Some games on the Wii U eShop are not the greatest technological advancements of this generation. They can look remarkably simple in design, but at least some of them are fun to play. As long as a game manages to win me over with it’s simplicity and charm, it can look like dreck and at least still offer me an enjoyable time. Unfortunately for Arrow Time U, it fails to be charming and rather just comes off as a flat, uninteresting title that’s not very fun to play.

The game is relatively simple. The player controls a blue arrow that has to go solve puzzles and avoid traps to make it to the next level. The arrow can slow down in order to see where it is travelling and it can also go through walls to avoid contraptions that’ll impede it’s way to victory. Each level the player is given a specific amount of time to complete it, though often these timers can be amazingly small given the time needed to think about how to pass a level. There’s also a gauge that will empty if you slow down or go through objects too many times. This didn’t take long to figure out, and using the powers to advance through levels at least used a bit of strategy, which I like.

The thing with the game is that you’ll die. A lot. Now, there’s nothing wrong with a game being difficult. Many video games out there, such as the Mega Man series, are renown for their difficulty. The difference between those games and Arrow Time U, however, is that there’s always something there that makes you want to continue. Yes, video games can be hard and even downright frustrating at times. Arrow Time U is different, though. There’s no motivation to continue if you repeatedly die over and over, which is a common occurance. You’ll just go on to the next level and maybe you’ll pass that one too, then you move on until you finish all 40 levels. It’s not fun repeating a level over and over until you finally get an idea of what to do, advance, then prepare to do it all over again in an even more frustrating manner.

Visually, the game isn’t pretty. It’s pretty bland looking; other games on the Wii U eShop have that same visual style and it’s generally passable. The game also often repeats the same two or three songs over and over, and that’s fine too, to a degree. Other games I’ve reviewed on NWR, such as ZaciSa's Last Stand and Blok Drop U, are guilty of some bland presentation as well. But those games were, well, more fun. So I could forgive them if they didn't have the greatest production values of all time. Arrow Time U’s flaw is that it isn’t particularly fun to go through, so when I hear the same music over and over, see the same level backgrounds and hear the announcer repeatedly say “Ready”, it feels less forgivable.

There’s not much to like in Arrow Time U. The simple gameplay and strategy is nice, but when it has to be implemented in a game that requires the player to consistently fail, it’s not that fun. The boring presentation doesn’t help much either. Even for, say, a fifteen minute experience, it’s not worth getting and there are many more titles out there similar to it that are more fun to play.