classic N64 platformers owe it to themselves to check it out. Also for PS4 and XB1 owners this is about as good as it gets without Italian influence. For the price it is more than worth your time. Don’t sleep on this charming title.

A Hat in Time is a game as adorable as mature. You will love its adult sense of humor besides the great variety of levels and situations that The Girl With a Hat will face. It is a great tribute to the old 3D platform games.

An ideal game for X-mas times. Inspired by classic such as Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie and little bites of Luigi's Mansion, it has enough personality to feel original and make its own adventure.

A Hat In Time is a game that is proud to wear its influences on its sleeve and largely does them justice. The 3D platformer features a quirky story, diverse and memorable levels, interesting well-voiced characters, and collectibles that actually have a point. The platforming is responsive and the difficulty scales appropriately on the whole, but the game is let down by camera issues — clipping through objects, zooming in at inappropriate times, and shaking all contribute to unfair deaths for the player, often at the worst possible moment. There's something here for players of all abilities and most will be able to look past its faults for another enjoyable completion.

I had hoped for some more originality to be seen in the game’s mechanics or level design, but the lack thereof doesn’t hinder the quality of the experience. Nothing in A Hat in Time is going to change how you think about 3D platformers, but if you know that ahead of time and are still looking for an enjoyable, cute collectaton, there are definitely worse options to choose from.

Reasonable people can disagree on whether and how heavily to weigh its off-screen issues. What’s less open to debate, however, is how much this game is weighed down by wonky controls and an even wonkier camera. There are other, much better 3D platformers out there, and they’re much more deserving of our time and your money.